MacLane method of group cohomologies and gauge theories on finite lattices (Q1333418)

It is well known that the set of inequivalent extensions of a group \(Q\) by an Abelian group \(T\), with given action of \(Q\) on \(T\), can be labelled by the elements of a second cohomology group. It is also well known that the classification of crystallographic space groups falls within this extension framework, as does the so-called magnetic translation group in the Brown-Zak theory of an electron moving in a crystal under the additional influence of a uniform magnetic field. A theoretical labelling is one thing, but the actual computation of the second cohomology group is not usually that easy. The MacLane free group method offers a considerable reduction in the combinatorial explosion inherent in any direct attack on the problem. This method is reviewed, as are the two applications referred to above.