The \(14\)-dimensional Kervaire invariant and the sporadic group \(M_{12}\) (Q1383462)

There is a 14-dimensional aspect to the sporadic Mathieu group \(M_{12}\). In the first place, 2-Sylow subgroups of \(M_{12}\) and \(G_2(q)\) for \(q\equiv 3,5\pmod 8\) are isomorphic and the exceptional Lie group \(G_2\) is 14-dimensional. Secondly, [in Proc. Symp. Pure Math. 63, 397-418 (1998; Zbl 0893.55008)]\ the author constructed a fibering of the form \(F\to B^+_{M_{12}}\to B_{G_2}\) with the fiber a 14-dimensional Poincaré duality space. \textit{N. Ray} [Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., III. Ser. 39, 253-275 (1979; Zbl 0412.57020)]\ showed that the natural homotopy class in \(\pi^s_{14}(S^0)=2^2=\langle\overline\kappa,\sigma^2\rangle\) associated to the reframing of \(G_2\) is \(\overline\kappa\), so one would expect that there is some way in which a homotopy class in \(\pi^s_{14}(S^0)\) could be associated to \(F\), and this class should be \(\sigma^2\) or \(\sigma^2+\overline\kappa\). In other words, this class should represent an element in \(\pi^s_{14}(S^0)\) of Kervaire invariant one. Indeed, it is the object of this note to show just that. There is a natural embedding \(h\colon M_{12}\subset S_{12}\) that gives rise to a composition map \(B_h\colon B^+_{M_{12}}\to B^+_{S_{12}}\hookrightarrow B^+_{S_\infty}\simeq Q(S^0)\) which, at the homotopy level induces a map \(B_{h,\ast}\colon\pi_{\ast}(B^+_{M_{12}})\to\pi^s_{\ast}(S^0)\). The main result of this note is the following theorem: there is an element \(A\in\pi^s_{14}(B_{M_{12}})\) with Hurewicz image \([F]\), the orientation class of the fiber \(F\) above, and every such \(A\) has image \(B_h(A)=\sigma_7^2\) or \(\sigma_7^2+\overline\kappa\) under the composition above.