A\(_{\infty}\)-method in Lusternik-Schnirelmann category (Q1601659)

A generalization of Berstein-Hilton invariants is defined and used as obstructions not to increase the Lyusternik-Shnirel'man category by attaching a cell. More precisely, consider the Stasheff fibrations \(E^{m+1} (\Omega X)\to P^m(\Omega X)\) with fibre \(\Omega X\) contractible in \(E^{m+1} (\Omega X)\), and where \(E^{m+1}(\Omega X)\) has the homotopy type of the \((m+1)\)-fold unreduced join of \(\Omega X\). Let \(V\) be a homotopy co-H-space and \(f:V\to X\) be a continuous map with \(\text{cat} X=m\). Each section \(\sigma\) of the Ganea map \(P^m(\Omega X)\to P^\infty(\Omega X)\cong X\) defines an element \(H^\sigma (f)\) in \([V,E^{m+1} (\Omega X)]\). The higher Hopf invariants of \(f\) are then defined by \[ H^S(f)=\{H^\sigma (f)|,\;\sigma\text{ section of the Ganea map }\}; \] \[ {\mathcal H}^S(f)= \{\Sigma^\infty H^\sigma(f)\}\subset \{V,E^{m+1} (\Omega X)\}. \] Denote by \(W\) the homotopy cofiber of \(f\) and by \(i:X\to W\) the natural injection. The main results of the paper can now be written: Theorem 1: \(\text{cat} W\leq \text{cat} X\) if \(H^S(f)\) contains the trivial element. Theorem 2: Suppose \(V\) is \((e-1)\)-connected, \(X\) is \((d-1)\)-connected, \(e\geq d\geq 2\), \(\text{cat} X=m\geq 1\) and \(\dim X\leq dm+d-2\), then there is up to homotopy only one section \(\sigma\), and \(\text{cat} W=m+1\) if \(E^{m+1} (\Omega i)\circ H^S(f)\neq \{0\}\). Theorem 3: With the same conditions as in Theorem 2, suppose \(\dim V\leq d\text{ cat }X+e-2\), then Ganea's conjecture for \(W\) \((\text{cat} W\times S^n=\text{cat} W+1)\) is true if and only if \({\mathcal H}^S(f) \neq \{0\}\). As an application, conditions are given to determine the LS category of spheres-bundles-over-spheres. Consequently, a closed manifold is found not to satisfy Ganea's conjecture, and another closed manifold \(N\) is found to have the same category as its punctured submanifold \(N\smallsetminus\{pt\}\).