Floer homology and covering spaces (Q1637311)

The results of the paper are different versions and corollaries of inequalities between ranks of Floer homologies of two rational homology spheres such that one is a prime power sheeted covering of the other. The motivating inequality is a classical result of Siegel relating mod prime Betti numbers of a space and its fixed point set under the action of a group of prime power order; see [\textit{P. A. Smith}, Ann. Math. (2) 39, 127--164 (1938; Zbl 0018.33204)]. Given a prime power sheeted covering of two rational homology spheres, the first inequality is between the Betti numbers (modulo the same prime) of the \(S^1\)-equivariant suspension spectra associated to the rational homology spheres (defined in [\textit{C. Manolescu}, Geom. Topol. 7, 889--932 (2003; Zbl 1127.57303)]). The proof relies on applying the classical Smith inequality mentioned above to the Conley indices in the construction of the spectra. This inequality translates to an inequality between the mod prime monopole Floer homologies of these spaces (as these can be recovered from the above spectra; see [\textit{T. Lidman} and \textit{C. Manolescu}, The equivalence of two Seiberg-Witten Floer homologies. Paris: Société Mathématique de France (SMF) (2018; Zbl 1415.57002)]). Similarly, through other results, under the same assumptions, one can derive inequalities between the Heegaard-Floer homologies (hat version and reduced) of the spaces. One corollary is that for a prime \(p\), a modulo \(p\) \(L\)-space can be a \(p\)-power sheeted cover of a modulo \(p\) \(L\)-space only. Finally, based on these inequalities and their corollaries, several results are obtained about when a rational Dehn surgery along a knot can be a prime power sheeted cover of another rational Dehn surgery of another knot.