On a Van Kampen theorem for Hawaiian groups (Q1646556)

Given \(n \geq 1\), let \(\mathbb{HE}^n\) denote the \(n\)-dimensional Hawaiian Earring, i.e., a metric wedge of a countable collection of ever smaller \(n\)-spheres. The \(n\)th Hawaiian group of a space \(X\) was defined by \textit{U. H. Karimov} and \textit{D. Repovš} in [Russ. Math. Surv. 61, No. 5, 987--989 (2006; Zbl 1151.55009); translation from Usp. Mat. Nauk 61, No. 5, 185--186 (2006)] as the group of homotopy classes of based maps \(\mathbb{HE}^n \to X\) equipped with the component-wise multiplication. The group seems to capture certain local anomalies in spaces. For example, the group may be non-trivial even for contractible spaces, as is the case with the cone over the Hawaiian Earring and an appropriately chosen basepoint. In this paper the authors study Hawaiian groups of spaces obtained as a wedge of two spaces. They first describe a structure property, which expresses a Hawaiian group of a wedge as a product of two parts: a local part arising from the Hawaiian group of a neighborhood of the wedge point; and the global part, arising from the homotopy groups of the wedge. Second, they use this result to express the \(n\)th Hawaiian group of a semilocally \(n\)-simply connected space as a sum. At last, they describe the \(n\)th Hawaiian groups of the \(n\)th Griffiths space.