On path-components of the mapping spaces \(M(\mathbb {S}^m,\mathbb {F}P^n)\) (Q1728391)

Given spaces \(X\) and \(Y\), the mapping space \(\text{map}(X, Y)\) is a topological space consisting of continuous maps from \(X\) to \(Y\). In general \(\text{map}(X, Y)\) is not connected and its path-components have different homotopy types. Counting the number of homotopy types of path-components of \(\text{map}(X, Y)\) is a classical problem in homotopy theory and it has applications to many research topics. For example, gauge groups, which are topological groups consisting of \(G\)-equivariant automorphisms of principal \(G\)-bundles over a space \(X\), are homotopy equivalent to the loop spaces of path-components of \(\text{map}(X, BG)\). Distinguishing homotopy types of path-components of \(\text{map}(X, BG)\) is important to study the classifcation of gauge groups up to homotopy. In this paper the authors aim at counting the numbers of distinct homotopy types of path-components of mapping spaces \(\text{map}(S^m,\mathbb{FP}^n)\) from the \(m\)-sphere to real, complex or quaternionic projective spaces. In Section 1 they introduce Gottlieb groups \(G_m(X)<\pi_m(X)\), and describe how \(G_m(X)\) restricts homotopy equivalence between path-components of \(\text{map}(S^m,X)\) according to results of Whitehead, Yoon and Lupton-Smith. In Sections 2 to 4 they compute \(G_m(\mathbb{FP}^n)\) for \(\mathbb{F}=\mathbb{R},\mathbb{C}\) and \(\mathbb{H}\), and estimate the number of distinct homotopy types of path-components of \(\text{map}(S^m,\mathbb{FP}^n)\). In Section 5, the authors consider \(\text{map}(\Sigma^m,\mathbb{FP}^n)\), where \(\Sigma^m\) is a homology \(m\)-sphere. They compare the group \(G(\Sigma,\mathbb{FP}^n)\) of cyclic maps from \(\Sigma^m\) to \(\mathbb{FP}^n\), which is a generalized notion of \(G_m(\mathbb{FP}^n)\), with \(\pi_m(\mathbb{FP}^n)\) and show that the number of homotopy types of path-components is bounded by the order of \(\pi_{m+1}(\mathbb{FP}^n)/G_{m+1}(\mathbb{FP}^n)\) for most cases.