Coincidences for maps of spaces with finite group actions (Q1764661)

Let \(G\) be a finite group, of order \(| G| \), acting freely on a space \(X\) and let \(f \colon X \to Y\) be a map. Then \(x \in X\) is called a \textit{\(G\)-coincidence} of \(f\) if \(f\) is constant on \(Gx\), the orbit of \(x\), that is, \(f(Gx)\) is a point of \(Y\). Let \(H\) be a subgroup of \(G\), then \(H\) acts on each \(G\)-orbit as follows: if \(y = gx\) and \(h \in H\), then \(hy = ghx\). Now \(x \in X\) is a \textit{\((H, G)\)-coincidence} of \(f\) if \(f\) is constant on each orbit of the action of \(H\) on \(Gx\). Since, if \(H\) is trivial, all the points of \(X\) are \((H, G)-concidences\) of any map, the concept is only of interest when \(H\) is not trivial. Suppose there is an integer \(m \geq 1\) such that \(H^{m+1}(G; \mathbb Z) \neq 0\) and \(H_i(X; \mathbb Z) = 0\) for \(0 < i < m\). The main result of the paper states that if \(X\) is a connected and pathwise connected metric space and \(Y\) is a finite \(k\)-dimensional CW-complex where \(m \geq | G| k\), then for any map \(f \colon X \to Y\) there is a nontrivial subgroup \(H\) of \(G\) for which \(f\) has an \((H, G)\)-coincidence. An example demonstrates that, if \(G\) is cyclic of prime order \(p\), then the inequality \(m \geq | G| k = pk\) cannot be improved. It is known that a finite group \(G\) that acts freely on the sphere \(S^m\) has the property \(H^{m+1}(G; \mathbb Z)\), so the result holds when \(X\) is a sphere, or a CW-complex of the homotopy type of a sphere, as the first three authors showed in an earlier paper [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 130, 3111-3115 (2002; Zbl 1001.55006).