Small \(H\) spaces related to Moore spaces (Q1910456)

In their investigation of the exponents for odd torsion in the homotopy groups of spheres, \textit{F. R. Cohen}, \textit{J. C. Moore} and \textit{J. A. Neisendorfer} [Ann. Math., II. Ser. 109, 121-168 (1979; Zbl 0405.55018)] introduced and analyzed some new famlies of spaces related to Moore spaces. In particular, let \(E^2: S^{2n-1} \to\Omega^2 S^{2n+1}\) denote the double suspension and \(p^r: S^{2n-1} \to S^{2n-1}\) the map of degree \(p^r\). Then the mod \(p^r\) Moore space is the space \(P^k (p^r)= S^{k-1} \cup_{p^r} e^k\) and a decomposition of the loop space \(\Omega P^{2n+1} (p^r)\) leads to a mapping \(\pi_n: \Omega^2 S^{2n+1} \to S^{2n-1}\) that factors the map of degree \(p^r\), that is, \(p^r\simeq \pi_n\circ E^2\) and \(\Omega^2 (p^r) \simeq E^2 \circ \pi_n\). The point of this paper is to investigate properties of the homotopy fibre of \(\pi_n\) for primes \(p\geq 5\). The analysis is in terms of spaces \(T^{2n-1} (p^r)\) introduced by \textit{D. Anick} [Differential algebras in topology (1993; Zbl 0770.55001)] and constructed from the spaces \(P^{2n}(p^r)\) by killing off the irrelevant homotopy. The spaces \(T^{2n-1} (p^r)\) are seen to be limits of a sequence of spaces \(T_k^{2n-1} (p^r)\), each of which is an atomic \(H\)-space. There is an \(H\)-fibration sequence (Theorem A): \[ \cdots\to \Omega^2 S^{2n+1} @>\pi_n>> S^{2n-1} \to T^{2n-1} (p^r)\to \Omega S^{2n+1} \] from which one sees that the fibre of the \(\pi_n\) is a loop space, and which provides an EHP spectral sequence for the Moore space spectrum predicted by \textit{B. Gray} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 340, 595-616 (1993; Zbl 0820.55005)]. One of the remarkable properties of the spaces \(T^{2n-1}(p^r)\) is given by Theorem B: If \(X\) is an \(H\)-space of finite type and \(p^{r+i-1} \pi_{2np^i-1} (X;\mathbb{Z}_{p^{r+1}}) = 0\) for all \(i\geq 1\), then any map \(\varphi: P^{2n} (p^r) \to X\) has an extension \(\widetilde \varphi: T^{2n-1} (p^r)\to X\). The homology of the spaces \(T^{2n-1} (p^r)\) is determined explicitly -- with mod \(p\) coefficients, the homology is a free commutative associative algebra on generators \(u\) and \(v\) of dimensions \(2n-1\) and \(2n\) with \(\beta^{(r)} v=u\) where \(\beta^{(r)}\) is the \(r\)th order Bockstein. The methods of construction are based on (1) an analysis of the spaces from the work of Cohen, Moore, and Neisendorfer by Anick [op. cit.] and the improvement of certain fibrations leading to a family of spaces \(D_k\); (2) The analysis of Adams-Hilton models and their associated differential graded Lie algebras that lead to a family of co-\(H\)-spaces \(G_k\); (3) The construction of spaces \(T_k\) that are retracts of \(\Omega G_k\) and for which the spaces \(G_k\) are retracts of \(\Sigma T_k\). The initial spaces are given by \(G_0=D_0= P^{2n+1}(p^r)\) and in many cases the authors establish that new spaces constructed have the homotopy type of simply connected finite type wedges of mod \(p^s\) Moore spaces for restricted values of \(s\). Applications of these ideas for stable homotopy are examined in \S 5 including some conjectures about the spaces \(T^n(p)\). There is an appendix including some basic facts about \(H\)-spaces and co-\(H\)-spaces, as well as some pretty applications of the Serre spectral sequence. The arguments are often technical and delicate, but they demonstrate the breadth of application of Adams-Hilton models in unstable homotopy theory.