Cohomology algebra of orbit spaces of free involutions on some Wall manifolds (Q2115185)

Can a topological group \(G\) act freely on a topological space \(X\), and if so, what is the cohomology of the orbit space \(X/G\)? For specific groups and spaces, this question has a rich history and led to deep and important results in topology. The authors answer this question in a specific setting. Theorem. Let \(X\) be a compact Hausdorff space with the mod \(2\) cohomology of a Wall manifold \(Q(1,n)\), with \(n \ge 3\). Suppose that \(G = \mathbb Z_2\) acts freely on \(X\), and the induced action on the mod \(2\) cohomology is trivial. Then \[ H^*(X/G; \mathbb Z_2) \cong \frac{\mathbb Z_2 [\alpha, \beta, \gamma, \delta]}{(\alpha^3, \beta^3, \gamma^2, \beta^2+\beta\gamma, \delta^{\frac{n+1}{2}})}, \] where \(\deg \alpha = \deg \beta = \deg \gamma = 1\) and \(\deg \delta = 4\).