Syzygies in equivariant cohomology in positive characteristic (Q2126303)

In previous papers the authors studied the Borel-equivariant cohomology of spaces with a torus \(T=(S^1)^r\) action and their relation with the Atiyah-Bredon sequence and syzygies (a notion from commutative algebra) [\textit{C. Allday} et al., Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 366, No. 12, 6567--6589 (2014; Zbl 1304.55005) and Algebr. Geom. Topol. 14, No. 3, 1339--1375 (2014; Zbl 1321.55006)]. Coefficients were taken in a field of characteristic zero. This paper develops the theory where the coefficients are now taken in a field \(\Bbbk\) of characteristic \(p>0\) for not only actions of tori but also \(p\)-tori \(G=(\mathbb{Z}_p)^r\subset T\). The general strategy is to deduce the results about \(G\)-equivariant cohomology from those about \(T\)-equivariant cohomology. The authors characterize the exactness of the Chang-Skjelbred sequence (under a mild hypothesis on the \(G\)-space \(X\)) \[ 0\to H^*_G(X; \Bbbk)\to H^*_G(X_0; \Bbbk)\to H^{*+1}_G(X_1, X_0; \Bbbk), \] where \(X_0=X^G\) is the fixed point set and \(X_1\subset X\) is the union of all orbits with at most \(p\) elements. Since the polynomial ring \(R=H^*(BT; \Bbbk)\) injects into \(H^*(BG; \Bbbk)\), \(H^*_G(X; \Bbbk)\) naturally becomes an \(R\)-module. \textit{T. Chang} and \textit{T. Skjelbred} [Ann. Math. (2) 100, 307--321 (1974; Zbl 0249.57023)] proved that the sequence is exact if \(H^*_G(X; \Bbbk)\) is free over \(R\). This gives a powerful tool to compute \(H^*_G(X; \Bbbk)\) out of the equivariant 1-skeleton \(X_1\) effectively used in GKM-theory. For \(p\)-tori, reflexive \(R\)-modules are exactly the second syzygies and the authors prove that the Chang-Skjlebred sequence is exact if and only if \(H^*_G(X; \Bbbk)\) is a reflexive \(R\)-module.