On the edge of the stable range (Q2182377)

A sequence of groups and inclusions \(G_1\hookrightarrow G_2\hookrightarrow G_3\hookrightarrow\cdots\) satisfies \textit{ homological stability} if for each homological degree \(d\) there exists an integer \(N_d\) such that the induced maps \(H_d(G_{n-1})\rightarrow H_d(G_n)\) are isomorphisms for \(n>N_d\). The paper under review proves a general homological stability theorem for families of \textit{groups with multiplication} and studies what happens in the last two unstable groups \(H_d(G_{n_d-2})\) and \(H_d(G_{n_d-1})\), what the author calls ``the edge of the stable range''. In the literature, the groups \(H_d(G_{n})\), for \(n\geq N_d\) are said to be in the \textit{stable range}. A familiy of \textit{groups with multiplication} is a sequence of groups \((G_p)_{p\geq 0}\) equipped with product maps \(G_p\times G_q\rightarrow G_{p+q}\) for \(p,q\geq 0\) satisfying some particular axioms which imply that \(\bigoplus_{p\geq 0}H_*(G_p;\mathbb{F})\) is a graded commutative ring. The stabilization maps are induced by the homomorphisms \(G_{n-1}\rightarrow G_n\) that take the product on the left with the neutral element of \(G_1\). To each such family, the author associates some splitting posets \(SP_n\) and proves a homological stability theorem (Theorem A) when the geometric realization \(|SP_n|\) is sufficiently connected. As an application, an improved stable range is obtained for automorphism groups of free groups (Theorem D) and classical homological stability for general linear groups of a commutative ring \(R\) is recovered. Furthermore, in the context of families of groups with multiplication, two new results about the last two homology groups outside the stable range are obtained. Theorem B describes the kernel of the surjection \(H_d(G_{N_d-1})\twoheadrightarrow H_d(G_{N_d})\) and Theorem C explains how to make the map \(H_d(G_{N_d-2})\rightarrow H_d(G_{N_d-1})\) into a surjection by adding a new summand to its domain. These results are applied to obtain information about the last and penultimate unstable groups for the family of automorphism groups of free groups (Theorem E) and the general linear groups of the integers (Theorem F) and of the field of order \(2\) (Theorem G). All results are obtained for homology with coefficients in a field \(\mathbb{F}\). The author emphasizes that this restriction is necessary due to the methods that are used; in particular, the application of the Künneth isomorphism while studying a novel filtration of a bar construction associated to the algebra \(\bigoplus_{p\geq 0}H_*(G_p;\mathbb{F})\).