Actions of 2-groups of bounded exponent on manifolds (Q2219273)

This article is related to \textit{W. Burnside}'s theorem on linear groups: A subgroup of \(\mathrm{GL}(d,\mathbb R)\) whose elements have bounded order is finite [Quart. J. 33, 230--238 (1902; JFM 33.0149.01)]. The author proves that a 2-group of bounded exponent acting faithfully and smoothly on a compact manifold must be finite. Actually the same is true for continuous actions rather than smooth ones, as the author learned after completion of the manuscript. To see this, one combines a theorem by \textit{D. Held} (any infinite 2-group contains an infinite abelian subgroup) [Acta Sci. Math. 27, 97--98 (1966; Zbl 0141.02301)] with a theorem by \textit{S. Weinberger} (\((\mathbb Z /p)^\infty\) does not act faithfully on a compact manifold) [in: Geometry, rigidity, and group actions. Selected papers based on the presentations at the conference in honor of the 60th birthday of Robert J. Zimmer, Chicago, IL, USA, September 2007. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 262--282 (2011; Zbl 1264.57013)]. So the present article is mainly interesting because of the method of proof, which employs Reeb stability: Define the germ group \(\mathcal{G}^r(d)\), \(r > 0\), as the group of \(C^r\)-diffeomorphisms of \(\mathbb{R} ^d\) fixing the origin modulo identification of maps that agree on some neighborhood of the origin. Then the Reeb stability theorem says that the homomorphism \(\mathcal{G}^r(d) \to\mathrm{GL}(d,\mathbb R)\) defined by taking derivatives at the origin has torsion-free kernel [\textit{W.-T. Wu} and \textit{G. Reeb}, Sur les espaces fibrés et les variétés feuilletées. I: Sur les classes caractéristiques des structures fibrées sphériques (Wu). II: Sur certaines propriétés topologiques des variétés feuilletées (Reeb). Actualités scientifiques et industrielles. 1183. Publ. Inst. Math. Univ. Strasbourg. XI. Paris: Hermann \& Cie. (1952; Zbl 0049.12602)]. Combining this with Burnside's theorem, one sees that the germ group does not contain an infinite torsion group of bounded exponent. This result is then used for an inductive proof of the main theorem in the smooth case.