Truncated projective spaces, Brown-Gitler spectra and indecomposable \(\mathcal{A}(1)\)-modules (Q2253721)

Let \(M\) be a reduced bounded-below \(\mathcal{A}(1)\)-module where \(\mathcal{A}(1)\) is the subalgebra of the mod 2 Steenrod algebra generated by \(Sq^1\) and \(Sq^2\). Here we call \(M\) a reduced module if \(Sq^2Sq^2Sq^2\) acts on it trivially and think of \(M\) as being bounded-below if it has an expression of the form \(M\cong F\oplus M^{\text{red}}\) where \(F\) is a free \(\mathcal{A}(1)\)-module and \(M^{\text{red}}\) denotes its reduced part. The author uses the Margolis cohomnology groups \(H^*(M, Q_j)\) (\(j\)=0, 1) in order to state the main result (Theorem 3.5) where \(Q_0=Sq^1\) and \(Q_1=[Sq^2, Sq^1]\). These two operations constitute an exterior algebra \(E(1)=\Lambda(Q_0, Q_1)\) and hence yield a chain complex \(\cdots \to M \to M \to M \to \cdots\) whose boundary maps are given by multiplication by \(Q_j\) (\(j\)=0, 1). The above cohomology groups are defined as those of their dual complexes. A morphism \(f : M \to N\) is called a stable isomorphism when \(H^*(f, Q_j)\) becomes an isomorphism. The Picard group \(\text{Pic}_{\mathcal{A}(1)}\) is the group of stable isomorphism classes of stable invertible \(\mathcal{A}(1)\)-modules with respect to \(\otimes\) and it is known that this has a module structure such that \[ \text{Pic}_{\mathcal{A}}(1)\cong \mathbb{Z}^{\oplus 2}\oplus\mathbb{Z}/2. \] The introduction explains the main result mentioned above as follows: ``If \(M\) has an isolated lowest dimesional Margolis cohomology class, then there exists an inclusion of a small member of \(\text{Pic}_{\mathcal{A}(1)}\) into \(M\) which caries this class''. To put it concretely, for example, for one of the three generators of \(\text{Pic}_\mathcal{A}(1)\) it states that, roughly speaking, if \(M=M^{\geq -3}\) and \(M^{-3}\neq 0\), then there is a canonical inclusion \[ [M^{-3}]\otimes \Sigma^3\Omega^{-1}\mathbb{F}_2 \hookrightarrow M \] and the composite \(M^{-3} \overset{Sq^1Sq^2}{\longrightarrow} {M^0} H^0(M, Q_1)\) is a non-trivial monomorphism and besides the morphism \(Sq^1Sq^2\) is factorized through \(\text{Ker} \;Q_1\). Using the techniques discussed therein this paper gives a classification (Theorem 6.12) of finite indecomposable \(\mathcal{A}(1)\)-modules up to stable isomorphism. The author says that this algebraic result is the key ingredient in the proof of various fundamental results in the stable category of bounded-below \(\mathcal{A}\)(1)-modules and this approach has been motivated by previous work of the author [Algebr. Geom. Topol. 14, No. 5, 2693--2720 (2014; Zbl 1306.19002)].