Relative phantom maps (Q2414165)

A map $f : X \rightarrow Y$ from a connected CW-complex $X$ to a space $Y$ is called an \textit{absolute phantom map} [\textit{C. A. McGibbon}, in: Handbook of algebraic topology. Amsterdam: North-Holland. 1209--1257 (1995; Zbl 0867.55013)] if its restriction to the skeleton $X_n$ is inessential for each $n$. (A map between spectra is also called a \textit{phantom map} if the induced map between homology theories is zero.) A map $f : X \rightarrow Y$ from a CW-complex $X$ is called a \textit{relative phantom map} from $X$ to $\varphi : B \rightarrow Y$ if the restriction of $f$ to any finite subcomplex of $X$ lifts to $B$ through $\varphi$, up to homotopy. A relative phantom map is just a phantom map if $B$ is a one point set. A relative phantom map $f : X \rightarrow Y$ from $X$ to $\varphi : B \rightarrow Y$ is called \textit{trivial} if the entire map $f$ has a lifting $\tilde f : X \rightarrow B$ with respect to $\varphi$, up to homotopy; that is, the following diagram \[ \begin{tikzcd} &B \ar[d, "{\varphi}"] \\ X \ar[ur, "{\tilde f}"] \ar[r,"{f}"'] &Y \end{tikzcd} \] is homotopy commutative. A relative phantom map from a suspension $\Sigma X$ to $\varphi : B \rightarrow Y$ is said to be \textit{relatively trivial} if it is a finite sum of trivial relative phantom maps and absolute phantom maps. Let Ph$(X,\varphi)$ be the set of all homotopy classes of relative phantom maps from $X$ to $\varphi : B \rightarrow Y$. The set Ph$(X,\varphi)$ is said to be \textit{trivial} if any relative phantom map from $X$ to $\varphi$ is trivial, and Ph$(\Sigma X,\varphi)$ is said to be \textit{relatively trivial} if every relative phantom map from $\Sigma X$ to $\varphi$ is relatively trivial. For a map $\varphi : B \rightarrow Y$, we put \[ q(\varphi) = \{ n \geq 2 ~|~ \varphi_* \otimes 1_{\mathbb{Q}} : \pi_n (B) \otimes \mathbb{Q} \longrightarrow \pi_n (Y) \otimes \mathbb{Q} ~\text{is not injective} \}. \] In this paper, the authors show that if $B$ and $Y$ are connected CW-complexes of finite type and $\varphi : B \rightarrow Y$ induces an isomorphism in $\pi(-)\otimes \mathbb{Q}$ for $n \geq 2$, then Ph$(X,\varphi)$ is trivial, and that if $B$ and $Y$ are connected CW-complexes of finite type and $H_{n-1} (X; \mathbb{Q}) = 0$ for $n \in q(\varphi)$, then Ph$(X,\varphi)$ is relatively trivial. The authors deal with the case that $\varphi$ is the inclusion map $i_n : \mathbb{R}P^n \hookrightarrow \mathbb{R}P^\infty$: If $H_{2n+1} (X; \mathbb{Q}) = 0$, then Ph$(X,i_{2n+1})$ is trivial. This is an interesting paper and there are too many nice results to be quoted here about relative phantom maps.