Triple Massey products over global fields (Q273562)

This is one of several papers by the authors devoted to the proof of parts of the Vanishing \(n\)-Massey Conjecture (abbr, (VMC)\(_ n\)) on Galois cohomology. Let \(K\) be a field containing a primitive \(p\)-th root of unity \(\varepsilon _ p\), for a given prime number \(p\), and let \(K _ {sep}\) be a separable closure of \(K\). For any element \(a\) of the multiplicative group \(K^\ast = K \setminus \{0\}\), denote by \(\chi_a\) the image of \(a\) under the Kummer map of \(K^\ast\) upon the continuous cohomology group \(H ^ 1(\mathcal{G}_ K, \mathbb F_p)\), where \(\mathbb F_p = \mathbb Z/p\mathbb Z\) is the residue class field with \(p\) elements, \(\mathcal{G}_K\) is the absolute Galois group of \(K\), i.e. the Galois group \(\mathcal{G}(K_{\text{sep}}/K)\); like any Galois group, \(\mathcal{G}_K\) is viewed as a profinite group with respect to the Krull topology, and \(\mathbb F_p\) is considered as a trivial discrete \(\mathcal{G}_K\)-module. An introductory section of the reviewed paper reviews briefly some basic facts about Massey products. Here the authors recall, among other things, the notion of a defining system of an \(n\)-fold Massey product, and the statement of (VMC)\(_ n\). The main result of the paper concerns only the case where \(n = 3\) and \(K\) is a global field with \(\varepsilon_p \in K\) and \(\text{char}(K) \neq 2\) (as usual, by a global field, we mean a finite extension of the field \(\mathbb Q\) of rational numbers or an algebraic function field in one variable over a finite field). It states that, for any \(a, b, c \in K^\ast\), the triple Massey product \(\langle \chi_a, \chi_b, \chi_c\rangle \) contains \(0\) whenever it is defined. When \(p = 2\), this result has recently been obtained by \textit{M. J. Hopkins} and \textit{K. G. Wickelgren} [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 219, No. 5, 1304--1319 (2015; Zbl 1323.55014)]. As a corollary to their main result, the authors of the present paper characterize in terms of Galois cohomology those abelian extensions of \(K\) with Galois groups of order \(p ^ 3\) and exponent \(p\), that are embeddable in Galois extensions of \(K\) with Galois groups isomorphic to the group \(\mathbb U_4(\mathbb F_p)\) of all unipotent \(4 \times 4\)-matrices with entries in \(\mathbb F_p\). The proof of the main result is based on technique of Galois embedding problems. Using a result of \textit{W. G. Dwyer} [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 6, 177--190 (1975; Zbl 0338.20057)], the authors show that \(\langle \chi _ a, \chi _ b, \chi _ c\rangle \) vanishes, if certain kinds of embedding problems are solvable. Next they translate the question of solvability of embedding problems to showing the vanishing of some degree \(2\) cohomology classes. Finally, they establish a local-global principle for the vanishing of the cohomology classes, and deduce the main theorem from its local version. In an addendum to its original version, the reviewed paper informs the reader of some new significant developments on its topic, due to \textit{I. Efrat} and \textit{E. Matzri} [``Triple Massey products and absolute Galois groups'', J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 19, No. 12, 3629--3640 (2017; Zbl 1425.12004), see also \url{arXiv:1412.7265}], \textit{E. Matzri} [``Triple Massey products in Galois cohomology'', J. Algebra 499, 272--280 (2018; Zbl 1425.12005), see also \url{arXiv:1411.4146}], and the authors (see [\textit{I. Efrat} and \textit{E. Matzri}, Can. Math. Bull. 58, No. 4, 730--740 (2015; Zbl 1360.16020); Adv. Math. 273, 242--270 (2015; Zbl 1334.12005)] (with an appendix by I. Efrat, J. Mináč and Nguyen Duy Tân).