TORSION IN THE COHOMOLOGY OF FINITE H-SPACES (Q4794296)

Using the path-loop fibration, \(\Omega X \to PX \to X\), the loops on a space appear as the pullback of a fibration, and so the Eilenberg-Moore spectral sequence can be applied to compute (1) \(H^*(\Omega X; \mathbb{Z}_p)\) from the \(E_2\)-term, \(E_2 \cong \text{Tor}_{H^*(X;\mathbb{Z}_p)} (\mathbb{Z}_p, \mathbb{Z}_p)\), or (2) \(H_*(\Omega X; \mathbb{Z}_p)\) from the \(E^2\)-term, \(E^2 \cong \text{Cotor}^{H_*(X;\mathbb{Z}_p)} (\mathbb{Z}_p, \mathbb{Z}_p)\). Suppose \(X\) is a simply-connected finite H-space. Following \textit{G. H. Toomer} [Math. Z. 138, 123-143 (1974; Zbl 0284.55012)], we can define the mod~\(p\) filtration length of \(X\) to be the smallest \(l\) such that \(E^\infty_{m,\ast} = 0\) for \(m \geq l +1\) in the first quadrant Moore spectral sequence of bicommutative, biassociative Hopf algebras converging to \(H_*(X; \mathbb{Z}_p)\) with \(E^2 \cong \text{Tor}^{H_*(\Omega X; \mathbb{Z}_p)}(\mathbb{Z}_p, \mathbb{Z}_p)\). The cup length of \(X\), denoted \(c_p(X)\) is the largest integer \(L\) such that there exist \(x_i \in H^+(X;\mathbb{Z}_p)\) with \(x_1 \cup \cdots x_L \neq 0\). The main theorem of this paper relates these numerical invariants of such an H-space to the collapse of the Eilenberg-Moore spectral sequences. In particular, \(f_p(X) - c_p(X) = 0\) is equivalent to the vanishing of the kernel of the suspension map \(\sigma \colon QH^*(X;\mathbb{Z}_p) \to PH^{\ast -1}(\Omega X; \mathbb{Z}_p)\), which in turn is equivalent to the collapse at \(E^2\) or \(E_2\) of the spectral sequences (1) and (2). Using Lin's results on Steenrod connections [\textit{J. P. Lin}, Steenrod connections and connectivity in H-spaces, Mem. Am. Math. Soc. 369 (1987; Zbl 0625.55004)], the author observes that the collapse holds mod~2 for a simply-connected finite H-space with associative mod~2 homology ring. The condition \(f_p(X) -c_p(X) = 0\) holds for odd primes \(p\) if and only if \(H^*(X; \mathbb{Z})\) has no \(p\)-torsion. The author closes with an analysis of \(n\)-connected finite H-spaces for which \(\dim QH^*(X;\mathbb{Z}_p) \leq m\). Then for odd primes \(p \geq (m-1)/n\), one finds \(H^*(X; \mathbb{Z})\) is \(p\)-torsion free.