Group actions and group extensions (Q4955705)

Let \(0\to M\to\Gamma\to G\to 1\) be an extension of a finite group \(G\) by an Abelian group \(M\). It is called special if its restrictions to the cyclic subgroups of \(G\) do not split. The main result of the paper is Theorem 3.2. Let \(G\) be a finite group, and let \(M=Z^k\) in the extension above. If \(\Gamma\) is torsion free, then \(r_p(G)\leq k\) for all primes \(p\mid|G|\). Here \(r_p(G)\) denotes the \(p\)-rank of \(G\), the largest integer \(r\) such that \((Z/p)^r \subseteq G\). As an application, the author obtains some restrictions on finite groups which can act freely on a product of spheres or on a product of real projective spaces. In particular, if \((Z/p)^r\) acts freely on \((S^1)^k\), then \(r\leq k\). The results are contained in the authors PhD dissertation under supervision of Alejandro Adem (see e.g. \textit{A. Adem} and \textit{D. J. Benson}, Math. Z. 228, No. 4, 705-712 (1998; Zbl 0913.57020)].