Homology roses and the D(2)-problem (Q498115)

Let \(R\) be a commutative ring (e.g. \(R=\mathbb{Z}/p\)) . An \(R\)-homology rose with \(m\)-petals is a connected CW complex \(X\) satisfying \(H_{1}(X;R)=R^{m}\) and \(H_{i}(X;R)=0\) for \(i\geq 2.\) In the article under review, the authors prove that if a finite CW complex \(X\) has a free \((\mathbb{Z}/p)^{r}\)-action, then the quotient space \(X/(\mathbb{Z}/p)^{r}\) is a mod-\(p\) homology rose if and only if \(X\) is a mod-\(p\) homology rose. As an application, it is proved that if \(X\) is a regular \((\mathbb{Z}/p)^{r}\)-cover of a connected CW complex \(B\) with \(H_{2}(\pi _{1}(B);\mathbb{Z}/p)=0, \) then \(\sum_{i\geq 0}b_{i}(X;\mathbb{Z}/p)\geq 2^{r}.\) This supports a conjecture of Carlsson. In the end, the authors discuss a possible way to search counterexamples to Wall's \(D(2)\)-problem.