On the homology of configuration spaces (Q581877)

The authors determine the additive structure of the homology of certain configuration spaces. In particlar, let \(C^ k(M)\) or \(F(M,k)/\Sigma_ k\) denote the configuration space of unordered k-tuples of distinct points in a space M. If M. is a smooth compact manifold, the authors determine the homology of \(C^ k(M)\) in the following cases: (1) coefficients are taken in any field and M is odd dimensional and (2) coefficients are taken in \({\mathbb{Z}}/2{\mathbb{Z}}\) and M is even dimensional. These results agree with previous results obtained by the reviewer when M is Euclidean space. The mod 2 results overlap with some recent results of P. Löffler and J. Milgram. Some analogous results for even dimensional manifolds will appear in work of C.-F. Bödigheimer, the reviewer, and J. Milgram.