On the structure of the \(RO(G)\)-graded homotopy of \(H \underline{M}\) for cyclic \(p\)-groups (Q6919367)

One of the most important aspects of a generalized cohomology theory is its \(\mathbb{Z}\)-graded coefficient ring: the cohomology of a point. The article being reviewed takes place in the \(G\)-equivariant world, for \(G = C_{2^n}\) a cyclic group of order \(2^n\), where coefficient rings of cohomology theories of \(G\)-spaces are naturally graded by the representation ring \(RO(G)\). Even for so-called \textit{Bredon} cohomology -- the \(G\)-equivariant analogue of ordinary cohomology -- with coefficients in a fixed Green functor \(M\) rather than in a ring, the \(RO(G)\)-graded coefficient ring is \textit{not} concentrated in degree zero. This phenomenon is unique to the equivariant world, and there is already a solid body of work in equivariant homotopy theory dedicated to computation of information contained in \(RO(G)\)-graded degrees of Bredon cohomology; the choices of \(G\) and of coefficients are typically heavily constrained in such works and the article under review is particularly rich for the generality both of \(G\) and of coefficients that it is able to consider.\N\NThe article under review computes the additive and multiplicative structure of the coefficient ring of an arbitrary Bredon cohomology theory in a wide range of \(RO(G)\)-graded degrees explicitly in terms of the input coefficients \(M\). It is worth reading to anyone looking for an example of computations in equivariant homotopy theory. Additionally, the authors emphasize the potential for their computations to aid in understanding the slice spectral sequence, an important computational tool famously used by Hill, Hopkins, and Ravenel to resolve the Kervaire invariant one problem.\N\NOne key method of the paper is induction through the subgroup lattice of \(C_{2^n}\). In the coefficient ring, the authors establish some periodicity-type properties of multiplication by a certain element \(a_\lambda\), the Euler class of the faithful irreducible \(C_{2^n}\)-representation. Crucially, these periodicity properties allow the authors to propagate structure through a wide range of \(RO(G)\)-graded degrees. This reduces their work to a smaller range of computations which the authors manage to bootstrap up from the cases in which \(n\) is smaller.