The Massey vanishing conjecture for fourfold Massey products modulo \(2\) (Q6926511)

The paper under review is a new contribution to the study of Massey products in Galois cohomology, which is incorporated in the search for specific properties of absolute Galois groups (abbr., AGG) of fields that make it possible to distinct these groups from other profinite groups (see, e.g., [\textit{I. Efrat}, Adv. Math. 263, 389--411 (2014; Zbl 1346.20027); and \textit{J. Mináč} and \textit{N. D. Tân}, J. Number Theory 176, 76--112 (2017; Zbl 1422.11232)]). Let \(p\) be a prime number, \(\Gamma \) a profinite group, and \(A := C^*(\Gamma , \mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z})\) the differential graded \(\mathbb{F}_p\)-algebra of mod \(p\) continuous cochains of \(\Gamma \); the prime field \(\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}\) is viewed as a discrete \(\Gamma \) module, and the cohomology algebra \(H^*(A)\) is denoted by \(H^*(\Gamma , \mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z})\); when \(\Gamma \) is the absolute Galois group of a field \(F\), \(H^*(F, \mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z})\) stands for \(H^*(\Gamma, \mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z})\). \N\NThe \(n\)-fold Massey product \(\langle a_1, \ldots, a_n\rangle \) is defined to be a certain subset of \(H^2(A)\), for every integer \(n \ge 2\) and every system \(a_1, \ldots, a_n\) of elements of \(H^1(A)\); when \(n = 2\), it equals the singleton \(\{a_1a_2\}\), and in case \(n \ge 3\), it can be empty or contain more than one element. We say that \(\langle a_1, \ldots, a_n\rangle \) is defined if it is non-empty, and that it vanishes if it contains the zero element of \(H \sp 2(A)\). The formal definition of an \(n\)-fold Massey product can be found in [\textit{Y. Harpaz} and \textit{O. Wittenberg}, Duke Math. J. 172, No. 1, 1--41 (2023; Zbl 1521.11070)]. A characterization of this notion as well as of the non-emptiness of \(\langle a_1, \ldots, a_n\rangle\) and of the vanishing condition on \(\langle a_1, \ldots, a_n\rangle \) is provided by \textit{W. G. Dwyer}'s theorem [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 6, 177--190 (1975; Zbl 0338.20057)], which serves as a basis for the research in the reviewed paper. \N\NThe Massey Vanishing Conjecture (abbr., MVC), proposed by Mináč and Tân, predicts that for every field \(F\), every prime \(p\), every integer \(n \ge 3\) and all \(\chi \sb 1, \dots , \chi \sb n \in H \sp 1(F, \mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z})\), if the Massey product \(\langle \chi \sb 1, \dots , \chi \sb n\rangle \in H \sp 2(F, \mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z})\) is defined, then it vanishes. The conjecture has been proved by Harpaz-Wittenberg in the number field case (in: [Harpaz and Wittenberg, loc. cit.]), and by Efrat-Matzri and Mináč-Tân, for \(n = 3\), an arbitrary field \(F\) and every prime number \(p\) (see [\textit{J. Mináč} and \textit{N. D. Tân}, J. Lond. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 94, No. 3, 909--932 (2016; Zbl 1378.12002); \textit{J. Mináč} and \textit{N. D. Tân}, J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 19, No. 1, 255--284 (2017; Zbl 1372.12004); \textit{I. Efrat} and \textit{E. Matzri}, J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 19, No. 12, 3629--3640 (2017; Zbl 1425.12004)].\N\NThe main result of the paper under review shows that MVC is true for \(n = 4\), \(p = 2\), and all fields \(F\).\N\NAs emphasized by the authors, their proof of the main result is different from those of \textit{P. Guillot} and \textit{J. Mináč} [Adv. Math. 354, Article ID 106748, 40 p. (2019; Zbl 1447.12001)], and \textit{P. Guillot} et al. [Compos. Math. 154, No. 9, 1921--1959 (2018; Zbl 1455.12005)] and of Harpaz-Wittenberg in the number field case, as the tools used by them (local-global principles, Brauer-Manin obstruction) are not available over an arbitrary field.\N\NTheir own proof is preceded by a sketch outlining the main steps towards its implementation; in particular, it is explained how the proof reduces to a problem about Brauer groups. The proposition that solves the encountered problem is decisive for the proof of the main result of the paper. The authors explain the main ideas that have led them to the formulation and proof of this proposition which gives evidence of their new insight to the considered problem. They also discuss the relation between the reviewed paper and their previous article [\textit{A. Merkurjev} and \textit{F. Scavia}, ``Degenerate fourfold Massey products over arbitrary fields'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:2208.13011}].