Spherical posets from commuting elements (Q721697)

Let \(G\) be a group and \(BG\) its classifying space. The author studies homotopy properties of posets of subgroups of \(G\) in the case of extraspecial groups. Let \(\mathcal{A}_{G}\) denote the poset of abelian subgroups of \(G\) and \(\mathcal{C}_{G}\mathcal{A}(G)\) be the poset of cosets of abelian subgroups of \(G\). An extraspecial \(p\)-group \(E\) fits as a central extension \(1\to \mathbb{Z}/p\to E \to V\to 1\) where \(p\) is a prime and \(V\) is an elementary abelian \(p\)-group of rank \(2r\). Let \(\pi\) be the kernel of the multiplication map \( E\times E\to E/[E,E]\). One of the main results is that the coset poset \(\mathcal{C}_{\pi}\mathcal{A}(E)\) is \(r\)-spherical. Let \(B(2,G)\) be the \((2,q)\) term given by the Adem-Cohen-Torres filtration of \(EG\) [\textit{A. Adem} et al., Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 152, No. 1, 91--114 (2012; Zbl 1250.57003)]. Moreover, let \(E(2,G)\to B(2,G)\) be the pullback of the universal principal \(G\)-bundle \(EG\to BG\) along the inclusion \(B(2,G)\subset EG\). As an application of the main result, the author proves: Theorem. Let \(E\) be an extraspecial-\(p\) group. There is a fibration sequence \(\vee^{d(p,r)} \mathbb{S}^{r}\to B(2,E)\to B\pi\) for a suitable integer \(d(p,r)\) and \(\pi\) as above. The author also applies the main theorem to the calculation of the cohomology of extraspecial groups in low degrees and to the construction of transitionally commutative principal \(G\)-bundles over \(\mathbb{S}^{r}\).