The decomposition of the loop space of the mod 2 Moore space (Q945644)

This paper is a continuation of the work of the last two authors on the decomposition of the loop space of suspensions and Moore spaces at a given prime. The odd prime case being well understood, the aim here is to identify the ``bottom'' indecomposable piece in the product decomposition of the loop space of an odd dimensional Moore space at the prime \(2\). This is the piece \(T(P^{2n}(2))\) first constructed in \textit{F. R. Cohen, J. C. Moore} and \textit{J. A. Neisendorfer} [Algebraic topology and algebraic K-theory, Proc. Conf., Princeton, NJ (USA), Ann. Math. Stud. 113, 3--34 (1987; Zbl 0715.55010)]. In the present work, the authors identify this piece with the space \(A^{min}(P^{2n}(2))\), where \(A^{min}(X)\) is the ``minimal retract'' appearing in the decomposition of the loop space of the suspension of \(X\) as constructed in the second and the third authors' paper [Mem. Am. Math. Soc. 701, 109 p. (2000; Zbl 0964.55012)]. They establish this result by proving that \(A^{min}(P^{2n}(2))\) is indecomposable up to homotopy and this follows from knowing that in homology the corresponding factor \(A^{min}(V)\) in the tensor algebra on \(V\); with \(V\) the reduced homology of \(P^{2n}(2)\) (as a graded vector space over the field with two elements), is indecomposable as a coalgebra over the mod-\(2\) Steenrod algebra. The decomposition of loop spaces of Moore spaces at primes \(p\) has led in the past to the identification of exponents for the \(p\)-torsion of the homotopy groups of odd spheres, see \textit{F. R. Cohen, J. C. Moore} and \textit{J. A. Neisendorfer} [Ann. Math. (2) 109, 121--168 (1979; Zbl 0405.55018)]. When \(p>2\) sharp exponents are known and for \(p=2\) they are only conjectured. The decomposition in this paper has not led yet to a homotopy exponent for \(P^{2n+1}(2)\) or to an improved bound for the exponent of the \(2\)-torsion of the homotopy group of odd spheres.