A Whitehead product for track groups. II

[For part I see Lect. Notes Math. 1370, 163-170 (1989; Zbl 0683.55008).] The generalized Whitehead product in the sense of \textit{M. Arkowitz} [Pac. J. Math. 12, 7-23 (1962; Zbl 0118.184)] is an operation [, ]: \(\pi\) (\(\Sigma\) A,X)\(\times \pi (\Sigma B,X)\to \pi (\Sigma (A\#B),X)\). Further we can consider an operation [, ]\({}^ W: \pi (\Sigma^ mW,X)\times \pi (\Sigma^ n,W,X)\to \pi (\Sigma^{m+n-1}W,X)\), which corresponds under the adjunction \(\pi (\Sigma^ mW,X)\to \pi_ m(X^ W)\) to the classical Whitehead product. The authors prove formulas relating these two operations and the classical Whitehead product. The formulas enable for example to detect nontriviality of many generalized Whitehead products. They present also a formula for [, ]\({}^ W\) with \(W=U\times V\) being a Cartesian product. In the last part of the paper the authors consider the Whitehead square \(\gamma =[\Sigma^ n1_ W,\Sigma^ n1_ W]\in \pi (\Sigma^{2n- 1}W,\Sigma^ nW)\), where W is a non-suspension space. They pose the problem of determining the order of this element. For \(W=S^ 0\), \(\gamma\) is the classical Whitehead square and the order of \(\gamma\) is known [\textit{J. F. Adams}, Ann. Math., II. Ser. 72, 20-104 (1960; Zbl 0096.174)]. For arbitrary non-suspension space the authors consider the problem for the moment to be out of reach. Nevertheless for \(W=S^ m\cup_{\alpha}e^{r+1}\), \(r\geq 2m-1\), they obtain necessary conditions for the order of \(\gamma\) to be infinite.

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