Topological actions of wreath products

Abstract: Let

G

and

H

be two groups acting on path connected topological spaces

X

and

Y

respectively. Assume that

H

is finite of order

m

and the quotient maps

p : X o X / G

and

q : Y o Y / H

are regular coverings. Then it is well-known that the wreath product

G w r H

naturally acts on

W = X^{m} i m e s Y

, so that the quotient map

r : W o W / (G w r H)

is also a regular covering. We give an explicit description of

p i_{1} (W / (G w r H))

as a certain wreath product

p i_{1} (X / G), w r_{p a r t i a l_{Y}} p i_{1} (Y / H)

corresponding to a non-effective action of

p i_{1} (Y / H)

on the set of maps

H o p i_{1} (X / G)

via the boundary homomorphism

p a r t i a l_{Y} : p i_{1} (Y / H) o H

of the covering map

q

. Such a statement is known and usually exploited only when

X

and

Y

are contractible, in which case

W

is also contractible, and thus

W / (G w r H)

is the classifying space of

G w r H

. The applications are given to the computation of the homotopy types of orbits of typical smooth functions

f

on orientable compact surfaces

M

with respect to the natural right action of the groups

m a t h c a l D (M)

of diffeomorphisms of

M

on

m a t h c a l C^{i n f t y} (M, m a t h b b R)

.

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