Open Collections

Group actions on homotopy spheres

University of British Columbia

In the first part of the thesis we discuss the rank conjecture of Benson and Carlson. In particular, we prove that if G is a finite p-group of rank 3 and with p odd, or if G is a central extension of abelian p-groups, then there is a free finite G-CW-complex homotopy equivalent to the product of rk(G) spheres; where rk(G) is the rank of G. We also treat an extension of the rank conjecture to groups of finite virtual cohomological dimension. In this context, for p a fixed odd prime, we show that there is an infinite group L satisfying the two following properties: every finite subgroup G<L is a p-group with rk(G)<3 and for every finite dimensional L-CW-complex homotopy equivalent to a sphere, there is at least one isotropy subgroup H<L with rk(H)=2. In the second part of the thesis we discuss the study of homotopy G-spheres up to Borel equivalence. In particular, we provide a new approach to the construction of finite homotopy G-spheres up to Borel equivalence, and we apply it to give some new examples for some semi-direct products.

Text

2011-07-14

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/35981

Mathematics

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/