String topology of finite groups of Lie type

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Grodal, Jesper, Lahtinen, Anssi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2020
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author Grodal, Jesper
Lahtinen, Anssi
author_facet Grodal, Jesper
Lahtinen, Anssi
contents We show that the mod $\ell$ cohomology of any finite group of Lie type in characteristic $p$ different from $\ell$ admits the structure of a module over the mod $\ell$ cohomology of the free loop space of the classifying space $BG$ of the corresponding compact Lie group $G$, via ring and module structures constructed from string topology, a la Chas-Sullivan. If a certain class in the homology of the finite group of Lie type, arising from the fundamental class of $G$, is nontrivial, then this module structure is free of rank one, providing a highly structured isomorphism between the two cohomologies. We verify the nontriviality of the class in a range of cases, including all simply connected untwisted classical groups over the field of $q$ elements, with $q$ congruent to 1 mod $\ell$. We also show how to deal with twistings and avoid the congruence condition by replacing $BG$ by a certain $\ell$-compact fixed point group depending on the order of $q$ mod $\ell$, without changing the finite group. With this modification, we know of no examples where the class is trivial, raising the possibility of a general structural answer to an open question of Tezuka, who speculated about the existence of an isomorphism between the two cohomology rings.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2003_07852
institution arXiv
publishDate 2020
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle String topology of finite groups of Lie type
Grodal, Jesper
Lahtinen, Anssi
Algebraic Topology
Group Theory
Representation Theory
20J06 (Primary) 20D06, 55R35, 55P50 (Secondary)
We show that the mod $\ell$ cohomology of any finite group of Lie type in characteristic $p$ different from $\ell$ admits the structure of a module over the mod $\ell$ cohomology of the free loop space of the classifying space $BG$ of the corresponding compact Lie group $G$, via ring and module structures constructed from string topology, a la Chas-Sullivan. If a certain class in the homology of the finite group of Lie type, arising from the fundamental class of $G$, is nontrivial, then this module structure is free of rank one, providing a highly structured isomorphism between the two cohomologies. We verify the nontriviality of the class in a range of cases, including all simply connected untwisted classical groups over the field of $q$ elements, with $q$ congruent to 1 mod $\ell$. We also show how to deal with twistings and avoid the congruence condition by replacing $BG$ by a certain $\ell$-compact fixed point group depending on the order of $q$ mod $\ell$, without changing the finite group. With this modification, we know of no examples where the class is trivial, raising the possibility of a general structural answer to an open question of Tezuka, who speculated about the existence of an isomorphism between the two cohomology rings.
title String topology of finite groups of Lie type
topic Algebraic Topology
Group Theory
Representation Theory
20J06 (Primary) 20D06, 55R35, 55P50 (Secondary)
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.07852