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# Fixity and Free Group Actions on Products of Spheres

## 1. Introduction

A well known result in topology is the characterization of those finite groups that can act freely on a sphere, namely groups with either cyclic or generalized quaternion Sylow subgroups and such that every involution is central (see ). Free linear actions on spheres are the most basic examples. These can be constructed as follows: a subgroup $`G`$ of $`U(n)`$ acts on the homogeneous space $`𝕊^{2n1}U(n)/U(n1)`$; if no conjugate of $`G`$ intersects $`U(n1)`$ non–trivially, then this gives rise to a free linear action on the sphere.

In this paper we consider the situation for products of spheres. Here the problem is much more complex, and in particular we still do not have a characterization of those finite groups that can act freely on a product of two spheres. A key new ingredient in our approach is the use of the $`G`$ actions on the homogeneous spaces $`U(n)/U(k)`$; our view is that these are also important building blocks for actions of groups of larger rank. On the algebraic side, group theorists have studied representations such that the action of $`G`$ on $`U(n)/U(nf1)`$ is free; the smallest such $`f`$ is called the *fixity* of the representation. In particular there is an explicit classification of those finite $`p`$–groups having a representation of fixity $`f<p`$.

Our main results are in the direction of propagating the natural free actions on $`U(n)/U(k)`$ to free actions on an actual product of spheres. For low fixity we can use explicit arguments involving equivariant vector bundles; in the case of fixity equal to one we have

###### Theorem 1.1.

A subgroup $`GU(n)`$ of fixity one acts freely and smoothly on $`X=𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{4n5}`$. In particular if $`G`$ is any finite subgroup of $`SU(3)`$, then it will act freely and smoothly on $`𝕊^5\times 𝕊^7`$.

From this we conclude that $`A_5`$, $`SL_3(𝔽_2)`$ and the triple cover $`3A_6`$ all act freely and smoothly on $`𝕊^5\times 𝕊^7`$.

Using the explicit classification of rank two $`p`$–groups (see ) as well as the description of $`p`$–groups of fixity equal to one in  we see that our result can be used to construct free actions for the exceptional (i.e. non–metacyclic) $`p`$–groups on the list. Combining this with the well–known fact that metacyclic groups act freely on a product of two linear spheres, we obtain

###### Theorem 1.2.

Let $`p>3`$ be a prime. Then a $`p`$–group $`P`$ acts freely and smoothly on $`𝕊^m\times 𝕊^n`$ for some $`m,n>0`$ if and only if $`P`$ does not contain $`/p\times /p\times /p`$ as a subgroup.

This geometric result improves on the homotopy theoretic version recently established in . Indeed this paper arose out of efforts to promote the results there to actions on manifolds. Moreover we obtain all of these actions explicitly, thus providing rank 2 models for group actions which may play a special role analogous to that of linear spheres. In contrast, the situation at the primes $`p=2,3`$ remains unresolved, reflecting the complications in the corresponding group theory at these primes. Recently Ünlü  has shown that among the 396 groups of order dividing $`256`$ and which have rank equal to two, there is exactly one group which is not known to act freely and smoothly on a product of two spheres!

Using the methods developed in  we also obtain interesting results for the case of fixity equal to two, namely

###### Theorem 1.3.

If $`GU(n)`$ is of fixity equal to two, then $`G`$ acts freely on a finite complex $`X𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{4n5}\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>0`$. In particular if $`GSU(4)`$, then $`G`$ acts freely on a finite complex $`X𝕊^7\times 𝕊^{11}\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>0`$.

For example, this can be used to show that $`Sp_4(𝔽_3)`$ acts freely on a finite complex $`X𝕊^7\times 𝕊^{11}\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>0`$.

For arbitrary fixity we must make use of methods from propagation theory, involving homotopy theory and surgery. Observe that the Stiefel manifolds $`U(n)/U(nf1)`$ have the cohomology of a product of $`f+1`$ spheres (see 4.1); our goal is to propagate this natural model to an action on a product of spheres. The main result in this paper is the following

###### Theorem 1.4.

Let $`G`$ denote a finite subgroup of $`U(n)`$ which acts freely on $`U(n)/U(k)`$ with $`k1`$. If the order of $`G`$ is prime to $`(n1)!`$, then $`G`$ acts freely, smoothly and homologically trivially on $`𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{2n3}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+1}`$.

Note that if $`GSU(n)`$, then $`G`$ will act freely on $`U(n)/U(1)`$ (see 2.6), hence the theorem always applies. More generally, if $`GU(n)`$ and $`(|G|,(n1)!)=1`$, our methods yield a free $`G`$–action on a finite complex $`X𝕊^{2n1}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^3\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>1`$; we conjecture that an analogue of our main theorem should also hold in this case, but there are surgery–theoretic difficulties to overcome which we hope to address in a subsequent paper.

Applying the available characterization of low fixity $`p`$–groups, we obtain interesting examples of group actions:

###### Theorem 1.5.

Let $`P`$ denote a finite non–abelian $`p`$–group with cyclic center and having an abelian maximal subgroup. If the rank of $`P`$ is $`r<p`$, then there exists a free and homologically trivial action of $`P`$ on $`M=𝕊^{2p1}\times 𝕊^{2p3}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2(pr)+1}`$, a product of $`r`$ spheres.

We should point out that this produces an infinite number of new examples of free actions by rank $`r`$ groups on a product of $`r`$ spheres. More generally it is conjectured that a rank $`r`$ finite group will act freely on a finite complex $`X`$ having the homotopy type of a product of $`r`$ spheres. A related conjecture is that every finite group acts freely and homologically trivially on a product of spheres. Although the condition $`(|G|,(n1)!)=1`$ is somewhat restrictive, our approach does yield a new method for approaching the conjectures mentioned above; most importantly we have constructed many interesting *geometric* actions.

We are grateful to R.L. Griess for providing information concerning the classification of finite linear groups.

## 2. Basic Definitions and Properties

In this section we will recall the notion of fixity for a complex representation of a finite group $`G`$ (see ) and relate it to properties of associated actions on complex Stiefel manifolds $`U(n)/U(k)`$.

First we introduce some notation. Let $`V`$ denote a finite dimensional $`G`$–module. For a subgroup $`HG`$ , we denote by $`V^H`$ the subspace of vectors in $`V`$ fixed by all $`hH`$. We denote by $`g`$ the subgroup generated by an element $`g`$ of $`G`$.

###### Definition 2.1.

The *fixity* of a finite dimensional $`G`$–module $`V`$ is

$$\mathrm{Fix}_G(V)=\underset{gG}{\mathrm{max}}\{\mathrm{dim}_{}\mathrm{V}^\mathrm{g}\}$$

Given a faithful complex representation $`V`$ of $`G`$, we can always obtain an equivalent unitary representation. Hence in what follows we will restrict our attention to faithful unitary representations and the associated embeddings $`GU(n)`$, where $`U(n)`$ denotes the group of $`n\times n`$ unitary matrices and $`n=dimV`$. Given such an embedding and a closed subgroup $`HU(n)`$, we have a natural $`G`$–action on the homogeneous space $`U(n)/H`$. In particular we will be interested in the subgroups $`U(k)U(n)`$, defined by

$$A\left(\begin{array}{cc}A& 0\\ 0& I_{nk}\end{array}\right)$$

where $`I_{nk}`$ is the $`(nk)\times (nk)`$ identity matrix.

Note that $`\mathrm{Fix}_G(V)`$ can be expressed as the maximum (for $`gG`$) of the dimensions of the eigenspaces $`\mathrm{ker}(gI)`$.

###### Lemma 2.2.

$`\mathrm{Fix}_G(V)f`$ if and only if the induced action of $`G`$ on $`U(n)/U(nf1)`$ is a free action.

###### Proof.

If $`\mathrm{Fix}_G(V)f`$, then given any $`1gG`$, $`\mathrm{ker}(gI)`$ can be at most $`f`$–dimensional, hence $`g`$ cannot be conjugated into the subgroup $`U(nf1)`$ and so the action of $`G`$ on the homogeneous space $`U(n)/U(nf1)`$ must be free. Conversely if the action is free, no element can be conjugated into $`U(nf1)`$, hence $`\mathrm{Fix}_G(V)f`$. ∎

###### Corollary 2.3.

A faithful $`G`$– module $`V`$ has fixity $`f`$ if and only if $`f`$ is the smallest integer such that the induced $`G`$–action on $`U(n)/U(nf1)`$ is free.

We can now reformulate the notion of fixity.

###### Definition 2.4.

A faithful unitary representation $`GU(n)`$ has fixity $`f`$ if $`f`$ is the smallest integer so that the induced action of $`G`$ on $`U(n)/U(nf1)`$ is free.

From this we derive an invariant associated to $`G`$.

###### Definition 2.5.

For a finite group $`G`$, we define its *fixity*, $`\mathrm{Fix}(G)`$, as the minimum value of $`\mathrm{Fix}_G(V)`$, as $`V`$ ranges over all faithful, finite dimensional complex representations of $`G`$.

The case of fixity zero coincides with that of linear space forms. Indeed if an $`n`$–dimensional representation $`V`$ has fixity zero then the induced action on $`U(n)/U(n1)`$ is free; this can be identified with the action on the sphere $`S(V)`$ of unit vectors in $`V`$. Examples of higher fixity are less well–known from the point of view of transformation groups, and they will provide building blocks for new examples of group actions.

###### Remark 2.6.

Note that $`SU(n)`$ is a normal subgroup of $`U(n)`$ which intersects $`U(1)`$ trivially. Hence if $`GSU(n)`$, it will act freely on $`U(n)/U(1)`$ and so the fixity is at most $`n2`$.

We now relate fixity to another group–theoretic invariant.

###### Definition 2.7.

For a finite group $`G`$ and a prime $`p`$, we define its *$`p`$–rank* as $`r_p(G)=\mathrm{max}\{r|(/p)^rG\}`$ and its *rank* as $`r(G)=\mathrm{max}\{r_p(G)|p\mathrm{divides}|\mathrm{G}|\}`$.

The following is a basic result relating rank to fixity (, Lemma 3.1):

###### Proposition 2.8.

For any finite group $`G`$, $`r(G)\mathrm{Fix}(G)+1`$.

Note that this inequality may be strict. For example, if $`G`$ is a non-abelian split extension of $`/p`$ by $`/q`$ where $`p`$ and $`q`$ are prime, then this is a rank one group which does not have a fixed point free representation (i.e. $`G`$ is not a Frobenius complement, as it does not satisfy the $`pq`$ condition); hence its fixity is greater than zero. For us the most interesting case occurs when $`r(G)=\mathrm{Fix}(G)+1`$.

Assume that $`GU(n)`$ has fixity equal to $`f`$. Then the $`G`$ action on $`U(n)/U(nf)`$ is not free. In fact we have

###### Proposition 2.9.

If $`GU(n)`$ has fixity $`f`$, then all of the isotropy subgroups for the $`G`$–action on $`U(n)/U(nf)`$ have rank equal to one.

###### Proof.

Let $`H`$ denote an isotropy subgroup for the $`G`$–action on $`U(n)/U(nf)`$; this means that there exists a $`gU(n)`$ such that $`g^1HgU(nf)`$. This subgroup then acts freely on the quotient $`U(nf)/U(nf1)𝕊^{2(nf)1}`$ as otherwise a conjugate of $`G`$ would intersect $`U(nf1)`$ non–trivially. Hence $`H`$ must be a group of rank equal to one. ∎

###### Remark 2.10.

More generally if we let $`M_k=U(n)/U(k)`$, this defines a sequence of $`G`$–manifolds $`\{M_0,M_1,\mathrm{},M_n\}`$ and equivariant maps $`M_kM_{k+1}`$, for $`k=0,\mathrm{},n`$ where $`M_0`$ is a free $`G`$–space, $`M_{n1}=𝕊^{2n1}`$ and $`M_n=\{x_0\}`$. As we go up this tower, the isotropy must increase from rank zero to rank $`r(G)`$. Using an argument similar to the one above, we see that the rank can only increase by one at each stage. There are $`n`$ steps and a total increase by $`r(G)`$ must happen. Hence we have a partition of $`[0,n]`$, given by integers $`0s_0<s_1<\mathrm{}<s_{r(G)}n`$ such that the isotropy of $`M_k`$ has rank $`t`$ if $`s_tk<s_{t+1}`$. The patterns which arise in this process seem to be an interesting invariant of the representation; we shall make use of this in our applications. Note that when $`n=r(G)`$, the rank must increase exactly by one at every step; this is the case of maximal fixity $`n1`$.

We now describe a characterization of $`p`$–groups of fixity $`f<p`$, which appears in .

###### Theorem 2.11.

Let $`f`$ be a non–negative integer and let $`p`$ be a prime number greater than $`f`$. A non–abelian $`p`$–group $`P`$ has fixity $`f`$ if and only if the following hold:

* $`P`$ has $`p`$–rank equal to $`f+1`$;
* $`P`$ has cyclic center and an abelian maximal subgroup111By an abelian maximal subgroup we mean a maximal proper subgroup which is abelian..

Moreover, for any such group there exists a faithful irreducible $`P`$–module of fixity $`f`$ and dimension $`p`$.

The $`p`$–groups of fixity $`f<p`$ have been explicitly described by Conlon in , and enumerated in . Using this one can verify for example that for $`p5`$ and $`n4`$, there are exactly *four* non–abelian $`p`$–groups of order $`p^n`$ and fixity one. They can be listed as follows in terms of generators and relations (see , page 228 and , page 343):

* $`<a,b|a^{p^{n1}}=b^p=1,a^b=a^{1+p^{n2}}>`$
* $`<a,x,y|a^{p^{n3}}=[x,y],a^{p^{n2}}=[a,x]=[a,y]=x^p=y^p=1>`$
* $`<a,x|a^{\lambda p^{n3}}=[x,a,x],a^{p^{n2}}=x^p=[x,a]^p=[x,a,a]=1>`$, where $`\lambda `$ is equal to $`1`$ or to a non–quadratic residue modulo $`p`$.

Later we will construct actions of these $`p`$–groups on a product of two spheres. Note that the first group on this list is a metacyclic group; the other three are said to be of *exceptional type* and they appear in the classification of rank two $`p`$–groups which we will make use of in a subsequent section. The situation for $`p=2`$ is rather different: there are $`3n8`$ nonabelian groups of order $`2^n`$ having fixity equal to one.

In  a detailed analysis of group theoretic properties of groups of low fixity is carried out. The main result is that there exists a function $`\theta :`$ such that if $`V`$ is a $`G`$–module of fixity $`f`$, then there exists a normal subgroup $`NG`$ such that $`[G:N]\theta (f)`$ and $`N`$ is solvable of derived length at most $`3`$. Another result is that there exists a function $`\mathrm{\Phi }:`$ such that if $`V`$ is a $`G`$-module of fixity $`f`$ and $`dimV>\mathrm{\Phi }(f)`$, then either $`G`$ is solvable or $`G/O(G)`$ has a subgroup of index at most 2 which is isomorphic to $`\mathrm{SL}(2,5)`$. Here $`O(G)`$ denotes the largest normal subgroup of $`G`$ whose order is odd, hence it is solvable.

There are substantial restrictions for groups of low fixity. For example, if $`G`$ is a finite group acting on $`V`$ with fixity equal to one, then we have

* $`dimV|G|`$. This is in contrast to the situation for fixity zero, where we can take modules of arbitrarily large dimension. In fact this is the only fixity where the modules do not have bounded dimension.
* The $`p`$–rank of $`G`$ is one for all primes $`p<dimV1`$. For example this means that as soon as $`dimV>3`$, the $`2`$–Sylow subgroup of $`G`$ must be either cyclic or generalized quaternion. This excludes all non–abelian simple groups.
* If $`p=2,3`$ do not divide $`|G|`$, then there exists at most one prime $`p`$ with the property that $`G`$ has a non–abelian Sylow $`p`$–subgroup.

As we shall see later, groups of fixity one constitute a class of non–periodic groups that act freely and smoothly on a product of two spheres, and their structure may shed some light on the general conjecture that any finite group of rank equal to two acts freely on a product of two spheres. In this paper we prove this conjecture for $`p`$-groups with $`p>3`$.

## 3. Actions of Groups of Fixity One and Two

In this section we begin by discussing the special case of groups having fixity equal to one. As we have seen they will act freely on some $`U(n)/U(n2)`$, which happens to be a rather nice manifold which we can approach using very direct methods.

###### Theorem 3.1.

A subgroup $`GU(n)`$ of fixity one acts freely and smoothly on $`X=𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{4n5}`$.

###### Proof.

We have a fibration

$$𝕊^{2n3}=U(n1)/U(n2)U(n)/U(n2)U(n)/U(n1)=𝕊^{2n1},$$

with structure group $`U(n1)`$. It can be identified with the sphere bundle of an associated $`(n1)`$-dimensional complex vector bundle $`\xi `$. In the next section we will see that the vector bundle $`\xi `$ is always non-trivial, but here we will note that $`\xi \xi `$ is trivial since it is classified by an element of $`\pi _{2n1}(BU(2n2))\pi _{2n2}(U(2n2))\pi _{2n2}(U)`$, which is zero by Bott periodicity.

Note that $`\xi `$ is a $`G`$–vector bundle, and $`G`$ acts freely away from the zero section. By considering the pullback diagram

$$\begin{array}{ccc}E(\xi \xi )& & E(\xi )\times E(\xi )\\ & & & & \\ 𝕊^{2n1}& \stackrel{\mathrm{\Delta }}{}& 𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{2n1},\end{array}$$

we see that $`\xi \xi `$ is also a $`G`$–vector bundle with action free away from the zero section. We can take $`X=S(\xi \xi )`$ (the associated sphere bundle) to complete the proof. ∎

###### Corollary 3.2.

If $`G`$ is any finite subgroup of $`SU(3)`$ then it will act freely and smoothly on $`𝕊^5\times 𝕊^7`$.

###### Example 3.3.

The finite linear groups222To be precise we are referring to primitive unimodular irreducible groups. in low dimensions have been completely classified and listed by Blichtfeldt and others (see , ). For a fixed prime $`p`$ let $`H_p`$ denote the semidirect product of the form $`E_p\times _T\mathrm{SL}_2(𝔽_\mathrm{p})`$, where

$$E_p=a,b,c|a^p=b^p=c^p=1,[a,b]=c$$

is the extraspecial $`p`$–group of order $`p^3`$ and exponent $`p`$. Note that $`|H_p|=p^4(p1)(p+1)`$. We find four interesting subgroups of $`SU(3)`$: the alternating group $`A_5`$, the simple linear group $`SL_3(𝔽_2)PSL_2(𝔽_7)`$, the triple cover $`3A_6`$, and $`H_3`$. We obtain

###### Corollary 3.4.

The groups $`A_5`$, $`SL_3(𝔽_2)`$, $`3A_6`$, and $`H_3`$ all act freely and smoothly on $`𝕊^5\times 𝕊^7`$.

###### Example 3.5.

In  page 290, a group $`G_pU(p)`$ of fixity equal to one and having order $`2p^3(p1)`$ is explicitly described as follows. Let $`v_0,v_1,\mathrm{},v_{p1}`$ denote a basis for the underlying complex vector space and let $`\omega `$ denote a primitive $`p`$-th root of unity. Take the two linear transformations $`A,BU(p)`$ defined by $`Av_i=\omega v_i`$ and $`Bv_i=\omega ^iv_i`$ where $`0ip1`$. Now identify the set $`\{0,1,\mathrm{},p1\}`$ with $`𝔽_p`$, and let $`x`$ be a generator of $`𝔽_p^{}`$. Let $`\mu `$ be a primitive $`2(p1)`$-th root of unity. We define $`C,DU(p)`$ via $`Cv_i=v_{i+1}`$, $`Dv_i=\mu v_{xi}`$, where $`i𝔽_p`$. Let $`G_p`$ denote the subgroup of $`U(p)`$ generated by $`A,B,C,D`$. The subgroup $`H=A,B/p\times /p`$ is normal in $`G_p`$, and $`G_p/H`$ is isomorphic to a double cover of the semi-direct product $`/p\times _T/(p1)`$. The group $`G_p`$ acts freely and smoothly on $`𝕊^{2p1}\times 𝕊^{4p5}`$.

These techniques are particularly effective for constructing actions of small $`p`$–groups.

###### Proposition 3.6.

Let $`P`$ denote a $`p`$–group of rank equal to two and with order $`|P|p^4`$. Then $`P`$ acts freely and smoothly on $`𝕊^m\times 𝕊^n`$ for some $`m,n>0`$.

###### Proof.

If the group $`P`$ has center $`Z(P)`$ of rank equal to two, then every element of order $`p`$ in $`P`$ is central. In this case the group acts freely on a product of two representations (see , page 422). Hence we can assume that $`Z(P)`$ is cyclic. For any $`p`$–group of order $`p^4`$, there exists an abelian subgroup of order $`p^3`$ (see , page 85), and so we can assume that $`P`$ has an abelian maximal subgroup. By Theorem 2.11 we infer that $`P`$ has fixity equal to one, whence by Theorem 3.1 it will act freely and smoothly on a product of two spheres, completing the proof. ∎

As we have seen, if $`GU(n)`$ has fixity one, then it will act on $`U(n)/U(n1)=𝕊^{2n1}`$ with rank one isotropy subgroups. In , it was shown that given a linear $`G`$–sphere $`S(V)`$ satisfying this condition, there exists a finite $`G`$–CW complex $`X`$ with a free $`G`$–action, and such that $`XS(V)\times 𝕊^M`$ for some integer $`M`$ (see  for a more direct proof). From the above we see that for a group $`G`$ of fixity one, this construction can be realized explicitly via a free and smooth $`G`$–action on $`𝕊^{4n5}\times 𝕊^{2n1}`$. However there are groups which act on a linear sphere with periodic isotropy which do not have fixity equal to one. Indeed in  it was shown that *every* rank two $`p`$–group admits a representation in $`U(|P:Z(P)|)`$ such that the action on $`U(|P:Z(P)|)/U(|P:Z(P)|1)`$ has periodic isotropy; on the other hand we have seen that $`p`$–groups of fixity equal to one are rather restricted. However in the case of rank two $`p`$–groups we have complete information:

###### Proposition 3.7.

If $`p>3`$ and $`P`$ is a finite $`p`$–group of rank equal to two, then $`P`$ is either a metacyclic group or a group of exceptional type, with fixity equal to one.

This proposition is proved in , page 228 by using the classification of rank two $`p`$–groups appearing in , as well as the characterization of $`p`$–groups of fixity equal to one described in Lemma 2.11. Next we recall the proof of an elementary

###### Lemma 3.8.

If $`P`$ is a metacyclic $`p`$–group then it acts freely on a product of two linear spheres.

###### Proof.

The group $`P`$ is an extension of the form $`1/p^tP/p^s1`$. Let $`\chi `$ denote a one dimensional character of the subgroup $`B/p^t`$ which maps a generator of $`B`$ to a primitive $`p^t`$–th root of unity. Let $`V=\mathrm{Ind}_B^P(\chi )`$; this is a $`p^s`$–dimensional complex representation of $`P`$. The action of $`P`$ on the associated sphere $`S(V)`$ restricts to a free $`B`$–action; this can be checked using Mackey’s formula (it suffices to show that the unique and central subgroup of order $`p`$ in $`B`$ acts freely). Now let the quotient group $`A=P/B`$ act freely on $`𝕊^1`$ through multiplication by a primitive $`p^s`$-th root of unity. From this we can define a diagonal $`P`$ action on $`𝕊^{2p^s1}\times 𝕊^1`$ which is evidently free. ∎

Obviously the action described above is a *product* action. An interesting fact is that for $`p>3`$, any exceptional rank two $`p`$–group does not admit a free product action; indeed we have

###### Proposition 3.9.

If $`p>3`$ and $`P`$ is a rank two $`p`$–group which is not metacyclic, then it cannot act freely on $`X=𝕊^m\times 𝕊^n`$ via a product action.

###### Proof.

By the results in , every action of a finite $`p`$–group on a sphere can be modeled using a linear action; in particular given such a product action there exist representations $`V`$, $`W`$ such that for any $`pP`$ we have $`X^p\mathrm{}`$ if and only if $`V^p\{0\}`$ and $`W^p\{0\}`$. In particular this implies that if $`P`$ acts freely on $`X`$, then it acts freely on $`S(V)\times S(W)`$. However it is shown in , page 486 that this is impossible for a non–metacyclic $`p`$–group if $`p>3`$. ∎

We can now state and prove a geometric characterization of rank two $`p`$–groups (for $`p>3`$) which naturally extends the classical rank one situation, and which rather surprisingly has been a conjecture until now:

###### Theorem 3.10.

Let $`p>3`$ be a prime number. Then a $`p`$–group $`P`$ acts freely and smoothly on $`M=𝕊^m\times 𝕊^n`$ for some $`m,n>0`$ if and only if $`P`$ does not contain $`/p\times /p\times /p`$ as a subgroup.

###### Proof.

We have known for decades that $`(/p)^3`$ does not act freely on a product of two spheres (see ). All we need to do is construct the actions. By Proposition 3.7, we know that $`P`$ is either metacyclic, or of exceptional type and having fixity equal to one. By Lemma 3.8, the metacyclic case is taken care of; by Theorems 2.11 and 3.1, the rank two $`p`$–groups of exceptional type will all act freely and smoothly on $`𝕊^{2p1}\times 𝕊^{4p5}`$. ∎

The situation at the ‘small primes’ $`p=2`$ and $`p=3`$ is still unresolved. It can be shown that for $`n>4`$, there exist exactly two $`3`$–groups of order $`3^n`$ which are neither of fixity one, nor act freely on a product of two linear spheres. At the prime $`2`$ the group theory is considerably more complicated. We briefly summarize recent work by Ö.Ünlü in this direction (see ). The smallest example of a rank two $`2`$–group of fixity greater than one that does not act freely on a product of two linear spheres is the extraspecial $`2`$–group $`Q_8D_8`$, of order333By this we mean the central product $`Q_8\times D_8/\mathrm{\Delta }`$, where $`\mathrm{\Delta }/2`$ is the central diagonal subgroup. $`32`$ (note that it does not contain a maximal subgroup which is abelian). In fact one can show that a rank two $`2`$–group $`P`$ does not contain $`Q_8D_8`$ if and only if it either has fixity equal to one or acts freely on a product of two linear spheres. Hence all such groups act freely and smoothly on a product of two spheres. In order to handle this particular group, we need the notion of quaternionic fixity, expressed in terms of representations $`GSp(n)`$. In the case of $`Q_8D_8`$, it embeds in $`Sp(2)`$, and twice the associated bundle is seen to split, hence producing a free and smooth action of this group on $`𝕊^7\times 𝕊^7`$. Using these techniques, Ünlü has shown that among the $`396`$ groups of rank equal to two, and having order which divides $`256`$, there is exactly one group which is not known to act freely and smoothly on a product of two spheres444Verifying this requires using the computer algebra program MAGMA..

For fixity equal to two we can apply the results in  to obtain a free action on a finite complex, although not necessarily a manifold. As a consequence we will obtain new examples of free actions for rank three groups.

###### Theorem 3.11.

If $`GU(n)`$ is of fixity equal to two, then $`G`$ acts freely on a finite complex $`X𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{4n5}\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>0`$.

###### Proof.

Consider the $`G`$–action on $`Y=U(n)/U(n2)`$; by our hypothesis it has rank one isotropy. Using the same approach as in Theorem 3.1 we obtain a $`G`$–action on $`Y^{}=𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{4n5}`$ with the same isotropy, hence of rank equal to one. Applying 1.4 in  we obtain that $`G`$ acts freely on a finite complex $`XY^{}\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>0`$, which completes the proof. ∎

###### Corollary 3.12.

If $`GSU(4)`$ then $`G`$ acts freely on a finite complex $`X𝕊^7\times 𝕊^{11}\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>0`$.

###### Proof.

It suffices to observe that if $`GSU(4)`$, then it will act on $`SU(4)/SU(2)`$ with isotropy of rank at most one. ∎

###### Example 3.13.

We are of course interested in groups of rank equal to three and of fixity equal to two. The list of finite linear subgroups in  yields two interesting examples in $`SU(4)`$. Let $`T=\mathrm{SL}_2(𝔽_3)\mathrm{SL}_2(𝔽_3)=\mathrm{SL}_2(𝔽_3)\times \mathrm{SL}_2(𝔽_3)/\mathrm{\Delta }`$, where $`\mathrm{\Delta }/2`$ is the diagonal subgroup of order two. Note that $`|T|=2^53^2`$ and that its $`2`$–Sylow subgroup is the central product $`Q_8Q_8`$, which is an extra-special $`2`$–group of order $`32`$ and has rank equal to three. The second example is $`G=\mathrm{Sp}_4(𝔽_3)`$, in this case $`|G|=2^63^45`$. It has $`2`$–rank and $`3`$–rank both equal to three. Hence we obtain

###### Corollary 3.14.

The groups $`\mathrm{SL}_2(𝔽_3)\mathrm{SL}_2(𝔽_3)`$ and $`\mathrm{Sp}_4(𝔽_3)`$ act freely on a finite complex of the form $`X𝕊^7\times 𝕊^{11}\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>0`$.

###### Example 3.15.

From the Atlas  we see that there is an embedding of $`G=\mathrm{PSL}_2(𝔽_8)`$ in $`SU(7)`$. Note that $`|G|=2^33^27`$ and that the $`3`$–Sylow subgroup is cyclic while the $`2`$–Sylow subgroup $`S`$ is elementary abelian. From the character table in the Atlas we can infer that this $`7`$–dimensional representation $`V`$ restricts to the reduced regular representation on the subgroup $`S`$. Hence on any rank two subgroup $`ES`$, $`V_{|_E}II`$, where $`I`$ is the $`3`$–dimensional reduced regular representation. This representation clearly cannot be conjugated into the subgroup $`SU(5)SU(7)`$ defined as before by extending matrices in $`SU(5)`$ by the $`2\times 2`$ identity matrix. Hence $`E`$ acts with cyclic isotropy on $`SU(7)/SU(5)`$. Applying the techniques outlined above, we infer that $`G=\mathrm{PSL}_2(𝔽_8)`$ acts freely on a finite complex $`X𝕊^{13}\times 𝕊^{23}\times 𝕊^M`$for some $`M>0`$. Note that in this example $`G`$ acts freely on $`SU(7)/SU(3)`$ but not on $`SU(7)/SU(4)`$, hence $`GSU(7)`$ has fixity equal to three; nevertheless our methods can be applied to this representation.

More generally if $`G`$ acts on $`U(n)/U(nf)`$ with periodic isotropy, the results in  establish the existence of a free action on a finite complex $`XU(n)/U(nf)\times 𝕊^M`$ for some large $`M`$.

In the next section we use surgery theory (propagation of group actions) to construct a free action of a subgroup $`GU(n)`$ of fixity $`f`$ on a product of $`f+1`$ spheres provided the order of $`G`$ is prime to $`(n1)!`$. If $`G`$ is such a group and has fixity one, these techniques provide a stronger result than Theorem 3.1 in the sense that the action is on a lower-dimensional product of spheres.

## 4. Propagating Group Actions

In this section we will show that a free action of a group of order prime to $`(n1)!`$ on a Stiefel manifold $`U(n)/U(k)`$ propagates to a free action on a product of spheres. To begin we recall the integral cohomology of Stiefel manifolds.

###### Proposition 4.1.

The Stiefel manifold $`U(n)/U(k)`$ has the same integral cohomology as a product $`𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{2n3}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+1}`$ of $`nk`$ spheres.

###### Proof.

We will prove this by downward induction on $`k`$; clearly it is true for $`k`$ equal to $`n1`$. Consider the fibration $`𝕊^{2k+1}U(n)/U(k)U(n)/U(k+1)`$; the Euler class must be zero since, using the inductive hypothesis, it sits in a zero group. Hence the associated Gysin sequence breaks into a sequence of short exact sequences. We infer that the cohomology of $`U(n)/U(k)`$ is an exterior algebra on generators in the desired dimensions. ∎

One would not expect the Stiefel manifold to have the same homotopy type as a product of spheres, since Bott periodicity forces a regularity on the homotopy groups of Stiefel manifolds which is absent from the homotopy groups of a product of spheres. However, the differences only involve primes less than $`n`$. The next several results illustrate these phenomena.

###### Proposition 4.2.

$`\pi _{2n}(U(n))/n!`$ and the generator is given by the characteristic element of the fibration $`U(n)U(n+1)S^{2n+1}`$.

###### Proof.

This result is due to Bott , however we will sketch a proof which uses only stable Bott periodicity. Note that $`\pi _{2n}(U(n+1))=\pi _{2n}(U)=0`$ and $`\pi _{2n+1}(U(n+1))=\pi _{2n+1}(U)=`$ (these groups are in the stable range), hence we have an exact sequence

$$\pi _{2n+1}(U(n+1))\stackrel{p_{}}{}\pi _{2n+1}(𝕊^{2n+1})\stackrel{\mathrm{\Delta }_{}}{}\pi _{2n}(U(n))0.$$

Recall (see , page 206) that the characteristic element of the fibration above is given by $`\mathrm{\Delta }_{}(\iota _{2n+1})\pi _{2n}(U(n))`$, where $`\iota _{2n+1}`$ is the canonical generator for $`\pi _{2n+1}(𝕊^{2n+1})`$. Hence $`\pi _{2n}(U(n))`$ is cyclic with generator the characteristic element.

The homomorphism $`p_{}`$ can be identified with taking the Euler class of the corresponding $`(n+1)`$-dimensional complex bundle over $`𝕊^{2n+2}`$, and hence with the top Chern class $`c_{n+1}`$. But the Chern classes which arise from bundles over $`𝕊^{2n+2}`$ are precisely the multiples of $`n!`$ (see , page 280). The result follows. ∎

The following technical proposition will be a key ingredient in our construction of group actions.

###### Proposition 4.3.

Given integers $`n>k`$, there is a map

$$𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{2n3}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+1}U(n)/U(k)$$

which induces an isomorphism in homology with coefficients in $`[\frac{1}{(n1)!}]`$.

###### Proof.

Consider the fiber bundle

$$U(n1)/U(k)U(n)/U(k)𝕊^{2n1}$$

with structure group $`U(n1)`$. By Proposition 4.1 (or a Wang sequence)

$$H^{}(U(n)/U(k);)=H^{}(𝕊^{2n1};)H^{}(U(n1)/U(k);).$$

By Proposition 4.2 the fiber bundle is classified by the homotopy class $`𝕊^{2n1}BU(n1)`$ representing the generator of $`\pi _{2n1}(BU(n1))=/(n1)!`$. Hence if we take a map $`g:𝕊^{2n1}𝕊^{2n1}`$ of degree $`(n1)!`$ then the induced bundle with fiber $`U(n1)/U(k)`$ will be trivial, with total space $`E`$ homeomorphic to $`𝕊^{2n1}\times U(n1)/U(k)`$; note that it comes equipped with a map $`EU(n)/U(k)`$ which induces a $`[\frac{1}{(n1)!}]`$ homology equivalence. Using downward induction on $`n`$ we can easily obtain the desired map. ∎

Hence the Stiefel manifold $`U(n)/U(k)`$ has the same integral cohomology as a product of spheres, and after inverting $`(n1)!`$, we can realize this isomorphism by a map from the product of spheres to the Stiefel manifold. Under these conditions, if we have a free action of a group on $`U(n)/U(k)`$ and if the order of the group is prime to $`(n1)!`$, then the action will “propagate” to a free action on an actual product of spheres.

###### Theorem 4.4.

Let $`G`$ denote a finite subgroup of $`U(n)`$ which acts freely on $`U(n)/U(k)`$ with $`k1`$. If the order of $`G`$ is prime to $`(n1)!`$, then $`G`$ acts freely and smoothly on $`𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{2n3}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+1}`$.

###### Remark 4.5.

In the proof of the theorem we use the fact that $`U(n)/U(k)`$ is simply-connected when $`k1`$. It seems likely that Theorem 4.4 is true in the non-simply-connected case $`GU(n)`$ ($`k=0`$), but the surgery theoretic complications are considerable, and we will not consider them here. However our methods will still allow us to construct a free $`G`$–action on a finite complex with the homotopy type of a product of $`n`$ spheres (see Corollary 4.13). As we remarked earlier (see 2.6), our theorem always applies to $`GSU(n)`$, as it acts freely on $`U(n)/U(1)`$.

The proof of Theorem 4.4 uses the method of propagation of group actions. We refer to  for the basic technique, to  for a short survey, to  for a nice application, to  for a key lemma, and to  for definitive statements of results. The philosophy is that if two manifolds (e.g. the Stiefel manifold and the product of spheres) resemble each other homologically at the order of a finite group $`G`$, then their behavior with respect to $`G`$–actions should be similar. To get actions on manifolds, the methods are surgery theoretic and the technical details can be formidable.

###### Definition 4.6.

A $`G`$–action on $`Y`$ propagates across a map $`f:XY`$ if there is a $`G`$–action on $`X`$ and an equivariant map homotopic to $`f`$.

###### Definition 4.7.

A $`G`$–action on a space $`X`$ is homologically trivial if the induced action on $`H_{}(X;[1/q])`$ is trivial, where $`q`$ is the order of $`G`$.

The main theorem involving propagation is stated below. We will spend the rest of the section defining terms in its statement, outlining the proof, and applying it to the case of interest (Theorem 4.4). Most of the theorem below is due to Cappell-Weinberger , however the general case is due to Davis-Löffler . We outline the proof since that will make application of the theorem easier, and also because the full statement is not easy to find in the literature.

###### Theorem 4.8.

Let $`f:XY`$ be a map between simply-connected spaces having the homotopy type of CW-complexes. Let $`G`$ be a group of order $`q`$ acting freely and homologically trivially on $`Y`$. Consider the following conditions:

1. $`f`$ is a $`_{(q)}`$–equivalence:

$$f_{}:H_{}(X;_{(q)})\stackrel{}{}H_{}(Y;_{(q)}).$$
2. The Swan obstruction vanishes:

$$\sigma (\chi ^{\text{tor}}(f))=0\stackrel{~}{K}_0(G).$$
3. $`X`$ and $`Y`$ are closed smooth manifolds of dimension greater than four and that the action of $`G`$ on $`Y`$ is smooth.
4. The normal invariant of the $`_{(q)}`$–local homotopy equivalence $`f`$ is in the image of the transfer map:

$$\nu _{(q)}(f)\mathrm{im}(p^{}:[Y/G,F/O]_{(q)}[Y,F/O]_{(q)}).$$

Then

(a) If (1) holds, there is a CW-complex $`X^{}`$ and a homotopy equivalence $`h:X^{}X`$ so that the $`G`$–action on $`Y`$ propagates across $`fh`$, with a cellular $`G`$–action on $`X^{}`$. Furthermore, the homotopy type of $`X^{}/G`$ is uniquely determined.

(b) If (1) holds and $`Y/G`$ and $`X`$ have the homotopy type of finite-dimensional CW- complexes, there is a finite-dimensional CW-complex $`X^{}`$ satisfying the conclusion of (a).

(c) If (1) and (2) hold and $`Y/G`$ and $`X`$ have the homotopy type of finite CW-complexes, there is a finite CW-complex $`X^{}`$ satisfying the conclusion of (a).

(d) If $`q`$ is odd and (1), (2), and (3) hold, then $`X^{}`$ can be taken to be a closed smooth manifold.

(e) If $`q`$ is odd and (1), (2), (3), and (4) hold, then the $`G`$–action on $`Y`$ propagates across $`f`$, with a smooth action on $`X`$.

Before sketching a proof of Theorem 4.8 we recall some basic background material. The homotopy aspects of propagation of group actions depend on localizing topological spaces (see , , and  for details). Let $`R`$ be a subring of the rationals. For an abelian group $`A`$, let $`A_R=AR`$. A homomorphism $`AB`$ is an $`R`$-equivalence if the induced map $`A_RB_R`$ is an isomorphism. An abelian group $`A`$ is $`R`$-local if the map $`AA_R`$ is an isomorphism.

We assume any space discussed below has the homotopy type of a connected CW-complex. A map $`XY`$ is an $`R`$-equivalence if the induced map on the fundamental group is an isomorphism and the induced maps on higher homotopy groups $`\pi _n,n>1`$ are $`R`$-local equivalences. Equivalently, the map is an isomorphism on the fundamental group and the induced map on the homology of the universal covers $`H_{}(\stackrel{~}{X})H_{}(\stackrel{~}{Y})`$ is an $`R`$-equivalence. A space $`X`$ is $`R`$-local if $`\pi _n(X)`$ is $`R`$-local for all $`n>1`$, equivalently $`H_{}(\stackrel{~}{X})`$ is $`R`$-local. An $`R`$-localization of $`X`$ is a $`R`$-equivalence $`XY`$ where $`Y`$ is $`R`$-local. There are existence and uniqueness theorems for $`R`$-localizations of $`X`$. Their existence follows by applying the fiberwise localization theorem of Bousfield-Kan \[7, p. 40\] to $`XB\pi _1X`$. Their $`R`$-localization is functorial on the geometric realizations of simplicial sets and maps. If $`f:XY`$ and $`g:XZ`$ are two $`R`$-localizations of $`X`$, then there is a homotopy equivalence $`h:YZ`$ so that $`hfg`$. We will write $`XX_R`$ to denote an $`R`$-localization of $`X`$.

Let $`q`$ be a nonzero integer. Let $`_{(q)}=[\frac{1}{p_1},\frac{1}{p_2},\frac{1}{p_3},\mathrm{}]`$, where $`\{p_1,p_2,p_3,\mathrm{}\}`$ is the set of primes which do not divide $`q`$. For a space $`X`$, let $`XX_{(q)}`$ and $`XX[1/q]`$ denote the $`R`$-localizations of $`X`$ where $`R`$ equals $`_{(q)}`$ and $`[1/q]`$ respectively. Then $`X`$ is the homotopy pullback of

$$\begin{array}{ccc}& & X[1/q]\\ & & & & \\ X_{(q)}& & X_{},\end{array}$$

(i.e. $`X`$ is homotopy equivalent to what results after converting the vertical map to a fibration and taking the pullback).

S. Weinberger  made the following key observation.

###### Lemma 4.9.

A free $`G`$–action on a simply-connected CW-complex $`X`$ is homologically trivial if and only if $`(X/G)[1/q]X[1/q]\times BG`$.

###### Proof.

Suppose a finite group $`G`$ of order $`q`$ acts freely on a simply-connected space $`X`$. Then $`XY=Xe_1^2\mathrm{}e_k^2`$ with $`Y`$ simply-connected (add 2-cells to kill the fundamental group). Since $`H_1(X/G)=G/[G,G]`$ is $`q`$-torsion, $`\pi _2(Y)[1/q]H_2(Y;[1/q])[1/q]^k`$. Let $`Z=Ye_1^3\mathrm{}e_k^3`$ where the attaching maps of the 3-cells represent a $`[1/q]`$-basis of $`\pi _2(Y)[1/q]`$. By means of this “plus” construction we have constructed a map $`i:X/GZ`$ to a simply-connected space inducing an isomorphism on $`H_{}(;[1/q])`$.

Now suppose, in addition, that $`G`$ acts homologically trivially on $`X`$. Then a transfer argument shows that the covering map $`\pi :XX/G`$ induces an isomorphism on $`H_{}(;[1/q])`$, hence so does $`i\pi :XZ`$. Thus $`Z[1/q]X[1/q]`$, so we have $`[1/q]`$-equivalence $`X/GX[1/q]\times BG`$ to a $`[1/q]`$-space. By uniqueness of localization, there is a homotopy equivalence $`(X/G)[1/q]X[1/q]\times BG`$ as desired.

Conversely if $`(X/G)[1/q]X[1/q]\times BG`$, then the $`G`$–action on $`X`$ is homologically trivial since the $`G`$–action on $`X[1/q]\times EG`$ clearly is. ∎

One could also prove the above lemma by using obstruction theory to show that the fibration

$$X[1/q]X[1/q]\times _GEGBG$$

is fiber homotopically trivial and noting $`X[1/q]\times _GEGX/G[1/q]`$.

###### Proof of Theorem 4.8 (a).

Let $`X^{}/G`$ be a CW-complex having the homotopy type of the homotopy pullback of

$$\begin{array}{ccc}& & X[1/q]\times BG\\ & & & & \\ (Y/G)_{(q)}& & Y_{}\times BG\end{array}$$

where the vertical map is given by applying $`f[1/q]`$ and then $``$-localization, and the horizontal map is provided by applying $``$-localization and then Weinberger’s Lemma. ∎

###### Proof of Theorem 4.8 (b).

We will use the criterion of Wall \[31, Thm. E\] which says that a CW-complex $`Z`$ has the homotopy type of an complex of dimension $`N`$ if and only if $`H^i(\stackrel{~}{Z};)=0`$ for all $`i>N`$ and $`H^{N+1}(Z;M)=0`$ for all local coefficient systems $`M`$.

Recall that both $`Y/G`$ and $`X`$ are assumed to have the homotopy type of finite dimensional CW-complexes; let $`N`$ be greater than or equal to both dimensions. Let $`X^{}/G`$ be a CW-complex produced by Theorem 4.8 (a). Then for $`i>N`$, $`H^i(\stackrel{~}{X^{}/G};)=H^i(X;)=0`$. Let $`M`$ be a local coefficient system for $`X^{}/G`$. For a prime $`p`$ dividing the order of $`G`$, $`H^{N+1}(X^{}/G;M)_{(p)}`$ is isomorphic to

$$H^{N+1}((X^{}/G)_{(p)};M_{(p)})H^{N+1}((Y/G)_{(p)};M_{(p)})H^{N+1}(Y/G;M)_{(p)}=0.$$

Likewise for a prime $`p`$ not dividing the order of $`G`$, a transfer argument shows

$$H^{N+1}(X^{}/G;M)_{(p)}H^{N+1}((X^{}/G)_{(p)};M_{(p)})H^{N+1}(X_{(p)}^{};M_{(p)})H^{N+1}(X;M)_{(p)}=0.$$

Hence $`H^{N+1}(X^{}/G;M)=0`$. Thus $`X^{}/G`$ has the homotopy type of an $`N`$-complex. ∎

This leads to a nontrivial result.

###### Corollary 4.10.

Let $`G`$ denote a finite subgroup of $`U(n)`$ which acts freely on $`U(n)/U(k)`$ with $`k1`$. Suppose the order of $`G`$ is prime to $`(n1)!`$. Then $`G`$ acts freely on a finite dimensional CW-complex having the homotopy type of $`𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{2n3}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+1}`$.

It is traditional in the study of actions on products of spheres to be satisfied with an action on a finite-dimensional complex which has the homotopy type of a product of spheres. But that is not good enough for us; we won’t stop until we have constructed an action on the product of spheres themselves! Next we will try and improve from a finite-dimensional complex to a finite complex.

Wall  showed that a connected CW-complex $`W`$ has the homotopy type of a finite CW-complex if and only if $`\pi _1(W)`$ is finitely presented and $`C_{}(\stackrel{~}{W})`$ is chain homotopy equivalent to finite free $`[\pi _1W]`$-chain complex. If $`C_{}(\stackrel{~}{W})`$ is finitely dominated this is equivalent to the vanishing of the finiteness obstruction $`[C_{}(\stackrel{~}{W})]\stackrel{~}{K}_0([\pi _1(W)])`$.

We recall the definition of the Swan homomorphism appearing in Theorem 4.8. For an integer $`r`$ relatively prime to $`q=|G|`$, define the projective $`G`$-module $`P_r=\mathrm{ker}ϵ:G/r`$. One can show that $`P_rP_sP_{rs}G`$ and that $`P_{1+kq}G`$. Hence there is a well-defined *Swan homomorphism* $`\sigma :(/q)^\times \stackrel{~}{K}_0(G)`$, defined by $`\sigma ([r])=[P_r]`$. Now given a rational homology equivalence $`f:XY`$, define $`\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(f)`$ to be the rational number $`_i|H_i(C_f)|^{(1)^i}`$, where $`C_f`$ is the mapping cone of $`f`$. If $`f`$ is a $`_{(q)}`$-equivalence, then $`\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(f)_{(q)}^\times `$ and hence determines an element $`[\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(f)](/q)^\times `$.

###### Proof of Theorem 4.8(c).

By Theorem 4.8 (a) there is a CW-complex $`Z`$, a homotopy equivalence $`h_Z:ZX`$, a free, cellular $`G`$–action on $`Z`$, and an equivariant map $`f_Z:ZY`$ so that $`f_Zfh_Z`$. There is a short exact sequence of chain complexes

$$0C_{}(Y)C_{}(C_{f_Z})\mathrm{\Sigma }C_{}(Z)0.$$

Our goal is to show that $`C_{}(Z)`$ is finitely dominated and that the finiteness obstruction $`[C_{}(Z)]\stackrel{~}{K}_0(G)`$ vanishes. Since $`H_i(C_{f_Z})`$ is finitely generated and each $`H_i(C_{f_Z})`$ has a finite resolution over $`G`$, $`C_{}(C_{f_Z})`$ is finitely dominated, as is $`C_{}(Y)`$. Hence $`\mathrm{\Sigma }C_{}(Z)`$ is finitely dominated and

$$[C_{}(Z)]=[\mathrm{\Sigma }C_{}(Z)]=[C_{}(Y)][C_{}(C_{f_Z})]=\sigma ([\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(f)]).$$

Thus $`C_{}(Z)`$ is chain homotopy equivalent to a finite free $`G`$ chain complex (equivalently $`Z/G`$ has the homotopy type of a finite CW-complex) if and only if $`\sigma ([\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(f)])=0`$. ∎

###### Corollary 4.11.

Let $`G`$ be a subgroup of $`U(n)`$ which acts freely on $`U(n)/U(k)`$ with $`k1`$ and whose order is prime to $`(n1)!`$. Then $`G`$ acts freely on a finite CW-complex having the homotopy type of $`𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{2n3}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+1}`$.

###### Proof.

Here are two properties of $`\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}`$, whose verification is left to the reader.

* $`\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(fg)=\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(f)\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(g)`$.
* If $`A_{}`$, $`B_{}`$, and $`C_{}`$ are graded abelian groups with $`C_{}`$ free, and if $`f_{}:A_{}B_{}`$ is a graded map, then $`\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(f_{}\mathrm{Id}_C_{})=\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(f_{})^{\chi (C_{})}.`$

In the proof of Proposition 4.3 we constructed a $`_{(q)}`$-equivalence

$$f_{n,k}:𝕊^{2n1}\times U(n1)/U(k)U(n)/U(k)$$

so that on homology

$$f_{n,k}^{}{}_{}{}^{}=g_{}\mathrm{Id}_{}:H_{}(𝕊^{2n1})H_{}(U(n1)/U(k))H_{}(𝕊^{2n1})H_{}(U(n1)/U(k)),$$

where $`g:𝕊^{2n1}𝕊^{2n1}`$ is a map of degree $`(n1)!`$. Thus $`\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(f_{n,k})=((n1)!)^0=1.`$

The $`_{(q)}`$-equivalence produced by Proposition 4.3

$$f:𝕊^{2n1}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+1}U(n)/U(k)$$

is the composite

$$f=(\mathrm{Id}_{𝕊^{2n1}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+5}}\times f_{k+2,k})\mathrm{}(\mathrm{Id}_{𝕊^{2n1}}\times f_{n1,k})f_{n,k}$$

and hence $`\chi ^{\mathrm{tor}}(f)=1`$, and so the result follows from Theorem 4.8(c). ∎

###### Corollary 4.12.

Let $`G`$ be a subgroup of $`U(n)`$ which acts on $`U(n)/U(k)`$ with $`k>0`$, having rank one isotropy and whose order is prime to $`(n1)!`$. Then $`G`$ acts freely on a finite CW-complex having the homotopy type of $`𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{2n3}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+1}\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>1`$.

###### Proof.

By , $`G`$ acts freely on a finite complex $`X`$ having the homotopy type of $`U(n)/U(k)\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>1`$. One then propagates across the map

$$f\times \mathrm{Id}:𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{2n3}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+1}\times 𝕊^MU(n)/U(k)\times 𝕊^MX.$$

The main application is the following intermediate result in the non–simply connected case:

###### Corollary 4.13.

If $`GU(n)`$ and $`|G|`$ is prime to $`(n1)!`$, then $`G`$ acts freely on a finite complex $`X𝕊^{2n1}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^3\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>1`$.

###### Proof.

It suffices to observe that $`G`$ will act on $`U(n)/U(1)`$ with periodic isotropy, whence we can apply the previous corollary. ∎

We do not give the outline of the surgery theoretic proof of Theorem 4.8(d) and (e), but instead refer to the original source  which proves the theorem for $`p`$–groups and to  which proves the key fact needed to prove the theorem for general groups $`G`$.

We are now ready to prove our main theorem by checking the propagation hypotheses.

###### Proof of Theorem 4.4.

Let $`X=𝕊^{2n1}\times 𝕊^{2n3}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2k+1}`$ and $`Y=U(n)/U(k)`$ and let $`f:XY`$ be the map produced by Proposition 4.3. We have seen that conditions (1), (2), and (3) of Theorem 4.4 hold; we only need to verify condition (4).

The definition of the local normal invariant $`\nu _{(q)}(f)[Y,F/O]_{(q)}`$ is quite subtle (see \[13, p. 12\] for a definition), but we will sidestep the subtleties by noting that $`[Y,F/O]_{(q)}[Y,F/O]_{(0)}`$ is injective, since $`H_{}(Y;)`$ is torsion-free. Since $`F/OBO`$ is a rational equivalence , it suffices to show that the image of the local normal invariant in $`[Y,BO]_{(0)}`$ is trivial. Its image in $`[Y,BO]_{(0)}`$ is given by the difference of $`((\mathrm{deg}f)(f_{(0)}^1)^{}\tau _X)\tau _Y`$. But the tangent bundle $`\tau _X`$ is stably trivial, and, according to , $`\tau _Y`$ is trivial. ∎

Given a group of rank equal to $`r`$, a challenging open problem is to construct a free action of $`G`$ on a finite complex with the homotopy type of a product of $`r`$ spheres (see ). Constructing free actions on actual products of spheres is of course the final goal, and progress on this beyond spherical space forms has been very scant.555Indeed, we still cannot verify if every finite group acts freely and homologically trivially on some product of spheres. The following application of Theorem 4.4 provides an infinite number of new examples.

###### Corollary 4.14.

Let $`P`$ denote a finite non–abelian $`p`$–group with cyclic center and an abelian maximal subgroup. If the rank of $`P`$ is $`r`$ and $`r<p`$, then there exists a free, smooth and homologically trivial action of $`P`$ on $`M=𝕊^{2p1}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^{2(pr)+1}`$, a product of $`r`$ spheres.

###### Proof.

Given a group of this type, we know from the results in §2 that there is a faithful irreducible representation $`PU(p)`$ of fixity equal to $`r1`$. Hence $`P`$ acts freely on $`U(p)/U(pr)`$. Using the propagation theorem, we infer that in fact $`P`$ must act freely and smoothly on the stated product of spheres. ∎

###### Example 4.15.

Let $`P`$ denote any $`p`$–group of fixity equal to one, where $`p`$ is an odd prime. Then $`P`$ has a faithful $`p`$–dimensional representation such that $`P`$ acts freely on $`U(p)/U(p2)`$; hence it will act freely and smoothly on $`M=𝕊^{2p1}\times 𝕊^{2p3}`$. Note that this provides an action on a lower dimensional manifold than that provided by Theorem 3.1.

###### Example 4.16.

Let $`P=/p/p`$ (the wreath product); this is a group of order $`p^{p+1}`$, with cyclic center and having a maximal subgroup which is abelian, $`(/p)^p`$. Indeed, there is a natural embedding $`PU(p)`$, where the elementary abelian subgroup is mapped to the diagonal matrices and the $`/p`$ action is represented by a permutation matrix. Applying Corollary 4.13, we obtain that $`P=/p/p`$ acts freely on a finite complex with the homotopy type of a product of $`p`$ spheres, namely $`X𝕊^{2p1}\times \mathrm{}\times 𝕊^3\times 𝕊^M`$ for some $`M>1`$.


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# Low-Energy Direct Capture in the 8Li(𝒏,𝜸)9Li and 8B(𝒑,𝜸)9C Reactions

## I Introduction

Nucleon capture in the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C mirror reactions has attracted much attention in the recent years. The low-energy behavior of both reactions is of astrophysical relevance. Nucleosynthesis of light nuclei is hindered by the gaps at $`A=5`$ and $`A=8`$ where no stable nuclei exist. However, these gaps may be bridged by reactions involving the unstable $`A=8`$ nuclei 8Li ($`T_{1/2}=840`$ ms) and 8B ($`T_{1/2}=770`$ ms).

The 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction is important in inhomogeneous big bang models. Here the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction Koba03  is in competition with the 8Li($`\alpha `$,n)11B reaction where much effort has been spent recently Para91 ; Boyd92 ; Gu95 ; Miz00 . Typical temperatures are around $`T_91`$ Miz00 ; Rau94 ; Boyd01  with $`T_9`$ being the temperature in billion degrees. The role of light neutron-rich nuclei in the $`r`$-process, e.g. in type II supernovae, was analyzed in Tera01 ; here a temperature range of $`0.5T_94`$ is relevant. Because of the missing Coulomb barrier for neutron-induced reactions, astrophysically relevant energies for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction are around $`EkT`$. Hence, for both scenarios the cross section has to be determined for energies below $`E500`$ keV. In this paper all energies are given in the center-of-mass system.

The 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction leads to a hot part of the $`pp`$-chain as soon as the proton capture of 8B is faster than the competing $`\beta ^+`$ decay Wie89 . Then a breakout to the hot CNO cyle and to the $`rp`$-process is possible with the 9C($`\alpha `$,p)12N reaction Wie89 . The 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction is especially relevant in low-metallicity stars with high masses where such a proton-rich reaction chain can be faster than the triple-$`\alpha `$ process Wie89 ; Ful86 , and furthermore the reaction may become important under nova conditions Boff93 . The typical temperature range in both astrophysical scenarios is around several times $`10^8`$ K which corresponds to energies of the Gamow window around 50 keV $`E`$ 300 keV.

There are many common properties of the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C mirror reactions in both experimental and theoretical point of view. Because of the unstable 8Li and 8B nuclei, direct experiments are extremely difficult at astrophysically relevant energies below 500 keV. However, indirect experiments have been performed successfully. A stringent limit for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li capture cross section has been derived from the Coulomb breakup reaction 208Pb(9Li,8Li+$`n`$)208Pb at MSU Zech98 ; Koba03 . The astrophysical $`S`$-factor at zero energy for the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction (usually referred to as $`S_{18}`$) has been derived from the asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC) method using transfer reactions. The 2H(8B,9C)n reaction was measured at RIKEN Beau01 , and one-proton removal reactions on carbon, aluminum, tin, and lead targets were used at Texas A&M university Tra02 .

From theoretical point of view, the astrophysical reaction rate of both reactions is dominated by direct (non-resonant) $`E1`$ transitions from incoming $`s`$-waves to bound $`p`$-waves. However, because of the larger Q-value of the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction ($`Q=4064`$ keV) and because of the missing Coulomb repulsion the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction is not purely peripheral as expected for the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction with its small $`Q=1296`$ keV.

This paper is restricted to an analysis of the $`s`$-wave capture to the ground states of 9Li and 9C. The total reaction rate for both reactions is slightly enhanced by resonant contributions, by $`p`$-wave and $`d`$-wave capture, and by the transition to the first excited state in 9Li in the case of the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction. The level scheme of the mirror nuclei 9Li and 9C (combined from Ajz88 ; NNDC ; Til01 ) is shown in Fig. 1.

Various models have been used to predict the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction cross sections. However, practically all predictions overestimated the experimentally determined values for both reactions Rau94 ; Bert99 ; Desc99 ; Mal89 ; Mao91 . Especially for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction, the predictions vary between a factor of 3 and up to a factor of 50 higher than the present upper limit Rau94 ; Bert99 ; Desc99 ; Mal89 ; Mao91  (see also Table I in Koba03 ). It is the aim of the present work to analyze the peculiarities of the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions at low energies.

## II Direct Capture Model and Results

The cross section for direct capture $`\sigma ^{\mathrm{DC}}`$ is proportional to the spectroscopic factor $`C^2S`$ and to the square of the overlap integral of the scattering wave function $`\chi _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$, the electric dipole operator $`O^{\mathrm{E1}}`$, and the bound state wave function $`u_{\mathrm{bound}}`$:

$$\sigma ^{\mathrm{DC}}C^2S\left|\chi _{\mathrm{scatt}}(r)O^{E1}u_{\mathrm{bound}}(r)𝑑r\right|^2$$
(1)
The full formalism can be found e.g. in Mohr94 . The relation between this simple two-body model and microscopic models has been recently studied in Esch01 ; Esch02 .

The essential ingredients are the potentials which are needed to calculate the wave functions $`\chi _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ and $`u_{\mathrm{bound}}`$. In the following a real folding potential $`V_F(r)`$ is used which is calculated from an approximate density for the $`A=8`$ nuclei (taken as the weighted average of the measured charge density distributions of 7Li and 9Be Vri87 ) and an effective nucleon-nucleon interaction of $`M3Y`$ type Kob84 . The imaginary part of the potential can be neglected at low energies. The resulting potential is adjusted by a strength parameter $`\lambda `$ which has been found close to unity in many cases:

$$V(r)=\lambda V_F(r).$$
(2)
For mirror reactions, it is usually accepted that the potentials $`V(r)`$ and the spectroscopic factors $`C^2S`$ are very similar. The folding potential (with $`\lambda =1`$) is shown in Fig. 2. The volume integral per interacting nucleon pair is $`J=616.57`$ MeV fm3, and the root-mean-square radius is $`r_{\mathrm{rms}}=3.0114`$ fm.

As usual, the parameter $`\lambda `$ for the bound state wave function is adjusted to the binding energies of a $`1p_{3/2}`$ neutron (proton) in the 9Li (9C) residual nuclei. The resulting values are $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ $`=1.065`$ (1.045) for 9Li (9C). The deviation between both values for $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ is very small; thus the above assumption of similar parameters for mirror nuclei is confirmed.

For scattering waves, the potential strength parameter $`\lambda `$ can be adjusted to reproduce experimental phase shifts. For $`s`$-waves, which are relevant for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions, an adjustment to thermal neutron scattering lengths is also possible (and should be preferred because of the dominance of $`s`$-waves at thermal energies). Successful examples of this procedure can be found in Beer96 ; Mohr98 . Unfortunately, for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions phase shifts or neutron scattering lengths are not available from experiment, and therefore no experimental restriction from experimental scattering data exists for $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$.

As soon as the potential parameters $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ and $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ are fixed, the capture cross sections can be calculated from Eq. (1); the model contains no further adjustable parameters. A Saxon-Woods potential can also be used, and similar results will be obtained. But because of the larger number of adjustable parameters the conclusions cannot be drawn as clearly as in the case of the folding potential with the only adjustable parameter $`\lambda `$.

For the spectroscopic factors of the ground states of 9Li = 8Li $`n`$ and 9C = 8B $`p`$ I use $`C^2S=1.0`$ close to the calculated values of $`C^2S=0.810.97`$ Beau01 ; Bert99 . But also larger values up to $`C^2S=2.5`$ have been obtained Wie89 ; this large value was not used in the present work. It has been shown further Beau01  that the dominating contribution to $`C^2S`$ comes from the nucleon transfer to the $`1p_{3/2}`$ orbit whereas the contribution of the $`1p_{1/2}`$ orbit remains below 5 %.

To fix the potential strength parameter $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$, and to see whether it is possible to reproduce the experimental values of both reactions simultaneously within this simple model, the theoretical capture cross sections of both reactions were calculated in the energy range $`E1`$ MeV. A spectroscopic factor $`C^2S=1.0`$ was used in all calculations. In Fig. 3 the capture cross section $`\sigma (E)`$ for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction is shown as a function of energy with $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=0.55`$ and 1.20 as parameters. In the case of the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction the energy dependence of the astrophysical $`S`$-factor $`S_{18}(E)`$ is shown in Fig. 4 with $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=0.55`$, 1.50, and 1.55 as parameters. As can be seen, for both reactions the results depend sensitively on the choice of the potential strength parameter $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ . Therefore for both reactions the cross section dependence on the potential strength parameter $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ has been calculated at a fixed energy $`E=25`$ keV. The interesting result of the cross section dependence on the potential strength parameter $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ is shown in Fig. 5. Note that the range of the values for $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ has to be restricted to realistic values with the Pauli-forbidden $`1s`$ state below the respective threshold ($`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}0.5`$) and the Pauli-allowed $`2s`$ state far above threshold ($`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}1.2`$). Additionally, the ratio $`r=\sigma (25\mathrm{keV})/S_{18}(25\mathrm{keV})`$ is plotted in Fig. 5. If one makes the usual assumption that the spectroscopic factors are equal in mirror reactions, this ratio does not depend on the chosen spectroscopic factor.

The results shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 have quite surprising features. It is difficult to fit the experimental results $`\sigma (25\mathrm{keV})5.88\mu `$b for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction (derived from Koba03  using a standard $`1/v`$ energy dependence) and $`S_{18}(25\mathrm{keV})S_{18}(0)=45.5\pm 5.5`$ eV b for the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction (weighted average from Beau01 ; Tra02 ). Only in a narrow range of $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}0.55`$ both experimental results are reproduced simultaneously. Higher values of $`\lambda `$ (closer to the expected $`\lambda 1`$) lead to a significant overestimation of both cross sections. From the calculated ratio $`r`$ in Fig. 5, again the allowed range of $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ is very narrow and around $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`0.55`$. Larger values of $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ do not reproduce the ratio $`r`$ because of the different sensitivities of the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction cross sections on the potential strength. Hence it is possible to determine $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ from experimental capture data for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions.

A more detailed view on both 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions follows. In Figs. 3 and 4 the full line represents $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=0.55`$ which was derived from the ratio of both reactions. Additionally, the dashed lines show calculations with $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ values which lead to extreme cross sections (see Fig. 5).

In the case of the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction, the cross section is very sensitive to the chosen value of $`\lambda `$. Increasing $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ from 0.55 to 0.75 leads to an increase of the cross section by more than a factor of two, and decreasing $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ from 0.55 to 0.50 reduces the cross section by about 30 %. With $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=0.55`$ an energy dependence of the cross section proportional to $`1/v`$ is observed, whereas with $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=1.20`$ a clear deviation from the usual $`1/v`$ behavior can be seen in Fig. 3.

The 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction is mainly peripheral and does not depend sensitively on the chosen potential strength. Changing $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ from 0.55 to 0.75 (0.50) increases (decreases) the $`S`$-factor by 28 % (17 %). The relatively weak dependence on the potential strength parameter $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ can also be seen from Fig. 5 where $`S_{18}`$ changes only by roughly a factor of two from $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=0.60`$ to $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=1.4`$. Furthermore, the $`S`$-factor of this reaction depends only weakly on the chosen energy; for $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=0.55`$ one finds that $`S_{18}(E=0)`$ is roughly 2 % larger than the quoted $`S_{18}(25\mathrm{keV})`$.

When $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ is increased, in both reactions resonances are observed (see Fig. 5). In the case of the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction the parameter $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=1.25`$ leads to a resonance at $`E=25`$ keV. In the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction a resonance appears at $`E=360`$ keV with a width of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=50`$ keV using $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=1.50`$; for $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=1.55`$ this resonance is shifted to lower energies, and the width is much smaller (dotted line in Fig. 4). These resonances will be interpreted in the following Sect. III.

## III Discussion

The results of the calculations now can be summarized:
($`i`$) There is a possibility to fit the experimental data of both 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions within this simple model simultaneously when a potential strength parameter $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`0.55`$ and a spectroscopic factor $`C^2S1`$ are used. Any other combinations lead to discrepancies with the experimental results. $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ is determined from the ratio $`r`$ without ambiguity (independent of the spectroscopic factors). And for much smaller or much larger values of $`C^2S`$ a simultaneous description of both reactions is not possible.
($`ii`$) A surprisingly large difference for the potential parameters $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ $`1`$ and $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`0.55`$ is found. This might be an indication that the simple $`M3Y`$ interaction fails to describe systems with extreme neutron-to-proton ratio $`N/Z`$; here $`N/Z=2.0`$ for 9Li and $`N/Z=0.5`$ for 9C. It is interesting to note that a calculation using a variant of the $`M3Y`$ interaction including a spin-orbit and a tensor part is able to predict $`S_{18}(0)=53`$ eV b for the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction Timo93  which is close to the experimental results Beau01 ; Tra02 . Unfortunately, there is no prediction for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction in Timo93 .
($`iii`$) Using $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`1`$ leads to a so-called “potential resonance”. This phenomenon has been discussed in detail in Mohr98 , and resonances have been described successfully within a potential model e.g. in Mohr94 ; Mohr97 . For 9Li and 9C the $`2s`$ orbit is shifted to lower energies by an increased $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$, and the low-energy tail of this resonance influences the cross sections at 25 keV significantly. For $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`1.25`$ ($`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`1.55`$) the $`2s`$ resonance appears at energies around 25 keV in the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li (8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C) reaction (see Figs. 3, 4, and 5). Probably this resonant behavior is the reason why most of the previous calculations using standard potentials failed to predict the experimental data for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions correctly.

Many nuclei in the $`1p`$ shell with $`NZ`$ show such low-lying $`s`$-wave resonances with a large reduced width corresponding to the $`2s`$ level. One example is the $`1/2^+`$ state at $`E_x=2365`$ keV in 13N which appears as a resonance in the 12C($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)13N reaction at $`E=421`$ keV Rol73 . This resonance (and its mirror state in 13C which is located below the 12C$`n`$ threshold; this state plays an important role in the 12C($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)13C reaction Men95 ; Kik98 ) can be described within the present model using $`\lambda 1`$ Mohr97 . Another example is the $`1^{}`$ resonance at $`E_x=5173`$ keV in 14O which appears as a resonance in the 13N($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)14O reaction at $`E=545`$ keV Dec91 .

The experimental data Koba03 ; Beau01 ; Tra02  indicate for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions that there are no low-lying $`s`$-wave resonances close above the threshold. What is the difference between the non-resonant 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions and the resonant 12C($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)13N and 13N($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)14O reactions? As discussed in the following, the non-resonant behavior of 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C can be understood from basic shell model considerations. For simplicity, the following paragraph discusses the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction and properties of 9C. Similar conclusions are reached for 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 9Li by exchanging protons and neutrons.

For light nuclei with extreme neutron-to-proton ratio $`N/Z`$ one has to distinguish between neutron and proton orbits. The $`J^\pi =3/2^{}`$ ground state of 9C corresponds to a neutron $`1p_{3/2}`$ orbit. Two neutrons and two protons in the $`1s_{1/2}`$ orbits couple to an inert $`\alpha `$ core with $`J^\pi =0^+`$, and four protons fill the the $`1p_{3/2}`$ subshell and couple to $`J^\pi =0^+`$. Excited states with $`J^\pi =1/2^{}`$ ($`1/2^+`$) correspond to neutron $`1p_{1/2}`$ ($`2s_{1/2}`$) orbits. The $`1/2^{}`$ state is probably the first excited state (see Fig. 1). The $`1/2^+`$ state (not known experimentally) is expected at low energies (as usual for $`1p`$ shell nuclei) with a large reduced neutron width. But the proton $`2s_{1/2}`$ orbit in 9C must be located at much higher energies because a proton pair must be broken for a 9C = 8Bg.s. $``$ $`p`$ configuration. Spin and parity of such a proton $`2s_{1/2}`$ orbit in 9C are $`J^\pi =3/2^+`$ and $`5/2^+`$ because $`J^\pi (^8\mathrm{B}_{\mathrm{g}.\mathrm{s}.})=2^+`$.

Only shallow potentials with $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`0.55`$ can describe such a high-lying proton $`2s_{1/2}`$ orbit in a correct way. A standard potential (with $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`1`$) would shift this proton $`2s_{1/2}`$ orbit to lower energies leading to a $`s`$-wave resonance relatively close above the threshold. Because of the low-energy tail of this resonance, the cross sections are strongly overestimated in this case.

The low-lying $`1/2^+`$ state from the neutron $`2s_{1/2}`$ orbit cannot contribute to the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction as $`s`$-wave resonance because the excitation of a $`J^\pi =1/2^+`$ resonance in the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction requires a $`d`$-wave. Additionally, only a small reduced proton width is expected for such a neutron single-particle state.

The derivation of the equation for the overlap integral (1) makes use of Siegert’s theorem Sie37 . Therefore, Eq. (1) is exactly valid only if the same Hamiltonians, i.e. the same potentials, are used for the calculation of the bound state and scattering wave functions. Otherwise, the non-orthogonality of the bound state and scattering wave functions may lead to considerable theoretical uncertainties Laf82 .

At first view, the huge discrepancy between the bound state potential ($`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ $`1.05`$) and the scattering potential ($`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`0.55`$) seems to indicate a strong violation of Siegert’s theorem. However, this is not the case for the considered $`E1`$ transitions from incoming $`s`$-waves in the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions. Practically identical wave functions for the $`p_{3/2}`$ bound state are derived from ($`i`$) a central potential with the strength parameter $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$, and ($`ii`$) a combination of central and spin-orbit potential with strength parameters $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{central}}`$ and $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{LS}}`$. The shape of the spin-orbit potential $`V_{\mathrm{LS}}(r)=`$ $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{LS}}`$ $`1/rdV_F/dr\stackrel{}{L}\stackrel{}{S}`$ is practically identical to the central folding potential $`V_F(r)`$ because $`V_F(r)`$ has an almost Gaussian shape. Hence, an increased $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{central}}`$ can be compensated by a decreased $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{LS}}`$ and vice versa, leading to the same total potential and bound state wave function. A proper combination of $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{central}}`$ and $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{LS}}`$ has to be chosen to repoduce the binding energies. The quoted $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ $`1.05`$ were obtained without spin-orbit potential ($`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{LS}}`$ $`=0`$). Alternatively, using $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{central}}`$ $`=`$ $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`=0.55`$ leads to $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{LS}}`$ $`=3.89`$ fm2 for the 9Li ground state ($`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}^{\mathrm{LS}}`$ $`=3.71`$ fm2 for 9C). The potential for the incoming $`s`$-wave is not affected by the additional spin-orbit potential. The bound state and scattering wave functions are now orthogonal because they are calculated from the same potential. Therefore, the overlap integral Eq. (1) is exact for the $`E1`$ transitions from incoming $`s`$-waves to bound $`p`$-waves if one uses the above combination of central and spin-orbit potentials in the entrance and exit channels. Eq. (1) remains a good aproximation if one uses only the central potential with the different $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ and $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ because there are only minor deviations of the order of 10 % between the different bound state wave functions; hence, the orthogonality of the wave functions remains approximately fulfilled. For simplicity the calculations in this work were performed without spin-orbit potentials.

A possible core polarization (sometimes also called semi-direct capture) may lead to asymmetries in the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C mirror reactions. The core polarization can be taken into account by modifications of the $`E1`$ operator in the nuclear interior. Following the formalism of Die77  one finds that the modification of the $`E1`$ operator leads to a negligible change of the cross section in the case of the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reaction because of its extremely peripheral character. But also in the case of the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li reaction the modified $`E1`$ operator changes the cross section by significantly less than 10 %. Therefore, the modification of the $`E1`$ operator by semi-direct capture was neglected in this work.

## IV Conclusions

A consistent description of the capture cross sections of the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions has been obtained using the direct capture model. However, a surprisingly strong difference between the potential parameters $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ for the scattering wave function and $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ for the bound state wave function was found. The small value of $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ $`0.55`$ is well-defined from the ratio of the cross sections of both reactions and leads to a shallow potential. The value of $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ $`1.05`$ is derived from the binding energies of the 9Li and 9C ground states and is close to the usual values $`\lambda 1`$. The strong difference between $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ and $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ indicates limitations of the simple $`M3Y`$ interaction for nuclei with extreme neutron-to-proton ratios $`N/Z`$. On the other hand, the parameters $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ and $`\lambda _{\mathrm{bound}}`$ are practically equal for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions, as is expected for mirror reactions. The sensitivity of the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li cross section and, to less extent, the 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9$`S`$-factor to the potential strength parameter $`\lambda _{\mathrm{scatt}}`$ is strong which can be explained by resonances in the potential model. Consequently, the choice of potential parameters for direct capture calculations has to be done very carefully. This problem is not particular for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions, but has to be taken into account in any direct capture calculation. The big discrepancies between previous predictions and recently obtained experimental results for the 8Li($`n`$,$`\gamma `$)9Li and 8B($`p`$,$`\gamma `$)9C reactions are probably a consequence of the neglect of these potential resonances.

###### Acknowledgements.

I thank J. Escher, H. Oberhummer, G. Staudt, N. Timofeyuk, and A. Zilges for encouraging discussions.


text:
# Vacuum Condensates of Dimension Two in Pure Euclidean Yang-Mills

## 1 The gauge condensate $`A^2`$ in the Landau gauge

### 1.1 Motivation

We shall consider pure Euclidean $`SU(N)`$ Yang-Mills

$$S_{YM}=\frac{1}{4}d^4xF_{\mu \nu }^aF_{\mu \nu }^a$$

In the last few years lattice simulations  of the two and three point functions of $`SU(N)`$ Yang-Mills in the Landau gauge have reported the existence of a large discrepancy between the expected perturbative behavior and the lattice results. The discrepancy is sizeable up to energies $``$ $`10GeV`$, which is a rather big value compared to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{QCD}`$$`(200300)MeV`$. According to , the discrepancy could be explained by adding to the perturbative result a power correction of the kind $`1/k^2,`$ by introducing the dimension two gauge condensate $`A^2=`$ $`A_\mu ^aA_\mu ^a`$, namely

$$k^2G^{(2)}(k^2)=G_{\mathrm{PERT}}^{(2)}(k^2)+c\frac{A^2}{k^2}$$

$$G^{(2)}=\frac{\delta _{ab}}{3(N^21)}\left(\delta _{\mu \nu }\frac{k_\mu k_\nu }{k^2}\right)A_\mu ^a(k)A_\nu ^b(k)$$

and

$$\alpha _{\mathrm{run}}(k^2)=\alpha _{\mathrm{PERT}}(k^2)+c^{}\frac{A^2}{k^2}$$

where the coefficients $`c`$, $`c^{}`$ are obtained through OPE . The lattice estimate for the gauge condensate is $`A^2\left(1.64GeV\right)^2`$at the energy scale$`\mu =10GeV`$ . The existence of a nonvanishing condensate $`A^2`$ could be deeply related to the dynamical mass generation for the gluons and to the instability of the causal perturbative Yang-Mills vacuum . Lattice results  have indeed reported something like $`m_{\mathrm{gluon}}600MeV`$. It is worth mentioning that theoretical analysis of the gluon propagator in the Landau gauge have shown that its behavior is suppressed in the infrared region , in agreement with lattice simulations . The gauge condensate $`A^2`$ might also be relevant for confinement , as it could lead to the area law for the vacuum expectation value of the Wilson loop $`W\mathrm{exp}\left(\sigma \mathrm{Area}\right)`$ with $`\sigma `$$`A^2`$.

In particular, as underlined in , $`A^2`$ should receive contributions from both long and short distances, i.e.

$$A^2=A^2_{\mathrm{LD}}+A^2_{\mathrm{SD}}.$$

For what concerns the long distance part $`A^2_{\mathrm{LD}}`$, Ph. Boucaud et al.  have established that instantons do contribute to $`A^2_{\mathrm{LD}}`$. The lattice estimate of the instanton contribution has been found $`A^2_{\mathrm{INST}}(1.7)GeV^2`$. For the short distance contribution $`A^2_{\mathrm{SD}}`$, H. Verschelde et al.  have been able to obtain the two-loop effective potential for $`A^2`$ by combining the Local Composite Operators technique with the Renormalization Group Equations. They obtained a gap equation whose weak coupling solution yields a nonvanishing condensate, resulting in a gluon mass $`m_{\mathrm{gluon}}500MeV`$.

### 1.2 Why $`A^2`$ in the Landau gauge

A simple naive argument shows that $`d^4xA^2`$ is invariant under infinitesimal gauge transformations in the Landau gauge $`A=0`$, namely

$$\delta A_\mu ^a=\left(D_\mu \omega \right)^a$$

$$\delta d^4x\frac{1}{2}A^2=d^4x\omega ^aA^a=0$$

In the BRST framework we have that, in the Landau gauge, $`d^4xA^2`$ is BRST invariant on shell

$$sd^4xA^2=0+\mathrm{eqs}.\mathrm{of}\mathrm{motion}$$

A more precise meaning for $`A^2`$ is provided by introducing the nonlocal gauge invariant operator $`A_{\mathrm{min}}^2`$, obtained by minimizing $`d^4xA^2`$ along the gauge orbits, namely

$$A_{\mathrm{min}}^2=[\underset{\{\mathrm{U}\}}{\mathrm{min}}.d^4x\left(A_\mu ^U\right)^2]$$

where $`U`$ denotes a generic gauge transformation. Of course, $`A_{\mathrm{min}}^2`$ is stationary under gauge transformations. Furthermore, the minimum condition for $`d^4xA^2`$ is given by the Landau gauge $`A=0`$. A deep relationship between $`d^4xA^2`$ and $`A_{\mathrm{min}}^2`$ is thus expected to hold in the Landau gauge. In fact, as discussed in , it turns out that in the abelian case $`d^4xA^2=A_{\mathrm{min}}^2`$. Also, from , one learns that the condensate $`A^2`$ can be used as a useful order parameter for the phase transition of compact $`QED`$ in $`3D`$. In the nonabelian case, the situation is more complex. It is true that the Landau gauge condition $`A=0`$ is a stationary condition for the functional $`d^4xA^2`$. However, in this case, one has to face the existence of Gribov’s ambiguities for large values of the gauge field . A recent discussion about $`A_{\mathrm{min}}^2`$ and Gribov’s ambiguities can be found in .

The operator $`A^2`$ displays also remarkable ultraviolet properties. It is multiplicatively renormalizable, its anomalous dimension $`\gamma _{A^2}`$ being available up to three loops in the $`\overline{MS}`$ scheme . Recently, it has been proven  by using BRST Ward identities that $`\gamma _{A^2}`$ is not an independent parameter of the theory,

being expressed as a combination of the gauge beta function $`\beta `$ and of the anomalous dimension $`\gamma _A`$ of the gauge field $`A`$, according to the relationship

$$\gamma _{A^2}=\left(\frac{\beta (a)}{a}+\gamma _A\right),a=\frac{g^2}{16\pi ^2}.$$

## 2 Generalization of $`A^2`$ to other gauges

### 2.1 The Maximal Abelian Gauge

The Maximal Abelian gauge (MAG) plays an important role for the dual superconductivity picture for confinement based on the electromagnetic duality proposed by . This gauge is extensively used in lattice simulations. It has provided evidences  for the Abelian dominance hypothesis  and for monopoles condensation . In the MAG, the gauge field is decomposed according to the generators of the Cartan subgroup of the gauge group. For $`SU(2)`$

$$A_\mu ^aT^a=A_\mu T^3+A_\mu ^\alpha T^\alpha ,\alpha =1,2$$

For the gauge fixing we have

$$d^4x\left[\frac{1}{2\xi }F^\alpha F^\alpha \overline{c}^\alpha M^{\alpha \beta }c^\beta g^2\xi \left(\overline{c}^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }c^\beta \right)^2\right]$$

where $`\xi `$ denotes the gauge parameter and

$$F^\alpha =D_\mu ^{\alpha \beta }A_\mu ^\beta =\left(_\mu A_\mu ^\alpha +g\epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }A_\mu A_\mu ^\beta \right)$$

with

$$M^{\alpha \beta }=D_\mu ^{\alpha \gamma }D_\mu ^{\gamma \beta }+g^2\epsilon ^{\alpha \gamma }\epsilon ^{\beta \sigma }A_\mu ^\gamma A_\mu ^\sigma $$

The MAG allows for a residual local $`U(1)`$ invariance, which has to be fixed later on. It is a nonlinear gauge. As a consequence, a quartic ghost interaction has to be introduced for consistency . Lattice simulations have shown that the off-diagonal components $`A_\mu ^\beta `$ acquire a mass . These components should decouple at low energies, according to the Abelian dominance. Therefore, the understanding of the mechanism for the dynamical mass generation for the off-diagonal components is fundamental for the Abelian dominance. It is remarkable that the operator $`A^2`$ of the Landau gauge can be generalized to the MAG . The gluon-ghost dimension two operator

$$O_{\mathrm{MAG}}=\left(\frac{1}{2}A_\mu ^\alpha A_\mu ^\alpha +\xi \overline{c}^\alpha c^\alpha \right)$$

has indeed the following property

$$sd^4xO_{\mathrm{MAG}}=0+\mathrm{eqs}.\mathrm{of}\mathrm{motion}$$

The condensate $`O_{\mathrm{MAG}}`$ should play a very important role for the Abelian dominance, as it would provide effective masses for the off-diagonal components. However, at present, very little is known about the operator $`O_{\mathrm{MAG}}`$ and the possible existence of $`O_{\mathrm{MAG}}`$. Concerning the UV properties of $`O_{\mathrm{MAG}}`$, it has been proven to be multiplicatively renormalizable .

### 2.2 The Curci-Ferrari gauge

The so called Curci-Ferrari gauge resembles very much the MAG. It can thus provide useful insights about the gluon-ghost condensate. For the gauge fixing we have now

$`{\displaystyle }d^4x({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\xi }}(A^a)^2+\overline{c}^a_\mu D_\mu c^a+{\displaystyle \frac{\xi g}{2}}f^{abc}A^a\overline{c}^bc^c`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{\xi g^2}{16}}f^{abc}\overline{c}^a\overline{c}^bf^{mnc}c^mc^n)`$
where $`a=1,\mathrm{}.,(N^21),`$ for $`SU(N)`$. Notice the presence of the quartic ghost term. The operator $`O_{\mathrm{MAG}}`$ generalizes  to the CF gauge as

$$O_{\mathrm{CF}}=\left(\frac{1}{2}A_\mu ^aA_\mu ^a+\xi \overline{c}^ac^a\right)$$

and

$$sd^4xO_{\mathrm{CF}}=0+\mathrm{eqs}.\mathrm{of}\mathrm{motion}$$

Some properties of the operator $`O_{\mathrm{CF}}`$ are known. $`O_{\mathrm{CF}}`$ is multiplicatively renormalizable . Its anomalous dimension has been computed till three loops in the $`\overline{MS}`$ scheme . Recently, the effective potential for $`O_{\mathrm{CF}}`$ has been obtained in , yielding a gap equation whose weak coupling solution gives a nonvanishing condensate $`O_{\mathrm{CF}}`$, resulting in a dynamical mass generation. This gives an indication that something similar should happen in the MAG. It is also worth remarking that the Landau gauge, the MAG and the CF gauge have many features in common. All these gauges possess a larger set of global symmetries, giving rise to the so called Nakanishi-Ojima (NO) algebra . The operators $`A^2,`$ $`O_{\mathrm{MAG}},O_{\mathrm{CF}}`$ are left invariant111Invariant on-shell for what concerns the (anti-)BRST. by the NO algebra.

## 3 Evidences for ghost condensates

Contrary to the gauge condensate $`A^2`$, the first proposal for the ghost condensation has been made in the Maximal Abelian gauge by . Due to the quartic ghost-antighost self interaction of the MAG

$$\left(\overline{c}^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }c^\beta \right)^2$$

ghosts might condense, giving rise to bound states. To some extent, the mechanism is similar to the formation of fermion bound states in the Nambu Jona-Lasinio model. Several channels for the ghost condensates are possible , corresponding to different values of the Faddeev-Popov charge, namely

$$\overline{c}^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }c^\beta \mathrm{Faddeev}\mathrm{Popov}\mathrm{charge}0$$

$$c^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }c^\beta \mathrm{Faddeev}\mathrm{Popov}\mathrm{charge}+2$$

$$\overline{c}^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }\overline{c}^\beta \mathrm{Faddeev}\mathrm{Popov}\mathrm{charge}2$$

The existence of several channels for the ghost condensation can be related to the dynamical symmetry breaking of the generators of the $`SL(2,R)`$ subalgebra of the NO algebra . It has an interesting analogy with ordinary superconductivity, known as the BCS versus Overhauser effect. The BCS channel corresponds to the charged particle-particle and hole-hole pairing, while the Overhauser to the particle-hole pairing. In the present case the Faddeev-Popov charged condensates $`c^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }c^\beta `$, $`\overline{c}^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }\overline{c}^\beta `$ would correspond to the BCS channel, while $`\overline{c}^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }c^\beta `$ to the Overhauser channel.

Evidences for the existence of the ghost condensates have been reported also in the Curci-Ferrari gauge . Although the quartic ghost-antighost interaction is absent in the Landau gauge, it has been possible by combining the Local Composite Operators technique with the Algebraic Renormalization to give evidences for the ghost condensation in this gauge .

Many aspects of the gauge and ghost condensation are under investigation , deserving a deeper understanding. Some of them are:

$``$ Analysis of the BCS versus Overhauser effect and its relationship with the breaking of the NO algebra, present in MAG, CF and Landau gauge.

$``$ The role of the color and BRST symmetry in the presence of the gauge and ghost condensates.

$``$ Modification of the infrared behavior of the ghost propagator and possible consequences for the Schwinger-Dyson equations. The ghost condensation modifies indeed the off-diagonal ghost propagator in the infrared as

$$\overline{c}^\alpha (k)c^\beta (k)=\frac{k^2\delta ^{\alpha \beta }+v\epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }}{k^4+v^2}$$

while for the diagonal component

$$\overline{c}^3(k)c^3(k)=\frac{1}{k^2}$$

where $`v`$ stands for the value of the condensation. As underlined in , both gauge and ghost condensates $`A^2`$, $`\overline{c}^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }c^\beta `$, $`c^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }c^\beta `$, $`\overline{c}^\alpha \epsilon ^{\alpha \beta }\overline{c}^\beta `$ might play an important role for a better understanding of the nature of the mass gap in Yang-Mills theories.

## Acknowledgments

S.P. Sorella is grateful to the Organizing Committee of the Conference for the kind invitation and to M. Asorey for many valuable and helpful discussions. The Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico CNPq-Brazil, the Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Faperj), the SR2-UERJ and the MIUR-Italy are acknowledged for the financial support. The work of A.R. Fazio was supported by EEC Grant no. HPRN-CT-1999-00161 and partially by Fondazione ”Angelo Della Riccia”-Ente morale.