Questions tagged [group-cohomology]

a tool used to compute invariants of group actions using methods from homology theory, such as invariants, coinvariants, extensions... Use with (homology-cohomology).

Given a group $G$ and a $G$-module $M$, it is possible to define invariants: $$H_n(G;M) \qquad H^n(G; M)$$ for all $n \ge 0$ called respectively the homology and the cohomology of the group $G$ with coefficients in $M$. These invariants are generalizations of two well-known constructions, the invariants and coinvariants: $$\begin{align} M^G & = \{ m \in M : g \cdot m = m \forall g \in G \} \\ M_G & = M / ( g \cdot m \sim m ) \end{align}$$ and they fit in long exact sequences, given a short exact sequence $0 \to L \to M \to N \to 0$ of $G$-modules: $$0 \to \underbrace{L^G}_{= H^0(G; L)} \to M^G \to N^G \to H^1(G; L) \to H^1(G; M) \to H^1(G; M) \to \dots$$ $$0 \leftarrow \underbrace{L_G}_{= H_0(G; L)} \leftarrow M_G \leftarrow N_G \leftarrow H_1(G; L) \leftarrow H_1(G; M) \leftarrow H_1(G; M) \leftarrow \dots$$

This tag should be used in conjunction with . More information about group cohomology can be found on Wikipedia.

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Is there a characterization of groups with the property $\forall N\unlhd G,\:\exists H\leq G\text{ s.t. }H\cong G/N$?

A common mistake for beginning group theory students is the belief that a quotient of a group $G$ is necessarily isomorphic to a subgroup of $G$. Is there a characterization of the groups in which this property holds? If this question is too broad,…
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What is the intuition between 1-cocycles (group cohomology)?

This is, I'm sure, an incredibly naive question, but: is there a simple explanation for why one should be interested in 1-cocycles? Let me explain a bit. Given an action of a group $G$ on another group $A$ (the group structure of $A$ is respected by…
Noah Schweber
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What does the group ring $\mathbb{Z}[G]$ of a finite group know about $G$?

The group algebra $k[G]$ of a finite group $G$ over a field $k$ knows little about $G$ most of the time; if $k$ has characteristic prime to $|G|$ and contains every $|G|^{th}$ root of unity, then $k[G]$ is a direct sum of matrix algebras, one for…
Qiaochu Yuan
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Projective profinite groups

I'm reading the first chapter of Serre's Galois Cohomology. On p. 58, He gives two examples of projective profinite groups: the profinite completion of free (discrete) groups; the cartesian product over all prime numbers of free pro-p…
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Abstract proof that $\lvert H^2(G,A)\rvert$ counts group extensions.

$\DeclareMathOperator{\Hom}{Hom}$ $\DeclareMathOperator{\im}{im}$ $\DeclareMathOperator{\id}{id}$ $\DeclareMathOperator{\ext}{Ext}$ $\newcommand{\Z}{\mathbb{Z}}$ Let $G$ be a group, let $A$ be a $G$-module, and let $P_3\to P_2\to P_1\to…
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Why is the cohomology of a $K(G,1)$ group cohomology?

Let $G$ be a (finite?) group. By definition, the Eilenberg-MacLane space $K(G,1)$ is a CW complex such that $\pi_1(K(G,1)) = G$ while the higher homotopy groups are zero. One can consider the singular cohomology of $K(G,1)$, and it is a theorem that…
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Why group cohomology and not group homology?

In algebraic topology, one studies the homology and cohomology of spaces. However, when we study group homology/cohomology, we almost exclusively talk about cohomology. Why is this? Is there an aesthetic reason to prefer cohomology in this…
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Which groups act freely on $S^n$?

When $n$ is even, it is easy to classify groups which act freely on $S^n$ using degree theory: if $G$ acts on $S^n$, then associating to each element $g \in G$ the degree of the map obtained from multiplication by $g$, one gets a map $d : G \to…
Balarka Sen
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Interpretations of the first cohomology group

I've been revisiting group cohomology, and I realized that there is something I never quite understood. Let $G$ be a finite group, and let $A$ be a $G$-module (i.e. $\mathbb{Z}[G]$-module). Then the second cohomology $H^2(G,A)$ classifies group…
Nicole
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Group cohomology of dihedral groups

If $m$ is odd, the group cohomology of the dihedral group $D_m$ of order $2m$ is given by $$H^n(D_m;\mathbb{Z}) = \begin{cases} \mathbb{Z} & n = 0 \\ \mathbb{Z}/(2m) & n \equiv 0 \bmod 4, ~ n > 0 \\ \mathbb{Z}/2 & n \equiv 2 \bmod 4 \\ 0 & n \text{…
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Acyclic vs Exact

I have a question about the words "acyclic" and "exact." Why does Brown use the term "acyclic" instead of "exact" in his book Cohomology of Groups? It seems to me that these two terms exactly coincide. Are there examples(or topics in math) in which…
niyazi
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Group cohomology intuition

Group cohomology is one thing I don't seem to get my head around. I understand $H^0$ as being the "fixed points" but when it comes to anything higher I have no idea what the notions are meant to be capturing...if anything. For example I can see that…
fretty
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Group cohomology versus deRham cohomology with twisted coefficients

Let $G$ be a simple simply-connected Lie group, let $M$ be a 3-manifold and $P \to M$ a principal $G$-bundle. Let $A$ be a flat connection in this bundle, and let $\text{Ad} P$ be the associated vector bundle. The connection $A$ gives rise to a…
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What do higher cohomologies mean concretely (in various cohomology theories)?

Superficially I think I understand the definitions of several cohomologies: (1) de Rham cohomology on smooth manifolds (I understand this can be probably extended to algebraic settings, but I haven't read anything about it) (2) Cech cohomology on…
Poldavian
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What is the motivation for defining both homogeneous and inhomogeneous cochains?

In my few months of studying group cohomology, I've seen two "standard" complexes that are introduced: We let $X_r$ be the free $\mathbb{Z}[G]$-module on $G^r$ (so, it has as a $\mathbb{Z}[G]$-basis the $r$-tuples $(g_1,\ldots,g_r)$ of elements of…
Zev Chonoles
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