ON PETERSON'S OPEN PROBLEM AND REPRESENTATIONS OF THE GENERAL LINEAR GROUPS

Fix ℤ/2 is the prime field of two elements and write 𝒜₂ for the mod 2 Steenrod algebra. Denote by GL_d := GL(d, ℤ/2) the general linear group of rank d over ℤ/2 and by ${\mathfrak{P}}_d$ the polynomial algebra ℤ/2[x₁, x₂, …, x_d] as a connected unstable 𝒜₂-module on d generators of degree one. We study the Peterson "hit problem" of finding the minimal set of 𝒜₂-generators for ${\mathfrak{P}}_d$. Equivalently, we need to determine a basis for the ℤ/2-vector space $$Q{\mathfrak{P}}_d:={\mathbb{Z}}/2{\otimes}_{\mathcal{A}_2}\;{\mathfrak{P}}_d{\sim_=}{\mathfrak{P}}_d/{\mathcal{A}}^+_2{\mathfrak{P}}_d$$ in each degree n ≥ 1. Note that this space is a representation of GL_d over ℤ/2. The problem for d = 5 is not yet completely solved, and unknown in general. In this work, we give an explicit solution to the hit problem of five variables in the generic degree n = r(2^t - 1) + 2^ts with r = d = 5, s = 8 and t an arbitrary non-negative integer. An application of this study to the cases t = 0 and t = 1 shows that the Singer algebraic transfer of rank 5 is an isomorphism in the bidegrees (5, 5 + (13.2⁰ - 5)) and (5, 5 + (13.2¹ - 5)). Moreover, the result when t ≥ 2 was also discussed. Here, the Singer transfer of rank d is a ℤ/2-algebra homomorphism from GL_d-coinvariants of certain subspaces of $Q{\mathfrak{P}}_d$ to the cohomology groups of the Steenrod algebra, $Ext^{d,d+*}_{\mathcal{A}_2}$ (ℤ/2, ℤ/2). It is one of the useful tools for studying these mysterious Ext groups.