Enumeration of nilpotent loops via cohomology

Abstract

The isomorphism problem for centrally nilpotent loops can be tackled by methods of cohomology. We develop tools based on cohomology and linear algebra that either lend themselves to direct count of the isomorphism classes (notably in the case of nilpotent loops of order $2q$, $q$ a prime), or lead to efficient classification computer programs. This allows us to enumerate all nilpotent loops of order less than $24$.