Homology and cohomology of \(E_\infty\) ring spectra (Q1772010)

During the 1990's, stable homotopy theory was revolutionized by the appearance of new categories of spectra with symmetric monoidal smash products before passage to derived homotopy categories. The original approach due to \textit{A. D. Elmendorf, I. Kriz, M. A. Mandell} and \textit{J. P. May} [Rings, modules, and algebras in stable homotopy theory, Mathematical Surveys and Monographs. 47. AMS (1997; Zbl 0894.55001)] led to categories of \(S\)-modules and \(S\)-algebras which support model category structures, while later constructions such as symmetric and orthogonal spectra gave alternative approaches. This paper focuses on homology and cohomology functors for the category of commutative \(R\)-algebras over a commutative \(S\)-algebra \(R\), where \(S\) denotes the sphere spectrum. Such functors have properties akin to those possessed by the usual kind of functors on spaces or spectra in that they satisfy appropriate versions of the Eilenberg-Steenrod axioms. Much of the paper is devoted to setting up analogues of the notion of spectra in the world of commutative \(R\)-algebras, leading to versions of Brown representability. Motivating examples are provided by Topological André-Quillen theory [see \textit{M. Basterra}, J. Pure Appl. Algebra. 144(2), 111--143 (1999; Zbl 0937.55006); \textit{M. Basterra} and \textit{B. Richter}, Lond. Math. Soc. Lect. Note Ser. 315, 115--131 (2004; Zbl 1079.13008)] which is defined on a category of \(R\)-algebras over a fixed \(R\)-algebra \(B\) and Theorem~1 characterizes such cohomology theories. Theorem~5 and its corollaries give interesting explicit identifications of the so-called cotangent complex of a Thom spectrum \(M\) associated with an infinite loop map into \(BF\). In particular, it is shown that \[ \mathbf{L}\mathbf{\Omega}_SMU\simeq MU\wedge bu, \] where \(bu\) is the \(1\)-connected cover of the connective \(KU\)-spectrum.