Smash products for secondary homotopy groups (Q954768)

The classical homotopy groups \(\pi_nX\), \(n\geq 0\) of a pointed space \(X\) give rise to a graded abelian group \(\Pi_*X\) such that \(\Pi_nX = \pi_nX\) if \(n\geq 2\), \(\Pi_1x = (\pi_1X)_{ab}\), and \(\Pi_0X\) is the free abelian group generated by \(\pi_0X\). The smash product on the homotopy groups induces a natural homomorphism of graded abelian groups, \(\Pi_*X\otimes \Pi_*Y\to\Pi_*X\wedge Y\) which is used, for example, to define the Whitehead product on homotopy groups. The purpose of this paper is to generalize these properties of primary homotopy groups on the level of secondary homotopy theory. Secondary homotopy operations like Toda brackets or cup-one products are defined by pasting tracks, where tracks are homotopy classes of homotopies. The authors develop the algebraic theory of tracks in introducing secondary homotopy groups of a pointed space \(X: \Pi_{n,*}X:= (\Pi_{n,1}X@>\partial>>\Pi_{n,0}X)\) where \(\partial\) is a group homomorphism with cokernel \(\Pi_nX\) for \(n\geq 0\) and kernel \(\Pi_{n+1}X\) for \(n\geq 3\). Then they construct a smash product morphism for additive secondary homotopy groups which is used to define the Whitehead product on secondary homotopy groups. As an illustration of the results of the paper the authors prove a formula of Barratt-Jones-Mahowald on unstable cup-one products whose proof does not appear in the literature. In the sequel of this paper they generalize the theory of secondary homotopy groups to symmetric spectra.