Homotopy fixed point spectra for closed subgroups of the Morava stabilizer groups. (Q1420500)

In this paper, a ``continuous homotopy fixed point spectrum'' \(E_n^{hG}\) is constructed, for \(G\) a closed subgroup of \(G_n\). Here \(E_n\) is Morava \(E\)-theory. This is a Landweber exact homology theory with \(E_{n*}=W{\mathbf F}_{p^n}[\![u_1, \dots, u_{n-1}]\!][u, u^{-1}]\), where \(W{\mathbf F}_{p^n}\) is the ring of Witt vectors of \({\mathbf F}_{p^n}\). The group \(G_n\) is the extended Morava stabilizer group, that is the semi-direct product of the \(n\)-th Morava stabilizer group \(S_n\) with the Galois group of the field extension \({\mathbf F}_{p^n}/{\mathbf F}_{p}\). To set the results in context, recall that when a (discrete) group \(G\) acts on a spectrum \(Z\), one can form the homotopy fixed point spectrum \(Z^{hG}\). The construction requires a point-set level action of the group, not just an action up to homotopy. For any spectrum \(X\), there is then a homotopy fixed point spectral sequence \(H^*(G, Z^*X)\Rightarrow (Z^{hG})^*X\). The action of \(G_n\) on \(E_n\) is only up to homotopy, but this can be rigidified using the technology of Hopkins-Miller and Goerss-Hopkins [see \textit{C. Rezk}, Contemp. Math. 220, 313--366 (1998; Zbl 0910.55004) and \textit{P. G. Goerss} and \textit{M. J. Hopkins}, Moduli spaces of commutative ring spectra, manuscript]. This gives homotopy fixed point spectra and associated spectral sequences for (finite) subgroups of \(G_n\). However, \(G_n\) is a profinite group and it should be possible to capture more information using the topology of this group. This is done here by the construction of a continuous homotopy fixed point spectrum \(E_n^{hG}\) for a closed subgroup \(G\) of \(G_n\). The associated spectral sequence then involves the continuous cohomology of \(G\): \(H_c^*(G, E_n^*X)\Rightarrow (E_n^{hG})^*X\). The construction proceeds in two stages. First \(E_n^{hU}\) is defined for \(U\) an open subgroup of \(G_n\). This is done by construction of a cosimplicial spectrum modelling the \(K(n)_*\)-local \(E_n\)-Adams resolution of \(E_n^{hU}\). This is first constructed in the stable category and then the technology of Hopkins-Miller and Goerss-Hopkins is exploited to give an equivalent cosimplicial commutative \(S\)-algebra. Then \(E_n^{hU}\) is defined by taking Tot of this cosimplicial spectrum. Finally, the construction for \(G\) a closed subgroup of \(G_n\) is by a suitable homotopy colimit over \(E_n^{hU}\) for open subgroups \(U\) containing \(G\). The spectral sequence is obtained by mapping a spectrum \(X\) into the \(K(n)_*\)-local \(E_n\)-Adams resolution of \(E_n^{hG}\). Some consistency results are proved. For \(G\) finite, it is proved that the new construction of \(E_n^{hG}\) agrees with the usual homotopy fixed point spectrum up to weak equivalence and the new spectral sequence is isomorphic to the old one. For \(n=1\), \(E_1^{hG}\) has the expected description as the \(K(1)\)-localization of a suitable algebraic \(K\)-theory spectrum. As an application of their machinery, the authors recover a result originally due to H.R. Miller and the second author. This concerns the \(K(n)_*\)-local \(E_n\)-Adams spectral sequence \(H_c^*(G_n, E_{n*})\Rightarrow \pi_*L_{K(n)}S^0\). Letting \(c:G_n\to {\mathbf Z}_p\) be a continuous homomorphism and writing \(c\) also for the composite \(G_n\to {\mathbf Z}_p\to E_{n*}\), it is shown that \(c\in H_c^1(G_n, E_{n*})\) survives to \(\pi_*L_{K(n)}S^0\).