Localization theorems in topological Hochschild homology and topological cyclic homology (Q441110)

The algebraic \(K\)-theory of a scheme is a fundamental and much studied invariant. One of the most important foundational results in the subject, established by \textit{R. W. Thomason} and \textit{T. Trobaugh} [The Grothendieck Festschrift, Collect. Artic. in Honor of the 60th Birthday of A. Grothendieck. Vol. III, Prog. Math. 88 (1990; Zbl 0731.14001)] is the localization cofiber sequence \[ K(\text{\(X\) on \((X-U)\)}) \to K(X) \to K(U) \] where \(X\) is quasi-separated and quasi-compact and \(U\) a quasi-compact open subscheme. Topological Hochschild homology \(THH\) and topological cyclic homology \(TC\) are among the most powerful computational tools for accessing algebraic \(K\)-theory. The main result of this paper establishes these fundamental localization cofiber sequences for \(THH\) and \(TC\) (as well as for the intermediate theory \(TR\)) of schemes. This result is a specialization of the authors' more general localization cofiber sequence for \(THH\) (resp.~\(TC\), \(TR\)) of spectral categories (i.e.~catgeories enriched over symmetric spectra). Their general localization theorem says (roughly) that if \(\mathcal{A}\to \mathcal{B}\to \mathcal{C}\) is a sequence of pretriangulated spectral categories such that the sequence of triangulated categories \(\pi_{0}\mathcal{A}\to \pi_{0}\mathcal{B}\to \pi_{0}\mathcal{C}\) is exact, then the sequence \[ THH(\mathcal{A})\to THH(\mathcal{B})\to THH(\mathcal{C}) \] is a homotopy cofiber sequence of spectra. This generalizes Keller's construction of a localization cofiber sequence for Hochschild and cyclic homology of \(dg\)-categories [\textit{B. Keller}, J.~Pure Appl.~Algebra 136, No. 1, 1--56 (1999; Zbl 0923.19004)]. In order to deduce their localization theorem for schemes from the general result, the authors need to reformulate the definition of the topological Hochschild and cyclic homologies of schemes. The authors verify that their new definition yields a theory equivalant to Geisser-Hesselholt's original definition. Several important consequences of the localization theorem are deduced: a Mayer-Vietoris homotopy pushout square for open covers, a similar one for blow-ups along regularly embedded centers, and a projective bundle theorem. The Mayer-Vietoris homotopy pushout square was previously established by Geisser-Hesselholt; the other two consequences are new.