Homotopy nilpotent groups (Q1048475)

This paper studies the relationship between the Taylor tower of the identity in homotopy calculus of functors and the lower central series of Kan's loop group. The first is a tower \[ F\to\cdots \to P_nF\to\cdots\to P_0F \] where \(F: \mathcal S^{\text{fin}}_*\to \mathcal S_*\) is a homotopy functor from the category of finite pointed simplicial sets to pointed simplicial sets and \(P_nF\) is the \(n\)th degree approximation of \(F\) in the sense of homotopy calculus. When \(F\) is the identity functor, this tower, evaluted on \(K\), starts with \(\Omega^\infty\Sigma^\infty K\) and converges to \(K\), if \(K\) is simply connected, and converges to \(\mathbb Z_\infty K\), the Bousfiled-Kan completion of \(K\), if \(K\) is connected. Thus the Taylor tower interpolates between the stable and the unstable homotopy. On the other hand, one has Kan's loop group functor \(K\mapsto GK\) and the associated lower central series whose \(n\)th stage is \(GK/\Gamma_nGK\). The tower that arises from the lower central series also converges to the identity on simply connected spaces and interpolates between singular homology and unstable homotopy. There is an evident map of towers \[ \{P_n(id)(K)\}_{n\geq 0}\longrightarrow \{B(GK/\Gamma_{n+1}GK)=:\Gamma^nK\}_{n\geq 0} \] (because of the universal property of the Taylor tower). The goal of this paper is to examine this map closely and in particular prove that it induces an isomorphism on \(\pi_1\). The interesting feature of the proof is that it goes through simplicial algebraic theories. Namely, an algebraic theory is a category \(T\) with natural numbers as objects such that \(k\) is the product of \(k\) copies of \(1\). Then morphisms from \(k\) to 1 are thought of as \(k\)-ary operations. A simplicial algebraic theory is an algebraic theory where \(T\)-algebras take values in simplicial sets. The authors define certian algebraic theories \(\mathcal G_n\) for each \(n\), with morphisms \[ \mathcal G_\infty\to\cdots \to \mathcal G_n\to\cdots\to \mathcal G_0 \] induced by the maps in the Taylor tower and functors \(U_n: {\mathcal S}_{*}^{\mathcal G_n}\to {\mathcal S}_{*}^{\mathcal G_\infty}\). These functors have left adjoints \(\Phi_n\) and there are adjoint pairs of derived functors \((L\Phi_n, RU_n)\). One of the main theorems of the paper is that \(\Omega P_n(id)(K)\) is the homotopy Kan extension along \(\Phi_n\). A way to rephrase this is that the free homotopy \(n\)-nilpotent group generated by \(\Omega K\) is \(\Omega P_n(id)(K)\), where a homotopy \(n\)-nilpotent group is defined by the authors as a homotopy \(\mathcal G_n\)-algebra. One of the nice results of the paper is that a space is a homotopy \(n\)-nilpotent group if it is a value of a looped \(n\)-excisive functor. This yields many examples. The authors also provide an application of the chain rule in functor calculus, generalizing and simplifying some results in [\textit{G. Z. Arone} et al., Algebr. Geom. Topol. 8, No. 1, 173--210 (2008; Zbl 1139.55008)]. The article is very clearly written and contains helpful background on (simplicial) algebraic theories, and in particular an explanation of Badzioch's model structure on homotopy algebras [\textit{B. Badzioch}, Ann. Math. (2) 155, No. 3, 895--913 (2002; Zbl 1028.18001)] which is used in the paper's main constructions. The paper also contains a very helpful discussion of homotopy \(n\)-nilpotent groups and the lower central series of the loop group.