Multiplicative properties of Atiyah duality (Q1770302)

Let \(M^{n}\) denote a closed connected \(n\)-manifold embedded into \({\mathbb R}^{k}\) with normal bundle \(\eta\). The \(k\)-fold desuspension of the Thom space of \(\eta\), \(M^{- \tau} = \Sigma^{-k}M^{\eta}\) is a well-defined stable homotopy spectrum, independent of the embedding into Euclidean space. The duality theorem of [\textit{M. F. Atiyah}, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., III. Ser. 11, 291--310 (1961; Zbl 0124.16301)] asserts that there is a homotopy equivalence \[ \alpha : M^{- \tau} \overset{\simeq}{\longrightarrow} F(M,S) , \] \(F(M,S)\) being the spectrum whose \(m\)-th space is the space of maps from \(M\) to the \(m\)-sphere. The author's main result is that \(M^{- \tau}\) has the structure of a commutative, symmetric ring spectrum in the sense of [\textit{M. Hovey, B. Shipley} and \textit{J. Smith}, J. Am. Math. Soc. 13, 149--208 (2000; Zbl 0931.55006)] and that \(\alpha\) may be chosen to be an equivalence of symmetric ring spectra. This result is used to fill in details in the argument of [\textit{R. L. Cohen} and \textit{J. D. S. Jones}, Math. Ann. 324, 773--798 (2002; Zbl 1025.55005)] which shows that the Hochschild cohomology \(H^{*}( C^{*}(M), C^{*}(M))\) is isomorphic to the loop algebra \({\mathbb H}(LM)\) of [\textit{M. Chas} and \textit{D. Sullivan}, String topology; ArXiv: math.GT/9911159 (1999)].