The homotopy groups \(\pi_ * (L_ 2 S^ 0)\) (Q1804899)

The chromatic approach to stable homotopy is based on Bousfield's localization functors \(L_n\), which are localization with respect to \(v_n^{-1} \text{BP}\) or \(E(n)\). Here BP is the Brown-Peterson spectrum at the prime \(p\) and \(E(n)\) is constructed from BP by killing and inverting certain elements in \(\text{BP}_*= \mathbb{Z}_{(p)} [v_1, v_2, \dots ]\) to obtain \(E(n)_*= \mathbb{Z}_{(p)} [v_1, v_2, \dots, v_n, v_n^{-1} ]\). Since \(L_n L_m= L_m\) for \(n\geq m\), the localization map \(X\to L_m X\) gives rise to an inverse system \(\to L_n X\to L_{n-1} X\to \cdots L_1 X\to L_0 X\) which is called the chromatic tower of \(X\). For \(X\) finite it is known that \(\pi_* (X)\cong \varprojlim \pi_* (L_n X)\), hence it is fundamental to understand the pieces \(L_n X\), in particular \(\pi_* (L_n S^0)\) which gathers the information on periodic families in \(\pi_*^s (S^0)\) related to \(v_n\). Serre's theorem on the homotopy groups of spheres gives \(\pi_* (L_0 S^0)= \mathbb{Q}\), and work of Mahowald, Miller, Ravenel and Bousfield has determined \(\pi_* (L_1 S^0)\), which is given by the image of the classical \(J\)-homomorphism in positive dimensions (at \(p\neq 2\)), but has nontrivial homotopy in negative dimensions as well. This paper contains the important next step, namely the computation of \(\pi_* (L_2 S^0)\) for \(p>3\). The result is much too complicated to be stated here. The computation of \(\pi_* (L_2 S^0)\) is highly technical and complex and uses various spectral sequences. The main tools are the Adams-Novikov spectral sequence based on \(E(2)\) and the chromatic spectral sequence with \(E_1\)-term \(E_1^{s,t}= H^t (M^s_k)\) converging to \(H^{s+t} (E(2)/ I_k)\). Here \(M^s_k\) is an inductively constructed \(E(2)\)-comodule and \(I_k= (p, v_1, \dots, v_k)\). The groups \(H^* (M^0_1)\), \(H^* (M^1_0)\), \(H^* (M^1_1)\) have been known for some time, so the main result is the determination of \(H^* (M^2_0)\). The computation of \(H^* (M^2_0)\) proceeds inductively using \(\text{mod } p\) and \(v_1\)-Bockstein spectral sequences and gives \(\pi_* (L_2 S^0)\) as a corollary. But \(H^* (M^2_0)\) contains much more information and will have other applications, e.g. on non triviality of certain products, as well.