Rational stabilization and maximal ideal spaces of commutative Banach algebras (Q2168896)

The topology of the maximal ideal space \(X(A)\) of a commutative, unital Banach algebra \(A\) can be understood at a purely algebraic-topological level. The classical theorem due to Arens and Royden expresses the first Čech cohomology group of \(X(A)\) with integral coefficients as \(A^{-1}/ \exp A.\) Results of this kind are today part of the non-commutative cohomological framework, with \(K\)-theory as the most illustrious example. See for instance the lucid early presentation [\textit{O. Forster}, Jahresber. Dtsch. Math.-Ver. 76, 1--17 (1974; Zbl 0295.46076)]. The present article embarks into an ambitious program of linking the rational cohomology of the pair \((X(A), X(A/I))\), with \(I\) a closed ideal of \(A\), and the rational homotopy of a flag-type non-commutative manifold associated to~\(I\). The results are stunning in their simplicity. This work complements with an original touch an earlier similar study [\textit{G.~Lupton} et al., Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 361, No.~1, 267--295 (2009; Zbl 1163.55006)]. In short, a highly informative and accessible addition to the modern landscape of higher cohomology theories referring to topological algebras.