Comparing the orthogonal and unitary functor calculi (Q2240613)

Orthogonal (resp., unitary) calculus studies functors from real (resp., complex) vector spaces to based spaces. Prime examples of such functors are \(\mathrm{BO}(-)\) that takes any real inner product space \(V\) to \(\mathrm{BO}(V)\), and \(\mathrm{BU}(-)\) that takes any complex inner product space \(W\) to \(\mathrm{BU}(W)\). Here \(\mathrm{BO}(V)\) and \(\mathrm{BU}(W)\) denote the classifying spaces of the orthogonal and unitary groups \(\mathrm{O}(V)\) and \(\mathrm{U}(W)\), respectively. In this paper, the author uses the complexification-realification adjunction between real and complex inner product spaces to compare the two calculi. On the homotopy level, he compares the Taylor towers produced by the two calculi. Assume the inputted orthogonal functor is weakly polynomial. This means that the functor has good connectivity relationship with its polynomial approximations. The author shows that the restricted Taylor tower of the functor and the Taylor tower of the functor restricted through realification agree up to weak equivalence. The author also compares the two calculi on the model category level. To do that, he constructs a commutative diagram of Quillen functors that relates the model categories for the two calculi.