The homotopy fixed point theorem and the Quillen-Lichtenbaum conjecture in Hermitian \(K\)-theory (Q2343535)

The authors settle two conjectures for computing Hermitian \(K\)-groups (also called Grothendieck-Witt groups) of commutative rings and of schemes. If \(R\) is a commutative ring in which \(-1\) is a sum of squares there is a homotopy equivalence \[ BO(R)^+\sim (BGL(R)^{h\mathbb Z/2}\tag{1} \] which is the algebraic analogue of the homotopy equivalence \(BO\sim BU^{h\mathbb Z/2}\) between the classifying space of the orthogonal group \(O=U^{\mathbb Z/2}\subset U\) and the homotopy fixed points of \(BU\). Then there is an associated spectral sequence \[ H^{-p}(\mathbb Z/2, K_q(R)\Rightarrow GW_{p+q}(R). \] When \(-1\) is not a sum of squares in \(R\) the homotopy equivalence in (1) is not valid, but its 2-adic version still holds and one gets the following homotopy fixed point theorem in terms of spectra \(\mod 2^\nu\). Theorem 1. Let \(X\) be a \(QL\)-scheme, \(\mathcal L\) a fixed line bundle of \(X\), \(GW^{[n]}(X,\mathcal L)\) the Grothendieck-Witt spectrum of \(X\) with coefficients in the \(n\)-shifted chain complex \(\mathcal L[n]\) and \(K^{[n]}(X,\mathcal L)\) the connective \(K\)-spectrum \(K(X)\) of \(X\) equipped with the \(\mathbb Z/2\) action. Then the natural map \(GW^{[n]}(X,\mathcal L)\to K^{[n]}(X,\mathcal L)^{h\mathbb Z/2}\), between Hermitian \(K\)-theory and the homotopy fixed points of \(K\)-theory induces, for every \(\nu\geq 1\), an equivalence of spectra \(\mod 2^\nu\) \[ GW^{[n]} (X,\mathcal L;\mathbb Z/2^\nu)\simeq K^{[n]} (X,\mathcal L;\mathbb Z/2^\nu)^{h\mathbb Z/2}. \] Here a scheme \(X\) is \(QL\)-scheme if it is Noetherian of finite Krull dimension, \(1/2\in\Gamma(X,\mathcal O_X)\), \(X\) has an ample family of line bundles and \(\mathrm{vcd}_2(X)=\sup\{\mathrm{vcd} 2(k(x)|x\in X\}<\infty\), where for a field \(k\) the virtual mod-2 cohomological dimension \(vcd_2(k)\) is the mod-2 etale cohomological dimension of \(k(\sqrt{-1})\). As an application of Theorem 1 one gets the following result for complex algebraic varieties Corollary 1. Let \(X\) be a complex algebraic variety of dimension \(d\) which has an ample family of line bundles. Let \(X(\mathbb C)\) be the associated analytic topological space of complex points. Then for \(l=2^\nu\) and \(n\in\mathbb Z\) the canonical map \[ GW^{[n]}_i(X;\mathbb Z/l)\to KO^{2n-i}(X(\mathbb C);\mathbb Z/l) \] is an isomorphism for \(i\geq d-1\) and a monomorphism for \(i=d-2\).