\(K\)-homology of universal spaces and local cohomology of the representation ring (Q2367228)

The close connection between classical \(K\)-theory and the complex representation ring \(R(G)\) of a finite group \(G\) is given by Atiyah's theorem: \(K^ 0(BG_ +)\cong R(G)^ \wedge\), \(K^ 1(BG)=0\), where \(R(G)^ \wedge\) is the completion of \(R(G)\) at the augmentation ideal \(J\) of \(R(G)\). Older approaches to the \(K\)-homology groups \(K_ i(BG)\) of \(BG\) used this result and duality or the Atiyah-Segal completion theorem. In this paper the author gives a new and more direct approach to the \(K\)-homology groups by expressing \(K_ i(BG_ +)\) as the Grothendieck local cohomology \(H^ i_ J(R(G))\) of \(R(G)\) at the augmentation ideal \(J\). More generally the equivariant \(K\)-homology of the universal space \(E{\mathcal F}_ +\) for a family \({\mathcal F}\) of subgroups of \(G\) is expressed in the same way. The strategy of the proof is as follows: First of all by \(K_ *(BG)\cong K^ G_ *(EG)\) the problem is transferred to equivariant \(K\)-theory. Working in a stable equivariant homotopy category, the author constructs a \(G\)-spectrum \(H_ I(S^ 0)\) and a map \(c:EG_ +\to H_ I(S^ 0)\) where \(I\) is the augmentation ideal of the Burnside ring. The construction of \(H_ I(S^ 0)\) mimics one possible definition of Grothendieck local cohomology giving \(K_ i(H_ I(S^ 0))=H^ i_ I(R(G))\) which is the same as \(H^ i_ J(R(G))\). These groups are calculated in terms of \(R(G)\) later on. The main step then is to show that the map \(c\) induces an isomorphism in equivariant \(K\)-theory. This is done by induction on the group order using equivariant Bott periodicity. As a corollary one has a new proof of the Atiyah-Segal completion theorem. There is an analogue for real \(K\)-theory, a generalization to the bivariant setting resulting in a description of \([BG_ +,BH_ +\wedge K]\), the set of \(K\)-theory maps from \(BG\) to \(BH\), and an appendix on the case of compact Lie groups of positive dimension.