Localization of cofibration categories and groupoid \(C^\ast\)-algebras (Q2409814)

A \textit{cofibration category} is a category \(\mathcal{C}\) with (finite) coproducts and initial object \(*\), together with two distinguished subcategories \(w\mathcal{C}\) of weak equivalences and \(c\mathcal{C}\) of cofibrations, both containing all isomorphisms of \(\mathcal{C}\), satisfying a short list of axioms: the ``2-of-3'' property for weak equivalences, stability of the class of (acyclic) cofibrations under pushout along arbitrary morphisms, cofibrancy of all objects of \(\mathcal{C}\), and existence of cylinders. The latter means that for every object \(X \in \mathcal{C}\) there exists a factorisation \(X \amalg X \rightarrow IX \rightarrow X\) of the fold map via a cofibration \(X \amalg X \rightarrow IX\) followed by a weak equivalence \(IX \rightarrow X\). The authors say that \(\mathcal{C}\) has \textit{good cylinders} if this factorisation can be chosen functorially, and if moreover the induced morphism \((Y \amalg Y) \coprod_{X \amalg X} IX \rightarrow IY\) is a cofibration for every cofibration \(X \rightarrow Y\). The main theorem in the paper review states that the map \(Nc\mathcal{C}[wc^{-1}] \rightarrow N\mathcal{C}[w^{-1}]\), induced by the inclusion \(c\mathcal{C} \subseteq \mathcal{C}\), is an equivalence of \(\infty\)-categories. Here \(N\mathcal{C}[w^{-1}]\) is the \(\infty\)-category obtained from \(N\mathcal{C}\) by inverting the weak equivalences, and \(Nc\mathcal{C}[wc^{-1}]\) is the \(\infty\)-category obtained from \(Nc\mathcal{C}\) by inverting the weak equivalences in \(c\mathcal{C}\). Using the main theorem, the authors establish the following result on extension of functors. Let \(\mathcal{M}\) be a model category that is (Quillen equivalent to) a combinatorial model category with functorial fibrant and cofibrant replacement. Let \(F : c\mathcal{C} \rightarrow \mathcal{M}\) be a functor that sends weak equivalences in \(c\mathcal{C}\) to weak equivalences in \(\mathcal{M}\). Then there exists a functor \(\hat{F} : \mathcal{C} \rightarrow \mathcal{M}\) that preserves weak equivalences, and such that \(\hat{F}|_{c\mathcal{C}}\) agrees with \(F\) up to a zig-zag of natural weak equivalences. Moreover, \(\hat{F}\) is unique up to a zig-zag of natural weak equivalences. The authors apply these results to give an abstract construction of a functor associating with a groupoid \(\mathcal{G}\) (with a countable set of morphisms) its groupoid \(C^{*}\)-algebra \(C^{*}\mathcal{G}\). By definition, \(C^{*}\mathcal{G}\) is a completion of the \(\mathcal{C}\)-linearisation of \(\mathcal{G}\). The main problem is that the construction is \textit{a priori} functorial for certain morphisms of groupoids only, namely those morphisms that are injective on objects. These morphisms appear as the cofibrations in a model structure on the category of small groupoids, which allows the extension result mentioned above to be applied. The material outlined so far occupies the first half of the paper. The second half is devoted to the proof of the main theorem.