Conditionally flat functors on spaces and groups (Q2515061)

This paper is concerned with localisation functors on topological spaces and on groups. First let \(L\) be a localisation functor on topological spaces. A fibration sequence is said to be \(L\)-flat if its image under \(L\) is still a fibration sequence. The functor \(L\) is said to be conditionally flat if pull-backs of \(L\)-flat sequences are \(L\)-flat. It is shown that \(L\) is conditionally flat if and only if it is the nullification functor killing a space \(A\). For example, Postnikov sections and Quillen's plus construction are conditionally flat. In group theory fibration sequences are replaced by short exact sequences. Here, in addition to nullification functors, right exact functors are conditionally flat. For example, the localisation functors associated to varieties of groups are conditionally flat.