Differential cohomology theories as sheaves of spectra (Q260071)

In the present paper the authors think of a differential cohomology as a sheaf on the category of manifolds with values in the category of chain complexes or the category of spectra. The categories considered in this paper are higher categories and the sheaves are with values in an arbitrary stable and presentable \((\infty, 1)\)-category \(\mathbf{C}\). In [\textit{U. Schreiber}, ``Differential cohomology in a cohesive infinity-topos'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1310.7930}], a (non-stable) setup of a category of sheaves with these adjoint functors is presented, axiomatized as a cohesive \((\infty, 1)\)-topos. In the present paper the authors use the considered adjoints in order to deconstruct a given sheaf into its underlying homotopy invariant part, cycle data and a characteristic map which contains the information about the homotopy invariant part, the cycle data and the characteristic map, glued together. They obtain a natural way for the analysis of a differential cohomology theory by calculating its underlying homotopy invariant part, its cycle data and the characteristic map. Next the authors present a collection of examples of sheaves of chain complexes or spectra obtained by natural geometric constructions. They perform an analysis for the differential cohomology theories given by the classical (Hopkins-Singer type) construction. Then they study the sheaves of spectra represented by abelian Lie groups and show that they are equivalent to sheaves obtained from the classical construction. Further, they consider the universal differential cohomology theories obtaining the characteristic classes for \(G\)-principal bundles with and without connection. They explain how the Cheeger-Simons construction of differential refinements of characteristic classes for \(G\)-bundles with connection can be formulated in the language developed in the present paper. Next, the authors introduce a version of differential \(K\)-theory which is universal for additive characteristic classes of complex vector bundles with or without connections. They discuss the relation of this universal \(K\)-theory with the usual Hopkins-Singer type differential \(K\)-theory and the more recent loop differential \(K\)-theory. Moreover they give a Snaith-type construction of a differential refinement of periodic complex \(K\)-theory. Most of the calculations are direct consequences of the calculations of the left and right-adjoints of the constant sheaf functor applied to truncated twisted de Rham complexes or sheaves obtained by Yoneda embedding. Some technical results about sheaves are collected in the last section (7) of the paper.