Invertible \(K(2)\)-local \(E\)-modules in \(C_4\)-spectra (Q2664138)

Let \(E = E_2\) be the Morava \(E\)-theory spectrum of chromatic height \(2\) at the prime \(2\). It admits an action of the cyclic group \(C_4\) that is obtained by restricting the action of the Morava stabilizer group on \(E\) to a suitable automorphism group of a formal group law. The resulting homotopy fixed point spectrum \(E^{hC_4}\) is \(32\)-periodic. The main result of the paper under review is a computation of \(\mathrm{Pic}(E^{hC_4})\), which is the group of isomorphism classes of invertible objects with respect to the smash product on the homotopy category of \(K(2)\)-local \(E^{hC_4}\)-module spectra. The authors show that \(\mathrm{Pic}(E^{hC_4})\) is the direct sum of a cyclic group of order \(32\) (generated by \(\Sigma E^{hC_4}\)) and a cyclic group of order \(2\). This is interesting because in other cases where Picard groups of homotopy fixed points of cyclic group actions on Morava \(E\)-theory spectra have been computed, these Picard groups only turn out to be cyclic groups whose order is the periodicity of the homotopy fixed point spectrum (compare e.g. \textit{D. Heard} et al. [Compos. Math. 153, No. 9, 1820--1854 (2017; Zbl 1374.14006)]). The first step in the proof uses the faithful \(K(2)\)-local Galois extension \(E^{hC_4} \to E\) to construct an isomorphism between \(\mathrm{Pic}(E^{hC_4})\) and \(\mathrm{Pic}_{C_4}(E)\), the Picard group of the homotopy category of \(K(2)\)-local \(E\)-modules in genuine \(C_4\)-spectra. The latter Picard group can be viewed as part of a Mackey functor, which is studied using a comparison map from the representation ring Mackey functor and a certain Picard spectral sequence.