Bousfield-Segal spaces (Q2670962)

Segal spaces were first defined by \textit{C. Rezk} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 353, No. 3, 973--1007 (2001; Zbl 0961.18008)], building on ideas of \textit{G. Segal} [Topology 13, 293--312 (1974; Zbl 0284.55016)], and encode the data of a topological or simplicial category (in which both the objects and the morphisms form spaces) up to homotopy. They can be described as the simplicial spaces that are local with respect to Segal maps, which essentially give the composition structure. In the special case when the zero space is a point, one obtains a model for up-to-homotopy simplicial monoids. In an unpublished manuscript, \textit{A. K. Bousfield} [The simplicial homotopy theory of iterated loop spaces] described a means of replacing the Segal maps with slightly different maps to obtain up-to-homotopy groups, rather than monoids. The reviewer introduced Bousfield-Segal spaces [Homology Homotopy Appl. 10, No. 2, 175--193 (2008; Zbl 1155.55006); erratum ibid. 14, No. 1, 287--291 (2012)] by merging the two ideas: using maps similar to those of Bousfield to obtain structures that model up-to-homotopy groupoids, rather than more general categories. In this paper, the author makes a more thorough study of Bousfield-Segal spaces, showing that one can obtain them as a further localization of Segal spaces. The details of these structures are spelled out in more detail, including the relationships between the relevant model structures. The additional structure of a complete Bousfield-Segal space is also considered, and such structures are shown to be equivalent to simplicial sets. In a final section, it is shown that the model structure for complete Bousfield-Segal spaces provide a framework in which one can do homotopy type theory, and it is proved to be right proper, which is unusual for a localized model structure.