Localizations of abelian Eilenberg-Mac Lane spaces of finite type (Q312413)

For \(L_f\) the homotopical localization with respect to a given map \(f\) between spaces, the authors prove that for every map there is an abelian group \(A\) such that \(L_fS^1\) (the homotopical localization of the circle) and \(K(A,1)\) are isomorphic and \(A\) admits a unique commutative ring structure with \(1\) such that the unit morphism from \(\mathbb Z\) to \(A\) induces an isomorphism of rings \(End(A)\) with \(A\) (a ring \(A\) with this property is called rigid). So every rigid ring \(A\) occurs as the fundamental group of \(L_fS^1\) for a certain map \(f\) and there is a proper class of distinct homotopy types of the form \(L_fS^1\) where \(f\) ranges over all possible maps. The authors also study localizations \(L_fK(G,n)\) with respect to any map \(f\), where \(n\) is greater or equal to 1 and \(G\) is any abelian group. They show that many properties of \(G\) are transferred (many kinds of algebraic structures are preserved by localizations) to the homotopy groups of \(L_fK(G,n)\). The knowledge of the ring \(A\) (the homotopy group of \(L_fS^1\)) gives important information about the effect of the functor \(L_f\) on other spaces. The following more general result is proved: ``For \(X\) a GEM (a product of abelian Eilenberg-MacLane spaces) and for any map \(f\), the \(m\)-homotopy groups of \(L_f X\) are modules over the ring \(A\) (the homotopy group of \(L_fS^1\)) in a canonical way. For \(A\) finite the \(f\)-localization of any GEM is a \(K(G,1)\)''. So, the authors explain and generalize earlier observations made by other authors in the case of homological localizations.