Symmetric monoidal noncommutative spectra, strongly self-absorbing \(C^*\)-algebras, and bivariant homology (Q510245)

Stable \(\infty\)-categories are a modern framework for doing homotopy theory with objects other than topological spaces. This includes \(C^*\)-algebras. The author has previously constructed a stable \(\infty\)-category of noncommutative spectra and several related \(\infty\)-categories. This article lifts the maximal tensor product of \(C^*\)-algebras to a symmetric monoidal structure on these \(\infty\)-categories and harvests results that follow from such a symmetric monoidal structure. An important point is that certain localisations, called ``smashing'' localisations, may be obtained by simply tensoring with an object that is idempotent with respect to the tensor product. This includes strongly self-absorbing \(C^*\)-algebras and the \(C^*\)-algebra of compact operators. The smashing localisations produced by them are studied here. Some of the results may also be formulated in more classical terms, dealing with bivariant connective \(K\)-theory or \(E\)-theory and the relationship between them. A sample result says that connective \(E\)-theory is isomorphic to ordinary \(E\)-theory for \(\mathcal{O}_\infty\)-stable \(C^*\)-algebras. Another invariant that is considered here is a version of higher algebraic \(K\)-theory for non-unital algebras defined by \textit{D. Quillen} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 472, 197--217 (1996; Zbl 0837.19001)]. This makes sense for \(C^*\)-algebras as well. For many \(C^*\)-algebras, this version of algebraic \(K\)-theory agrees with ordinary topological \(K\)-theory.