Cdh descent for homotopy Hermitian K-theory of rings with involution

This paper concerns itself with the hermitian \(K\)-theory of schemes with involution. Hermitian \(K\)-theory was originally defined as a theory appropriate to rings with involution by Novikov [\textit{S. P. Novikov}, Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Ser. Mat. 34, 253--288 (1970; Zbl 0193.51902)] and Bass [Bass, Hyman, Unitary algebraic \(K\)-theory. (English) Zbl 0299.18005 Algebr. K-Theory III, Proc. Conf. Battelle Inst. 1972, Lect. Notes Math. 343, 57-265 (1973).], and has been developed extensively from there: for instance, it has been extended to a spectrum-valued functor on dg categories [\textit{M. Schlichting}, J. Pure Appl. Algebra 221, No. 7, 1729--1844 (2017; Zbl 1360.19008)]. Recently, hermitian \(K\)-theory has become prominent in stable motivic homotopy theory, following the seminal paper [\textit{J. Hornbostel}, Topology 44, No. 3, 661--687 (2005; Zbl 1078.19004)]. In the usual stable motivic category, on account of the intrinsic features of the category of interest, all involutions on the schemes are trivial. In the past decade, there have also been developments in equivariant motivic homotopy, see e.g., [\textit{J. Heller} et al., J. Topol. 8, No. 4, 1202--1236 (2015; Zbl 1331.14027)] [\textit{M. Hoyois}, Adv. Math. 305, 197--279 (2017; Zbl 1400.14065)], and one might hope that a representing motivic hermitian \(K\)-theory spectrum might be developed in the equivariant setting, where the involutions on the rings or schemes could again be brought into the picture. Indeed this can be done, which is one of the main points of this paper. It is worth remarking that the equivariant motivic representibility of hermitian \(K\)-theory was shown unstably in [\textit{H. Xie}, J. Pure Appl. Algebra 224, No. 4, Article ID 106215, 26 p. (2020; Zbl 1462.19002)], but the paper at hand establishes that the representing object can be taken to be an \(E_\infty\) spectrum, rather than simply a motivic space. As for the paper itself, there is an introduction and two sections that set up some background on equivariant motivic homotopy and on hermitian forms, respectively. Section 4, which is largely independent of the subsequent sections, constructs a \(C_2\)-equivariant ``hermitian Grassmannian, an \(C_2\)-equivarint ind-scheme that represents the étale classifying space of the infinite orthogonal group. This section is a making-\(C_2\)-equivariant of some of the ideas in [\textit{M. Schlichting} and \textit{G. S. Tripathi}, Math. Ann. 362, No. 3--4, 1143--1167 (2015; Zbl 1331.14028)]. Section 5 discusses the ``periodization of hermitian \(K\)-theory. This term is defined in Section 3 of [\textit{M. Hoyois}, Doc. Math. 25, 457--482 (2020; Zbl 1453.14068)], rather than in this paper, so the reader may be wise to consult Section 3 of [\textit{M. Hoyois}, Doc. Math. 25, 457--482 (2020; Zbl 1453.14068)] first. Secton 5 of this paper really proves two main results. First, in Section 5 of [\textit{M. Schlichting}, J. Pure Appl. Algebra 221, No. 7, 1729--1844 (2017; Zbl 1360.19008)], a spectrum-valued functor \(GW\) on rings with involution (among other things) is produced. This is a spectrum-valued ``higher hermitian \(K\)-theory, but it does not have the localization properties one would want. In Section 8.2, of [\textit{M. Schlichting}, J. Pure Appl. Algebra 221, No. 7, 1729--1844 (2017; Zbl 1360.19008)], a theory \(\mathbb GW\) is produced by forcing \(GW\) to satisfy Zariski descent. Corollary 5.12 in the present paper says that \(\mathbb GW\) is the universal \(\mathbb A^1\)-homotopy invariant, Nisnevich excisive and Bott-periodic functor associated to the geometrically-defined higher-Grothendieck--Witt functors, \(GW\). Theorem 5.10, logically prior, establishes that in fact \(\mathbb{G}W\) is represented by a spectrum in the \(C_2\)-equivariant stable motivic homotopy theory, at least over a noetherian, finite-dimensional base scheme with an ample family of line bundles. In fact, the spectrum is an \(E_\infty\)-spectrum, so that the commutative ring structure of hermitian \(K\)-theory is suitably extended to this new object. Section 6 of the paper then establishes that the spectrum-valued functor \(\mathbb{G}W\) actually satisfies equivariant cdh descent (i.e., both Nisnevich descent and descent for equivariant abstract blowups). As one might expect, the proofs in Sections 5 and 6 borrow from the corresponding non-equivariant proofs for \(K\)-theory, [\textit{M. Hoyois}, Doc. Math. 25, 457--482 (2020; Zbl 1453.14068)], and draw on the extensive description of equivariant Hermitian \(K\)-theory in [\textit{M. Schlichting}, J. Pure Appl. Algebra 221, No. 7, 1729--1844 (2017; Zbl 1360.19008)]. The reader wishing to understand the arguments in this paper should also have those two papers to hand.

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