Rings, modules, and algebras in infinite loop space theory

DOI10.1016/J.AIM.2005.07.007MaRDI QIDQ2503363zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors A. D. Elmendorf, Michael A. Mandell

Publication date 14 September 2006

Published in Advances in Mathematics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0403403

\(E_{\infty }\) ring spectra \(K\)-theory permutative category symmetric spectra

Symmetric monoidal categories (19D23) Spectra with additional structure ((E_infty), (A_infty), ring spectra, etc.) (55P43)

Abstract: We give a new construction of the algebraic

K

-theory of small permutative categories that preserves multiplicative structure, and therefore allows us to give a unified treatment of rings, modules, and algebras in both the input and output. This requires us to define multiplicative structure on the category of small permutative categories. The framework we use is the concept of multicategory, a generalization of symmetric monoidal category that precisely captures the multiplicative structure we have present at all stages of the construction. Our method ends up in Smith's category of symmetric spectra, with an intermediate stop at a new category that may be of interest in its own right, whose objects we call symmetric functors.

Review text

It is well known that the \(K\)-theory of a bipermutative category is an \(E_{\infty}\) ring spectrum, but the proof in the literature contains gaps for which not all patches have been published. Motivated by a question of Gunnar Carlsson the present paper answers more general questions on what combinatorial/categorical structures will give rise to ring or module spectra via taking the \(K\)-theory. The main theorem of the present paper contains the above result as a special case, but is much more general. Moreover, a detailed account of the above mentioned problems in the literature is given. The setting for the paper is multicategories (or coloured operads), which give the right framework for multiplicative structures. A multicategory consist of a collection of objects and a set of \(k\)-morphisms, \(M_k(a_1,\ldots,a_k;b)\) from \(k\)-tuples of objects to a single object. The \(k\)-morphisms satisfy axioms similar to those of an operad and indeed multicategories with one object are precisely the operads. The category of small permutative categories forms a multicategory \({\mathcal P}\) enriched over the category of small categories. A new construction of the \(K\)-theory of a small permutative category, weakly equivalent to the usual \(K\)-theory functor, provides an enriched multifunctor from \({\mathcal P}\) to the multicategory of symmetric spectra. As a consequence, any structure on small permutative categories, which can be described via a multifunctor from a small multicategory into \({\mathcal P}\), (a multidiagram) will give rise to a similar structure in \(K\)-theory, since \(K\)-theory gives a corresponding multidiagram in the multicategory of symmetric spectra. Theorem 1.2 provides a ring structure on a small permutative category as a multifunctor from an operad. A bipermutative structure is determined by a multifunctor from an \(E_{\infty}\) operad. And other module and algebra structures are interpreted this way as well. Hence, for instance, \(K\)-theory of a ring category is a ring spectrum, \(K\)-theory of a bipermutative category is an \(E_{\infty}\)-ring spectrum. Moreover, modelcategory structures on categories of multifunctors into the category of symmetric spectra is studied. The aim is to compare \(E_{\infty}\) rings, modules and algebras with the strictly commutative analogues. The main result, Theorem 1.3 on this is, that for a small multicategory \({\mathcal M}\) enriched over simplicial sets, there is a simlplicial model structure on the category of multifunctors from \({\mathcal M}\) to the category of symmetric spectra. The weak equivalences are the objectwise stable equivalences and the fibrations are the objectwise positive stable fibrations of symmetric spectra.

Recommendations

Cites work

Cited in

(82)

This page was built for publication: Rings, modules, and algebras in infinite loop space theory

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q2503363)