Globalizing and stabilizing global $\infty$-categories

Abstract

We consider the question of cocompleting partially presentable parametrized $\infty$-categories in the sense of arXiv:2307.11001. As our main result we show that in certain cases one may compute such relative cocompletions via a very explicit formula given in terms of partially lax limits. We then apply this to equivariant homotopy theory, building on the work of op. cit. and arXiv:2301.08240, to conclude that the global $\infty$-category of globally equivariant spectra is the relative cocompletion of the global $\infty$-category of equivariant spectra. Evaluating at a group $G$ we obtain a description of the $\infty$-category of $G$-global spectra as a partially lax limit, extending the main result of arXiv:2206.01556 for finite groups to $G$-global homotopy theory. Finally we investigate the question of stabilizing global $\infty$-categories by inverting the action of representation spheres, and deduce a second universal property for the global $\infty$-category of globally equivariant spectra, similar to that of arXiv:2302.06207.