A note on the Greek letter elements of the homotopy of the $L_n$-local spheres

Abstract

Let $BP$ denote the Brown-Peterson spectrum at a prime $p$, whose homotopy groups are isomorphic to the polynomial algebra generated by elements $v_i$'s for $i\ge 1$. We consider the homotopy groups of the $v_n^{-1}BP$-localized sphere spectrum $L_nS^0$ with $n^2\le 2p-1$, and show that the groups contain the $n$-th Greek letter family. For the proof of this, we further show the existence of the $v_n^{-1}BP$-localized Smith-Toda spectrum $W_n$ for the case $n^2\le 2p-1$. If the Smith-Toda spectrum $V(n-1)$ exists, then $L_nV(n-1)$ is an example of $W_n$. Previously, $W_n$ is shown to exist if $n^2+n\le 2p-1$. We also consider the case where $(p,n)=(7,4)$, and show the existence of the delta family in $\pi_*(L_4S^0)$.