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Gijs Heuts

Publications and source records attributed to Gijs Heuts.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Chromatic Euler characteristics and duality for infinite groups

We study a family of generalizations of the notion of Euler characteristic of discrete groups (or of orbifolds, depending on one's perspective) indexed on the natural numbers. For $n=0$, this is the classical orbifold Euler characteristic as studied by Wall and Serre, whereas for $n \geq 1$ and finite groups, this is the chromatic cardinality as studied by Ben-Moshe--Carmeli--Schlank--Yanovski. For general $n$, we show that our generalized Euler characteristic admits a natural interpretation in terms of the Morava $E$-theories. Our work involves showing that the generalized cohomology of infinite groups $G$ with finite universal space for proper actions $\underline{E}G$ has a good theory of duality, as expressed by a new duality functor on the category of proper $G$-equivariant spectra. In particular, for such groups we prove the vanishing of Klein's generalized Farrell--Tate cohomology with $T(n)$-local coefficients. We compute our generalized orbifold Euler characteristics in a large number of examples. This includes many mapping class groups, where the classical calculation is a result of Harer--Zagier, and many arithmetic groups, whose classical orbifold Euler characteristics were computed by Harder.

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arXiv2026

A characterization of the spectral Lie operad

In this paper we study the structure of the $\infty$-category of spectral Lie algebras. We show that this $\infty$-category admits an interesting symmetric monoidal structure, defined by an analog of the smash product of pointed spaces, and that the free Lie algebra functor $\mathrm{Sp} \to \mathrm{Lie}(\mathrm{Sp})$ is symmetric monoidal with respect to it. Moreover, this property of the free functor essentially characterizes the spectral Lie operad (among nonunital operads in spectra). This result may be thought of as Koszul dual to the more familiar fact that the free commutative algebra functor takes direct sums to tensor products. One of the key ideas is that the $\infty$-category of spectral Lie algebras behaves in many ways like the $\infty$-category of pointed spaces. More precisely, we deduce structural facts about spectral Lie algebras from familiar statements about spaces by differentiating, in the sense of Goodwillie calculus. The tool to do this is the highly structured generalization of Arone-Ching's chain rule established by Blans-Blom. Numerous other features of spectral Lie algebras follow as well, such as a version of Mather's second cube lemma, the relation between the James construction and loop-suspensions, the Hilton-Milnor splitting, and a version of the EHP sequence.

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arXiv2026

On periodic homotopy and homology equivalences of spaces

There are at least two ways to approach the homotopy theory of spaces `at chromatic height $n$': one may localize with respect to $T(n)$-homology or with respect to $v_n$-periodic homotopy groups. It was already observed by Bousfield that these two options yield rather different results. We build on his work to prove precise comparison results between the two notions. A crucial concept is a more robust notion of $T(n)$-equivalence that we call `parametric $T(n)$-equivalence': this is a map of spaces that induces an equivalence on $\infty$-categories of local systems valued in $T(n)$-local spectra. Our results are sharpest in the case of infinite loop spaces, where amongst other things we prove a $T(n)$-local version of a result of Kuhn on the Morava $K$-theory of the Whitehead tower. As a corollary of our results we also produce a formula for the $L_n^f$-localization of an infinite loop space $\Omega^\infty E$ of a spectrum satisfying $L_{n-1}^f E \simeq 0$.

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arXiv2025

Poincar\'{e}-Birkhoff-Witt Theorems in Higher Algebra

We extend the classical Poincar\'e-Birkhoff-Witt theorem to higher algebra by establishing a version that applies to spectral Lie algebras. We deduce this statement from a basic relation between operads in spectra: the commutative operad is the quotient of the associative operad by a right action of the spectral Lie operad. This statement, in turn, is a consequence of a fundamental relation between different $\mathbb{E}_n$-operads, which we articulate and prove. We deduce a variant of the Poincar\'{e}--Birkhoff--Witt theorem for relative enveloping algebras of $\mathbb{E}_n$-algebras. Our methods also give a simple construction and description of the higher enveloping $\mathbb{E}_n$-algebras of a spectral Lie algebra.

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arXiv2024

Koszul duality and a conjecture of Francis-Gaitsgory

Koszul duality is a fundamental correspondence between algebras for an operad $\mathcal{O}$ and coalgebras for its dual cooperad $B\mathcal{O}$, built from $\mathcal{O}$ using the bar construction. Francis-Gaitsgory proposed a conjecture about the general behavior of this duality. The main result of this paper, roughly speaking, is that Koszul duality provides an equivalence between the subcategories of nilcomplete algebras and conilcomplete coalgebras and that these are the largest possible subcategories for which such a result holds. This disproves Francis-Gaitsgory's prediction, but does provide an adequate replacement. We show that many previously known partial results about Koszul duality can be deduced from our results.

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arXiv2024

Formality of $\mathbb{E}_n$-algebras and cochains on spheres

We study the loop and suspension functors on the category of augmented $\mathbb{E}_n$-algebras. One application is to the formality of the cochain algebra of the $n$-sphere. We show that it is formal as an $\mathbb{E}_n$-algebra, also with coefficients in general commutative ring spectra, but rarely $\mathbb{E}_{n+1}$-formal unless the coefficients are rational. Along the way we show that the free functor from operads in spectra to monads in spectra is fully faithful on a nice subcategory of operads which in particular contains the stable $\mathbb{E}_n$-operads for finite $n$. We use this to interpret our results on loop and suspension functors of augmented algebras in operadic terms.

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arXiv2021

Partition complexes and trees

We construct a homotopy initial functor from the partition complex of a finite set $A$ to a category of trees with leaves labelled by $A$. As an application, this provides an equivalence between different bar constructions of an operad. In the differential graded case, this gives a very elementary proof of an equivalence originally due to Fresse.

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arXiv2021

A short proof of the straightening theorem

We provide a short and reasonably self-contained proof of Lurie's straightening equivalence, relating cartesian fibrations over a given $\infty$-category $S$ with contravariant functors from $S$ to the $\infty$-category of small $\infty$-categories.

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arXiv2020

Two models for the homotopy theory of $\infty$-operads

We compare two models for $\infty$-operads: the complete Segal operads of Barwick and the complete dendroidal Segal spaces of Cisinski and Moerdijk. Combining this with comparison results already in the literature, this implies that all known models for $\infty$-operads are equivalent - for instance, it follows that the homotopy theory of Lurie's $\infty$-operads is equivalent to that of dendroidal sets and that of simplicial operads.

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arXiv2020

Lie algebras and $v_n$-periodic spaces

We consider a homotopy theory obtained from that of pointed spaces by inverting the maps inducing isomorphisms in $v_n$-periodic homotopy groups. The case n = 0 corresponds to rational homotopy theory. In analogy with Quillen's results in the rational case, we prove that this $v_n$-periodic homotopy theory is equivalent to the homotopy theory of Lie algebras in T(n)-local spectra. We also compare it to the homotopy theory of commutative coalgebras in T(n)-local spectra, where it turns out there is only an equivalence up to a certain convergence issue of the Goodwillie tower of the identity.

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arXiv2019

Lie algebra models for unstable homotopy theory

Quillen showed how to describe the homotopy theory of simply-connected rational spaces in terms of differential graded Lie algebras. Here we survey a generalization of Quillen's results that describes the $v_n$-periodic localizations of homotopy theory (where rational corresponds to $n=0$) in terms of spectral Lie algebras. The latter form an extension of the theory of Lie algebras to the setting of stable homotopy theory. This is a chapter written for the Handbook of Homotopy Theory edited by Haynes Miller.

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arXiv2019

The $v_n$-periodic Goodwillie tower on Wedges and Cofibres

We introduce general methods to analyse the Goodwillie tower of the identity functor on a wedge $X \vee Y$ of spaces (using the Hilton-Milnor theorem) and on the cofibre $\mathrm{cof}(f)$ of a map $f: X \rightarrow Y$. We deduce some consequences for $v_n$-periodic homotopy groups: whereas the Goodwillie tower is finite and converges in periodic homotopy when evaluated on spheres (Arone-Mahowald), we show that neither of these statements remains true for wedges and Moore spaces.

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arXiv2018

Goodwillie approximations to higher categories

We construct a Goodwillie tower of categories which interpolates between the category of pointed spaces and the category of spectra. This tower of categories refines the Goodwillie tower of the identity functor in a precise sense. More generally, we construct such a tower for a large class of infinity-categories C. We classify such Goodwillie towers in terms of the derivatives of the identity functor of C. As a particular application we show how this provides a model for the homotopy theory of simply-connected spaces in terms of coalgebras with Tate diagonals. Our classification of Goodwillie towers simplifies considerably in settings where the Tate cohomology of the symmetric groups vanishes. As an example we apply our methods to rational homotopy theory. Another application identifies the homotopy theory of p-local spaces with homotopy groups in a certain finite range with the homotopy theory of certain algebras over Ching's spectral version of the Lie operad. This is a close analogue of Quillen's results on rational homotopy. In the sequel to this paper we work out consequences for the study of $v_n$-periodic unstable homotopy theory and the Bousfield-Kuhn functors.

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arXiv2017

Monadicity of the Bousfield-Kuhn functor

We consider the localization of the $\infty$-category of spaces at the $v_n$-periodic equivalences, the case $n=0$ being rational homotopy theory. We prove that this localization is for $n\geq 1$ equivalent to algebras over a certain monad on the $\infty$-category of $T(n)$-local spectra. This monad is built from the Bousfield--Kuhn functor.

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arXiv2016

Left fibrations and homotopy colimits

For a small category A, we prove that the homotopy colimit functor from the category of simplicial diagrams on A to the category of simplicial sets over the nerve of A establishes a left Quillen equivalence between the projective (or Reedy) model structure on the former category and the covariant model structure on the latter. We compare this equivalence to a Quillen equivalence in the opposite direction previously established by Lurie. From our results we deduce that a categorical equivalence of simplicial sets induces a Quillen equivalence on the corresponding over-categories, equipped with the covariant model structures. Also, we show that versions of Quillen's Theorems A and B for infinity-categories easily follow.

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arXiv2016

Left fibrations and homotopy colimits II

For a small simplicial category A, we prove that the homotopy colimit functor from the category of simplicial diagrams on A to the category of simplicial sets over the homotopy-coherent nerve of A provides a left Quillen equivalence between the projective model structure on the former category and the covariant model structure on the latter. We compare this Quillen equivalence to the straightening-unstraightening equivalence previously established by Lurie, where the left adjoint goes in the opposite direction. The existence of left Quillen functors in both directions considerably simplifies the proof that these constructions provide Quillen equivalences. The results of this paper generalize those of part I, where A was an ordinary category. The proofs for a simplicial category are more involved and can be read independently.

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arXiv2015

On the equivalence between Lurie's model and the dendroidal model for infinity-operads

We compare two approaches to the homotopy theory of infinity-operads. One of them, the theory of dendroidal sets, is based on an extension of the theory of simplicial sets and infinity-categories which replaces simplices by trees. The other is based on a certain homotopy theory of marked simplicial sets over the nerve of Segal's category Gamma. In this paper we prove that for operads without constants these two theories are equivalent, in the precise sense of the existence of a zig-zag of Quillen equivalences between the respective model categories.

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