arXiv subjects

Stefan Schwede

Publications and source records attributed to Stefan Schwede.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2006

On the homotopy groups of symmetric spectra

The symmetric spectra introduced by Hovey, Shipley and Smith are a convenient model for the stable homotopy category with a nice associative and commutative smash product on the point set level and a compatible Quillen closed model structure. About the only disadvantage of this model is that the stable equivalences cannot be defined by inverting those morphisms which induce isomorphisms on homotopy groups, because this would leave too many homotopy types. In this sense the naively defined homotopy groups are often `wrong`, and then their precise relationship to the `true` homotopy groups (i.e., morphisms in the stable homotopy category from sphere spectra) appears mysterious. In this paper I discuss and exploit extra algebraic structure on the naively defined homotopy groups of symmetric spectra, namely a special kind of action of the monoid of injective self maps of the natural numbers. This extra structure clarifies several issues about homotopy groups and stable equivalences and explains why the naive homotopy groups are not so wrong after all. For example, the monoid action allows a simple characterization of semistable symmetric spectra.

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arXiv2004

Formal groups and stable homotopy of commutative rings

We explain a new relationship between formal group laws and ring spectra in stable homotopy theory. We study a ring spectrum denoted DB which depends on a commutative ring B and is closely related to the topological Andre-Quillen homology of B. We present an explicit construction which to every 1-dimensional and commutative formal group law F over B associates a morphism of ring spectra F_*: HZ --> DB from the Eilenberg-MacLane ring spectrum of the integers. We show that formal group laws account for all such ring spectrum maps, and we identify the space of ring spectrum maps between HZ and DB. That description involves formal group law data and the homotopy units of the ring spectrum DB.

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arXiv2003

Morita theory in abelian, derived and stable model categories

This is a survey paper, based on lectures given at the Workshop on "Structured ring spectra and their applications" which took place January 21-25, 2002, at the University of Glasgow. The term `Morita theory' is usually used for results concerning equivalences of various kinds of module categories. We focus on the covariant form of Morita theory, so the basic question is: When do two `rings' have `equivalent' module categories ? We discuss this question in different contexts and illustrate it by examples: (Classical) When are the module categories of two rings equivalent as categories ? (Derived) When are the derived categories of two rings equivalent as triangulated categories ? (Homotopical) When are the module categories of two ring spectra Quillen equivalent as model categories ? There is always a related question, which is in a sense more general: What characterizes the category of modules over a `ring' ? The answer is, mutatis mutandis, always the same: modules over a `ring' are characterized by the existence of a `small generator', which plays the role of the free module of rank one. The precise meaning of `small generator' depends on the context, be it an abelian category, a derived category or a stable model category.

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arXiv2003

Equivalences of monoidal model categories

We construct Quillen equivalences between the model categories of monoids (rings), modules and algebras over two Quillen equivalent model categories under certain conditions. This is a continuation of our earlier work where we established model categories of monoids, modules and algebras [Algebras and modules in monoidal model categories, Proc. London Math. Soc. 80 (2000), 491-511]. As an application we extend the Dold-Kan equivalence to show that the model categories of simplicial rings, modules and algebras are Quillen equivalent to the associated model categories of connected differential graded rings, modules and algebras. We also show that our classification results from [Stable model categories are categories of modules, Topology, 42 (2003) 103-153] concerning stable model categories translate to any one of the known symmetric monoidal model categories of spectra.

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arXiv2001

Classification of stable model categories

A stable model category is a setting for homotopy theory where the suspension functor is invertible. The prototypical examples are the category of spectra in the sense of stable homotopy theory and the category of unbounded chain complexes of modules over a ring. In this paper we develop methods for deciding when two stable model categories represent `the same homotopy theory'. We show that stable model categories with a single compact generator are equivalent to modules over a ring spectrum. More generally stable model categories with a set of generators are characterized as modules over a `ring spectrum with several objects', i.e., as spectrum valued diagram categories. We also prove a Morita theorem which shows how equivalences between module categories over ring spectra can be realized by smashing with a pair of bimodules. Finally, we characterize stable model categories which represent the derived category of a ring. This is a slight generalization of Rickard's work on derived equivalent rings. We also include a proof of the model category equivalence of modules over the Eilenberg-Mac Lane spectrum HR and (unbounded) chain complexes of R-modules for a ring R.

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arXiv2001

Simplicial structures on model categories and functors

We produce a highly structured way of associating a simplicial category to a model category which improves on work of Dwyer and Kan and answers a question of Hovey. We show that model categories satisfying a certain axiom are Quillen equivalent to simplicial model categories. A simplicial model category provides higher order structure such as composable mapping spaces and homotopy colimits. We also show that certain homotopy invariant functors can be replaced by weakly equivalent simplicial, or `continuous', functors. This is used to show that if a simplicial model category structure exists on a model category then it is unique up to simplicial Quillen equivalence.

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arXiv2000

A uniqueness theorem for stable homotopy theory

In this paper we study the global structure of the stable homotopy theory of spectra. We establish criteria for when the homotopy theory associated to a given stable model category agrees with the classical stable homotopy theory of spectra. One sufficient condition is that the associated homotopy category is equivalent to the stable homotopy category as a triangulated category with an action of the ring of stable homotopy groups of spheres. In other words, the classical stable homotopy theory, with all of its higher order information, is determined by the homotopy category as a triangulated category with an action of the stable homotopy groups of spheres. Another sufficient condition is the existence of a small generating object (corresponding to the sphere spectrum) for which a specific `unit map' from the infinite loop space QS^0 to the endomorphism space is a weak equivalence.

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arXiv1998

Algebras and modules in monoidal model categories

We construct model category structures for monoids and modules in symmetric monoidal model categories which satisfy an extra axiom, the monoidal axiom, with applications to symmetric spectra and $Γ$-spaces.

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