Search for: All records

We rework and generalize equivariant infinite loop space theory, which shows how to construct $G$-spectra from $G$-spaces with suitable structure. There is a classical version which gives classical $\mathrm{\Omega <\#comment/>}$- $G$-spectra for any topological group $G$, but our focus is on the construction of genuine $\mathrm{\Omega <\#comment/>}$- $G$-spectra when $G$is finite. We also show what is and is not true when $G$is a compact Lie group. We give new information about the Segal and operadic equivariant infinite loop space machines, supplying many details that are missing from the literature, and we prove by direct comparison that the two machines give equivalent output when fed equivalent input. The proof of the corresponding nonequivariant uniqueness theorem, due to May and Thomason, works for classical $G$-spectra for general $G$but fails for genuine $G$-spectra. Even in the nonequivariant case, our comparison theorem is considerably more precise, giving an illuminating direct point-set level comparison. We have taken the opportunity to update this general area, equivariant and nonequivariant, giving many new proofs, filling in some gaps, and giving a number of corrections to results and proofs in the literature. 

Let G be a finite group. We give Quillen equivalent models for the category of G–spectra as categories of spectrally enriched functors from explicitly described domain categories to nonequivariant spectra. Our preferred model is based on equivariant infinite loop space theory applied to elementary categorical data. It recasts equivariant stable homotopy theory in terms of point–set-level categories of G–spans and nonequivariant spectra. We also give a more topologically grounded model based on equivariant Atiyah duality. 

Abstract We give an operadic definition of a genuine symmetric monoidal $$G$$-category, and we prove that its classifying space is a genuine $$E_\infty $$G$-space. We do this by developing some very general categorical coherence theory. We combine results of Corner and Gurski, Power and Lack to develop a strictification theory for pseudoalgebras over operads and monads. It specializes to strictify genuine symmetric monoidal $$G$$-categories to genuine permutative $$G$$-categories. All of our work takes place in a general internal categorical framework that has many quite different specializations. When $$G$$ is a finite group, the theory here combines with previous work to generalize equivariant infinite loop space theory from strict space level input to considerably more general category level input. It takes genuine symmetric monoidal $$G$$-categories as input to an equivariant infinite loop space machine that gives genuine $$\Omega $$-$$G$-spectra as output.