No Arabic abstract
The circle-equivariant spectrum MString_C is the equivariant analogue of the cobordism spectrum MU<6> of stably almost complex manifolds with c_1=c_2=0. Given a rational elliptic curve C, the second author has defined a ring T-spectrum EC representing the associated T-equivariant elliptic cohomology. The core of the present paper is the construction, when C is a complex elliptic curve, of a map of ring T-spectra MString_C --> EC which is the rational equivariant analogue of the sigma orientation of Ando-Hopkins-Strickland. We support this by a theory of characteristic classes for calculation, and a conceptual description in terms of algebraic geometry. In particular, we prove a conjecture of the first author.
This thesis consists of two main parts. In the second part, we recall how a description of local coefficients that Eilenberg introduced in the 1940s leads to spectral sequences for the computation of homology and cohomology with local coefficients. We then show how to construct new equivariant analogues of these spectral sequences for RO(G)-graded Bredon homology and cohomology. Finally, we use these spectral sequences to complete a sample calculation, in which we use the equivariant Serre spectral sequence and the equivariant cohomology of complex projective spaces to compute the cohomology of the equivariant classifying space B_Cp O(2). However, to complete this sample computation, we need to know the cohomology of complex projective space. This calculation was done in a 1988 paper by Gaunce Lewis, but relies on a theorem whose proof as given was incorrect. We spend the first part of this thesis providing a correct proof and summarizing the results of Lewiss paper.
The equivariant cohomology of the classical configuration space $F(mathbb{R}^d,n)$ has been been of great interest and has been studied intensively starting with the classical papers by Artin (1925/1947) on the theory of braids, by Fox and Neuwirth (1962), Fadell and Neuwirth (1962), and Arnold (1969). We give a brief treatment of the subject from the beginnings to recent developments. However, we focus on the mod 2 equivariant cohomology algebras of the classical configuration space $F(mathbb{R}^d,n)$, as described in an influential paper by Hung (1990). We show with a new, detailed proof that his main result is correct, but that the arguments that were given by Hung on the way to his result are not, as are some of the intermediate results in his paper. This invalidates a paper by three of the present authors, Blagojevic, Luck & Ziegler (2016), who used a claimed intermediate result from Hung (1990) in order to derive lower bounds for the existence of $k$-regular and $ell$-skew embeddings. Using our new proof for Hungs main result, we get new lower bounds for existence of highly regular embeddings: Some of them agree with the previously claimed bounds, some are weaker.
We give a new construction of the equivariant $K$-theory of group actions (cf. Barwick et al.), producing an infinite loop $G$-space for each Waldhausen category with $G$-action, for a finite group $G$. On the category $R(X)$ of retractive spaces over a $G$-space $X$, this produces an equivariant lift of Waldhausens functor $A(X)$, and we show that the $H$-fixed points are the bivariant $A$-theory of the fibration $X_{hH}to BH$. We then use the framework of spectral Mackey functors to produce a second equivariant refinement $A_G(X)$ whose fixed points have tom Dieck type splittings. We expect this second definition to be suitable for an equivariant generalization of the parametrized $h$-cobordism theorem.
We introduce a notion of freeness for $RO$-graded equivariant generalized homology theories, considering spaces or spectra $E$ such that the $R$-homology of $E$ splits as a wedge of the $R$-homology of induced virtual representation spheres. The full subcategory of these spectra is closed under all of the basic equivariant operations, and this greatly simplifies computation. Many examples of spectra and homology theories are included along the way. We refine this to a collection of spectra analogous to the pure and isotropic spectra considered by Hill--Hopkins--Ravenel. For these spectra, the $RO$-graded Bredon homology is extremely easy to compute, and if these spaces have additional structure, then this can also be easily determined. In particular, the homology of a space with this property naturally has the structure of a co-Tambara functor (and compatibly with any additional product structure). We work this out in the example of $BU_{mathbb R}$ and coinduce
We describe supersymmetric A-branes and B-branes in open N=(2,2) dynamically gauged nonlinear sigma models (GNLSM), placing emphasis on toric manifold target spaces. For a subset of toric manifolds, these equivariant branes have a mirror description as branes in gauged Landau-Ginzburg models with neutral matter. We then study correlation functions in the topological A-twisted version of the GNLSM, and identify their values with open Hamiltonian Gromov-Witten invariants. Supersymmetry breaking can occur in the A-twisted GNLSM due to nonperturbative open symplectic vortices, and we canonically BRST quantize the mirror theory to analyze this phenomenon.