Sunday, 17 September 2006

at.algebraic topology - unpointed brown representability theorem

Yes, Brown representability holds for such functors.
There are not really any material differences between this and the proof of Brown representability in the pointed case.



EDIT: My previous version of this was not rigorous enough. I was trying to be clever and get away with just simple cell attachments, which only work if you already know that the functor is represented by a space. Sorry for the delay in reworking, but this particular proof has enough details that it takes time to write up.



As you say, you begin by decomposing such functors so without loss of generality F(pt) is a single point.



Start with X1 as a point. Assume you've inductively constructed an (n1)-dimensional complex Xn1 with an element xn1inF(Xn1) so that, for all CW-inclusions ZtoY of finite CW complexes with Y formed by attaching a k-cell for k<n, the map
[Y,Xn1]to[Z,Xn1]timesF(Z)F(Y)is surjective.



Now, define a "problem" of dimension n to be a CW-inclusion ZtoY where Y is a subspace of mathbbRinfty formed by attaching a single n-cell to Z, together with an element of
Map(Z,Xn1)timesF(Z)F(Y).
The fact that Y has a fixed embedding in mathbbRinfty means that there is a set of problems S, whose elements are tuples (Zs,Ys,fs,ys) with fs a map ZstoXn1 and ys is a compatible element of F(Y).



Let Xn be the pushout of the diagram
Xn1leftarrowcoprodsinSZsrightarrowcoprodsinSYs
where the lefthand maps are defined by the maps fs and the righthand maps are the given CW-inclusions. This is a relative CW-inclusion formed by attaching a collection of n-cells; therefore, Xn still has the extension property for relative cell inclusions of dimension less than n.



The space Xn is homotopy equivalent to the homotopy pushout of the given diagram, which is formed by gluing together mapping cylinders. Specifically, Xn is weakly equivalent to the space
Xn1times0cup(coprodSZstimes[0,1])cup(coprodSYstimes1)
which decomposes into two CW-subcomplexes:
A=Xn1times0cup(coprodZtimes[0,1/2])
which deformation retracts to Xn1, and
B=(coprodZstimes[0,1/2])cup(coprodYstimes1)
which deformation retracts to coprodYs with intersection AcapBcongcoprodZs. The Mayer-Vietoris property and the coproduct axiom then imply that there is an element xninF(Xn) whose restriction to A is xn1 and whose restriction to B is prodys.



Taking colimits, you have a CW-complex X with an element xinF(X) (constructed using a mapping telescope + Mayer-Vietoris argument) so that, for all CW-inclusions ZtoY obtained by attaching a single cell, the map
[Y,X]to[Z,X]timesF(Z)F(Y) is surjective.



Now you need to show that for any finite CW-complex K, [K,X]toF(X) is a bijection.



First, surjectivity is straightforward by induction on the skeleta of K. More specifically, for any K with subcomplex L, element of F(K), and map LtoX realizing the restriction to F(L), you induct on the cells of KsetminusL. Then, injectivity: if you have two elements KtoX with the same images in F(K), you use the above-proven stronger surjectivity property to the inclusion Ktimes0,1toKtimes[0,1] to show that there is a homotopy between said maps.

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