We determine when the integral homology of the classifying space of a $PU(n)$-gauge group over the sphere $S^2$ has torsion.

We initiate a systematic study of the perfection of affine group schemes of finite type over fields of positive characteristic. The main result intrinsically characterises and classifies the perfections of reductive groups and obtains a bijection with the set of classifying spaces of compact connected Lie groups topologically localised away from the characteristic. We also study the representations of perfectly reductive groups. We establish a highest weight classification of simple modules, the decomposition into blocks, and relate extension groups to those of the underlying abstract group.

Let T be the theory of dense cyclically ordered sets with at least two elements. We determine the classifying space of $\mathsf {Mod}(T)$ to be homotopically equivalent to $\mathbb {CP}^\infty $. In particular, $\pi _2(\lvert \mathsf {Mod}(T)\rvert )=\mathbb {Z}$, which answers a question in our previous work. The computation is based on Connes’ cycle category $\Lambda $.

Let $\pi$ be a discrete group, and let $G$ be a compact-connected Lie group. Then, there is a map $\Theta \colon \mathrm {Hom}(\pi,G)_0\to \mathrm {map}_*(B\pi,BG)_0$ between the null components of the spaces of homomorphisms and based maps, which sends a homomorphism to the induced map between classifying spaces. Atiyah and Bott studied this map for $\pi$ a surface group, and showed that it is surjective in rational cohomology. In this paper, we prove that the map $\Theta$ is surjective in rational cohomology for $\pi =\mathbb {Z}^m$ and the classical group $G$ except for $SO(2n)$, and that it is not surjective for $\pi =\mathbb {Z}^m$ with $m\ge 3$ and $G=SO(2n)$ with $n\ge 4$. As an application, we consider the surjectivity of the map $\Theta$ in rational cohomology for $\pi$ a finitely generated nilpotent group. We also consider the dimension of the cokernel of the map $\Theta$ in rational homotopy groups for $\pi =\mathbb {Z}^m$ and the classical groups $G$ except for $SO(2n)$.

Let $G$ be a compact connected simple Lie group of type $(n_{1},\,\ldots,\,n_{l})$, where $n_{1}<\cdots < n_{l}$. Let $\mathcal {G}_k$ be the gauge group of the principal $G$-bundle over $S^{4}$ corresponding to $k\in \pi _3(G)\cong \mathbb {Z}$. We calculate the mod-$p$ homology of the classifying space $B\mathcal {G}_k$ provided that $n_{l}< p-1$.

We show that the Lascar group $\operatorname {Gal}_L(T)$ of a first-order theory T is naturally isomorphic to the fundamental group $\pi _1(|\mathrm {Mod}(T)|)$ of the classifying space of the category of models of T and elementary embeddings. We use this identification to compute the Lascar groups of several example theories via homotopy-theoretic methods, and in fact completely characterize the homotopy type of $|\mathrm {Mod}(T)|$ for these theories T. It turns out that in each of these cases, $|\operatorname {Mod}(T)|$ is aspherical, i.e., its higher homotopy groups vanish. This raises the question of which homotopy types are of the form $|\mathrm {Mod}(T)|$ in general. As a preliminary step towards answering this question, we show that every homotopy type is of the form $|\mathcal {C}|$ where $\mathcal {C}$ is an Abstract Elementary Class with amalgamation for $\kappa $ -small objects, where $\kappa $ may be taken arbitrarily large. This result is improved in another paper.

For almost any compact connected Lie group $G$ and any field $\mathbb{F}_{p}$, we compute the Batalin–Vilkovisky algebra $H^{\star +\text{dim}\,G}(\text{LBG};\mathbb{F}_{p})$ on the loop cohomology of the classifying space introduced by Chataur and the second author. In particular, if $p$ is odd or $p=0$, this Batalin–Vilkovisky algebra is isomorphic to the Hochschild cohomology $HH^{\star }(H_{\star }(G),H_{\star }(G))$. Over $\mathbb{F}_{2}$ , such an isomorphism of Batalin–Vilkovisky algebras does not hold when $G=\text{SO}(3)$ or $G=G_{2}$. Our elaborate considerations on the signs in string topology of the classifying spaces give rise to a general theorem on graded homological conformal field theory.

Let M be a closed simply connected 2n-dimensional manifold. The paper is concerned with the cohomology of classifying spaces of connected groups of homeomorphisms of M.

Is the cohomology of the classifying space of a p-compact group, with Noetherian twisted coefficients, a Noetherian module? In this paper we provide, over the ring of p-adic integers, such a generalization to p-compact groups of the Evens–Venkov Theorem. We consider the cohomology of a space with coefficients in a module, and we compare Noetherianity over the field with p elements with Noetherianity over the p-adic integers, in the case when the fundamental group is a finite p-group.

We begin the paper with a simple formula for the second integral homology of a range of Artin groups. The formula is derived from a polytopal classifying space. We then introduce the notion of a twisted Artin group and obtain polytopal classifying spaces for a range of such groups. We demonstrate that these explicitly constructed spaces can be implemented on a computer and used in homological calculations.

A $p$-local finite group consists of a finite $p$-group $S$, together with a pair of categories which encode ‘conjugacy’ relations among subgroups of $S$, and which are modelled on the fusion in a Sylow $p$-subgroup of a finite group. It contains enough information to define a classifying space which has many of the same properties as $p$-completed classifying spaces of finite groups. In this paper, we examine which subgroups control this structure. More precisely, we prove that the question of whether an abstract fusion system $\mathcal{F}$ over a finite $p$-group $S$ is saturated can be determined by just looking at smaller classes of subgroups of $S$. We also prove that the homotopy type of the classifying space of a given $p$-local finite group is independent of the family of subgroups used to define it, in the sense that it remains unchanged when that family ranges from the set of $\mathcal{F}$-centric $\mathcal{F}$-radical subgroups (at a minimum) to the set of $\mathcal{F}$-quasicentric subgroups (at a maximum). Finally, we look at constrained fusion systems, analogous to $p$-constrained finite groups, and prove that they in fact all arise from groups.

The usual constructions of classifying spaces for monoidal categories produce $\text{CW}$-complexes with many cells that,moreover, do not have any proper geometric meaning. However, geometric nerves of monoidal categories are very handy simplicial sets whose simplices have a pleasing geometric description: they are diagrams with the shape of the 2-skeleton of oriented standard simplices. The purpose of this paper is to prove that geometric realizations of geometric nerves are classifying spaces for monoidal categories.

For $q$ a non-negative integer, we introduce the internal $q$-homology of crossed modules and we obtain in the case $q=0$ the homology of crossed modules. In the particular case of considering a group as a crossed module we obtain that its internal $q$-homology is the homology of the group with coefficients in the ring of the integers modulo $q$.

The second internal $q$-homology of crossed modules coincides with the invariant introduced by Grandjeán and López, that is, the kernel of the universal $q$-central extension. Finally, we relate the internal $q$-homology of a crossed module to the homology of its classifying space with coefficients in the ring of the integers modulo $q$.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 18G50; 20J05. Secondary 18G30

We prove the following: if a group $\Gamma$ is torsion-free, and relatively hyperbolic (with the Bounded Coset Penetration property), relative to a subgroup admitting a finite classifying space, then $\Gamma$ admits a finite classifying space. In this case, if the subgroup admits a boundary in the sense of $\mathcal{Z}$-structures, we prove that $\Gamma$ admits a boundary. This extends classical results of Rips, and of Bestvina and Mess to the relative case.

Classifying spaces and moduli spaces are constructed for two invariants of isolated hypersurface singularities, for the polarized mixed Hodge structure on the middle cohomology of the Milnor fibre, and for the Brieskorn lattice as a subspace of the Gauß–Manin connection. The relations between them, period mappings for μ-constant families of singularities, and Torelli theorems are discussed.

Let ℳ(N, N) be the space of all N × N real matrices and let 𝒢(N) be the set of all linear subspaces of ℝN. The maps ker and coker from ℳ(N, N) onto 𝒢(N) induce two quotient topologies, the right and left respectively. A quasibundle over a space X is defined as a continuous map from X into 𝒢(N)\ it is a right quasibundle if 𝒢(N) = ℳ(N,N)/ ker and a left quasibundle if 𝒢(N) = ℳ(N,N)/ coker. The following is established. Theorem: Let ξ be a left quasibundle over a closed subset of some Euclidean space. Then the following statements are equivalent: (i) ξ has enough sections pointwise. (ii) Sections zero at infinity over closed subsets may be extended globally, (iii) A vector subbundle over a closed subset extends to a vector subbundle over a neighborhood, (iv) ξ is a fibrewise sum of local vector subbundles. (v) There exist finitely many global sections spanning ξ. (vi) ξ is an image quasibundle. (vii) ξ results from a Swan construction. These results are used to prove a version of the Hirsch-Smale immersion theorem for locally compact subsets of Euclidean space.