2000 character limit reached
Brauer spaces for commutative rings and structured ring spectra (1110.2956v2)
Published 13 Oct 2011 in math.KT and math.AT
Abstract: Using an analogy between the Brauer groups in algebra and the Whitehead groups in topology, we first use methods of algebraic K-theory to give a natural definition of Brauer spectra for commutative rings, such that their homotopy groups are given by the Brauer group, the Picard group and the group of units. Then, in the context of structured ring spectra, the same idea leads to two-fold non-connected deloopings of the spectra of units.