Segal's Gamma rings and universal arithmetic

Abstract: Segal's Gamma-rings provide a natural framework for absolute algebraic geometry. We use Almkvist's global Witt construction to explore the relation with J. Borger F1-geometry and compute the Witt functor-ring of Almkvist for the simplest Gamma-ring S. We prove that it is isomorphic to the Galois invariant part of the BC-system, and exhibit the close relation between Lambda-rings and the Arithmetic site. Then, we concentrate on the Arakelov compactification of Z which acquires a structure sheaf of S-algebras. After supplying a probabilistic interpretation of the classical theta invariant of a divisor D, we show how to associate to D a Gamma-space that encodes, in homotopical terms, the Riemann-Roch problem for D.