We use the Steenrod algebra to study $CH^*BG$, the mod $p$ Chow ring of the classifying space of $G$. We describe a localization property which relates a given $G$ to its elementary abelian subgroups, and we study a number of particular cases, namely symmetric groups and Chevalley groups. It turns out that the Chow rings of these groups are completely determined by the abelian subgroups and their fusion.
For $X$ a smooth scheme acted on by a linear algebraic group $G$ and $p$ a prime, the equivariant Chow ring $CH^*_G(X)\otimes \mathbb{F}_p$ is an unstable algebra over the Steenrod algebra. We compute Lannes's $T$-functor applied to $CH^*_G(X)\otimes \mathbb{F}_p$. As an application, we compute the localization of $CH^*_G(X)\otimes \mathbb{F}_p$ away from $n$-nilpotent modules over the Steenrod algebra, affirming a conjecture of Totaro as a special case. The case when $X$ is a point and $n = 1$ generalizes and recovers an algebro-geometric version of Quillen's stratification theorem proved by …
Steenrod operations have been defined by Voedvodsky in motivic cohomology in order to show the Milnor and Bloch-Kato conjectures. These operations have also been constructed by Brosnan for Chow rings. The purpose of this paper is to provide a setting for the construction of the Steenrod operations in algebraic geometry, for generalized cohomology theories whose formal group law has order two. We adapt the methods used by Bisson-Joyal in studying Steenrod and Dyer-Lashof operations in unoriented cobordism and mod 2 cohomology.
We investigate the integral cohomology ring and the Chow ring of the classifying space of the complex projective linear group PGL_p, when p is an odd prime. In particular, we determine its additive structure completely, and we reduce the problem of determing its multiplicative structure to a problem in invariant theory.
We compute generators for the Chow ring of the classifying space of PGL_3 (over the complex numbers) as defined by Totaro. We also find enough relations after inverting 3. We show that this ring is not generated by Chern classes (this is the first example of this kind among classical groups) and prove that Totaro's refined cycle class map to a quotient of complex cobordism of BPGL_3 is surjective
Using the recent work of Frankland and Spitzweck, we define Steenrod operations $P^{n}$ on the mod $p$ motivic cohomology of smooth varieties defined over a base field of characteristic $p$. We show that $P^{n}$ is the $p$th power on $H^{2n,n}(-,\mathbb{F}_{p})\cong CH^{n}(-)/p$ and prove an instability result for the operations. Restricted to mod $p$ Chow groups, we show that the operations satisfy the expected Adem relations and Cartan formula. For $p=2$, we use the new Steenrod squares to obtain new results on quadratic forms over a base field of characteristic $2$.
The Steenrod operations (mod p) in Chow theory are defined for any prime p for a quasi-projective scheme, without appealing to the results of any domain but Milnor's K-theory. The new definition also gives a direct formula that depends only on the scheme itself. Additionally, basic properties of the operations are proved from the new definition. The idea is based on a construction of M. Rost.
We give a new construction of a weak form of Steenrod operations for Chow groups modulo a prime number p for a certain class of varieties. This class contains projective homogeneous varieties which are either split or over a field admitting some form of resolution of singularities, for example any field of characteristic not p. These reduced Steenrod operations are sufficient for some applications to the theory of quadratic forms.
We show how the stratification method, introduced by Vezzosi in his study of PGL_3, provides a unified approach to the known computations of the Chow rings of the classifying spaces of GL_n, SL_n, Sp_n, O_n and SO_n.
In this article we construct Symmetric operations for all primes (previously known only for p=2). These unstable operations are more subtle than the Landweber-Novikov operations, and encode all p-primary divisibilities of characteristic numbers. Thus, taken together (for all primes) they plug the gap left by the Hurewitz map L ---> Z[b_1,b_2,...], providing an important structure on Algebraic Cobordism. Applications include: questions of rationality of Chow group elements - see [11], and the structure of the Graded Algebraic Cobordism. We also construct Steenrod operations of T.tom Dieck-style…
We compute the Chow-Witt rings of the classifying spaces for the symplectic and special linear groups. In the structural description we give, contributions from real and complex realization are clearly visible. In particular, the computation of cohomology with $\mathbf{I}^j$-coefficients is done closely along the lines of Brown's computation of integral cohomology for special orthogonal groups. The computations for the symplectic groups show that Chow-Witt groups are a symplectically oriented ring cohomology theory. Using our computations for special linear groups, we also discuss the question…
Let $p$ be a prime and $q$ be a power of $p$. We compute the Chow ring of the classifying space of some Chevalley groups $G(\mathbb{F}_q)$, when considered as a finite algebraic group over a field of characteristic $p$ containing $\mathbb{F}_q$. Using specialization from characteristic $0$ to characteristic $p$ we also obtain results over the complex numbers.
We define the Chow ring of the classifying space of a linear algebraic group. In all the examples where we can compute it, such as the symmetric groups and the orthogonal groups, it is isomorphic to a natural quotient of the complex cobordism ring of the classifying space, a topological invariant. We apply this to get torsion information on the Chow groups of varieties defined as quotients by finite groups. This generalizes Atiyah and Hirzebruch's use of such varieties to give counterexamples to the Hodge conjecture with integer coefficients.
Building up on work of Epstein, May and Drury, we define and investigate the mod $p$ Steenrod operations on the de Rham cohomology of smooth algebraic stacks over a field of characteristic $p>0$. We then compute the action of the operations on the de Rham cohomology of classifying stacks for finite groups, connected reductive groups for which $p$ is not a torsion prime, and (special) orthogonal groups when $p=2$.
We investigate the structure of the Chow ring of the classifying stacks $BT$ of algebraic tori, as it has been defined by B. Totaro. Some previous work of N. Karpenko, A. Merkurjev, S. Blinstein and F. Scavia has shed some light on the structure of such rings. In particular Karpenko showed the absence of torsion classes in the case of permutation tori, while Merkurjev and Blinstein described in a very effective way the second Chow group $A^2(BT)$ in the general case. Building on this work, Scavia exhibited an example where $A^2(BT)_\text{tors}\neq 0$. Here, by making use of a very elementary a…
In the integral cohomology ring of the classifying space of the projective linear group $PGL_n$ (over $\mathbb{C}$), we find a collection of $p$-torsions $y_{p,k}$ of degree $2(p^{k+1}+1)$ for any odd prime divisor $p$ of $n$, and $k\geq 0$. If in addition, $p^2\nmid n$, there are $p$-torsion classes $ρ_{p,k}$ of degree $p^{k+1}+1$ in the Chow ring of the classifying stack of $PGL_n$, such that the cycle class map takes $ρ_{p,k}$ to $y_{p,k}$. We present an application of the above classes regarding Chern subrings.
We compute the Chow ring of the classifying space $BSO(2n,\C)$ in the sense of Totaro using the fibration $Gl(2n)/SO(2n) \to BSO(2n) \to BGl(2n)$ and a computation of the Chow ring of $Gl(2n)/SO(2n)$ in a previous paper. We find this Chow ring is generated by Chern classes and a characteristic class defined by Edidin and Graham which maps to $2^{n-1}$ times the Euler class under the usual class map from the Chow ring to ordinary cohomology. Moreover, we show this class represents $1/2^{n-1}(n-1)!$ times the $n^{th}$ Chern class of the representation of SO(2n) whose highest weight vector is twi…
Let $GO(2n)$ be the general orthogonal group scheme (the group of orthogonal similitudes). In the topological category, Y. Holla and N. Nitsure determined the singular cohomology ring $H^*_{\rm sing}(BGO(2n,\mathbb C),\mathbb F_2)$ of the classifying space $BGO(2n,\mathbb C)$ of the corresponding complex Lie group $GO(2n,\mathbb C)$ in terms of explicit generators and relations. The author of the present note showed that over any algebraically closed field of characteristic not equal to $2$, the smooth-étale cohomology ring $H_{\rm sm-ét}^*(BGO(2n),\mathbb F_2)$ of the classifying algebraic st…
We give the first examples of finite groups G such that the Chow ring of the classifying space BG depends on the base field, even for fields containing the algebraic closure of Q. As a tool, we give several characterizations of the varieties which satisfy Kunneth properties for Chow groups or motivic homology. We define the (compactly supported) motive of a quotient stack in Voevodsky's derived category of motives. This makes it possible to ask when the motive of BG is mixed Tate, which is equivalent to the motivic Kunneth property. We prove that BG is mixed Tate for various "well-behaved" fin…
We determine a subring of the Chow ring and the cohomology of $BPGL_n$, the classifying space of the projective linear group of degree $n$ over complex numbers, and explain a way in which this computation might play a role in the period-index problem. In addition, we show that the Chow ring of $BPGL_n$ is not generated by the Chern classes of linear representations of $PGL_n$.
We investigate some relations between the duality and the topological filtration in algebraic K-theory. As a result, we obtain a construction of the first Steenrod square for Chow groups modulo two of varieties over a field of arbitrary characteristic. This improves previously obtained results, in the sense that it is not anymore needed to mod out the image modulo two of torsion integral cycles. Along the way we construct a lifting of the first Steenrod square to algebraic connective K-theory with integral coefficients, and homological Adams operations in this theory. Finally we provide some a…
We prove an integrality property of the Chern character with values in Chow groups. As a consequence we obtain, for a prime number p, a construction of the p-1 first homological Steenrod operations on Chow groups modulo p and p-primary torsion, over an arbitrary field. We provide applications to the study of correspondences between algebraic varieties.
In the present article we investigate ordinary and equivariant Rost motives. We provide an equivariant motivic decomposition of the variety X of full flags of a split semisimple algebraic group over a smooth base scheme, study torsion subgroup of the Chow group of twisted forms of X, define some equivariant Rost motives over a field and ordinary Rost motives over a general base scheme, and relate equivariant Rost motives with classifying spaces of some algebraic groups.
Let p be an odd prime number. We show that there exists a finite group of order p^{p+3} whose the mod p cycle map from the mod p Chow ring of its classifying space to its ordinary mod p cohomology is not injective.
Extending [14], we obtain a complete description of the motivic cohomology with ${\mathbb Z}/2$-coefficients of the Nisnevich classifying space of the spin group $Spin_n$ associated to the standard split quadratic form. This provides us with very simple relations among subtle Stiefel-Whitney classes in the motivic cohomology of Čech simplicial schemes associated to quadratic forms from $I^3$, which are closely related to $Spin_n$-torsors over the point. These relations come from the action of the motivic Steenrod algebra on the second subtle Stiefel-Whitney class. Moreover, exploiting the rela…
Let $k$ be a field of characteristic zero, and let $X$ be a projective variety embedded into a projective space over $k$. For two natural numbers $r$ and $d$ let $C_{r,d}(X)$ be the Chow scheme parametrizing effective cycles of dimension $r$ and degree $d$ on the variety $X$. An effective $r$-cycle of minimal degree on $X$ gives rise to a chain of embeddings of $C_{r,d}(X)$ into $C_{r,d+1}(X)$, whose colimit is the connective Chow monoid $C_r^{\infty }(X)$ of $r$-cycles on $X$. Let $BC_r^{\infty }(X)$ be the motivic classifying space of this monoid. In the paper we establish an isomorphism bet…
If $G$ is a presheaf of groupoids on a small site, and $A$ is a sheaf of abelian groups, we prove that the sheaf cohomology group $H^2 (BG, A)$ is in bijection with a set of central extensions of $G$ by $A$. We use this result to study the motivic cohomology of the Nisnevich classifying space $BG$, when $G$ is a presheaf of groups on the smooth Nisnevich site over a field, and particularly when $G = PGL_{n}$. Finally, we show that, when $p$ is an odd prime, the Chow ring of the classifying space of $PGL_{p}$ injects into the motivic cohomology of the Nisnevich classifying space $BPGL_{p}$, ove…
We apply the machinery developed by the first-named author to the K-theory of coherent G-sheaves on a finite type G-scheme X over a field, where G is a finite group. This leads to a definition of G-equivariant higher Chow groups (different from the Chow groups of classifying spaces constructed by Totaro and generalized to arbitrary X by Edidin-Graham) and an Atiyah-Hirzebruch spectral sequence from the G-equivariant higher Chow groups to the higher K-theory of coherent G-sheaves on X. This spectral sequence generalizes the spectral sequence from motivic cohomology to K-theory constructed by Bl…
Let GO(2n) be the general orthogonal group (the group of similitudes) over any algebraically closed field of characteristic not equal to 2. We determine the etale cohomology ring with mod 2 coefficients of the algebraic stack BGO(2n). In the topological category, Y. Holla and N. Nitsure determined the singular cohomology ring of the classifying space BGO(2n) of the complex Lie group GO(2n) in terms of explicit generators and relations. We extend their results to the algebraic category. The chief ingredients in this are (i) an extension to etale cohomology of an idea of Totaro, originally used …
This thesis is concerned with the mixed Tate property of reductive algebraic groups $G$, which in particular guarantees a Chow Kunneth property for the classifying space $BG$. Toward this goal, we first refine the construction of the compactly supported motive of a quotient stack. In the first section, we construct the compactly supported motive $M^c(X)$ of an algebraic space $X$ and demonstrate that it satisfies expected properties, following closely Voevodsky's work in the case of schemes. In the second section, we construct a functorial version of Totaro's definition of the compactly suppor…
Let F be an arbitrary field of characteristic not 2. We write W(F) for the Witt ring of F, consisting of the isomorphism classes of all anisotropic quadratic forms over F. For any element x of W(F), dimension dim x is defined as the dimension of a quadratic form representing x. The elements of all even dimensions form an ideal denoted I(F). The filtration of the ring W(F) by the powers I(F)^n of this ideal plays a fundamental role in the algebraic theory of quadratic forms. The Milnor conjectures, recently proved by Voevodsky and Orlov-Vishik-Voevodsky, describe the successive quotients I(F)^n…
