Paper detail

On the Adams Spectral Sequence for R-modules

We discuss the Adams Spectral Sequence for R-modules based on commutative localized regular quotient ring spectra over a commutative S-algebra R in the sense of Elmendorf, Kriz, Mandell, May and Strickland. The formulation of this spectral sequence is similar to the classical case and the calculation of its E_2-term involves the cohomology of certain `brave new Hopf algebroids' E^R_*E. In working out the details we resurrect Adams' original approach to Universal Coefficient Spectral Sequences for modules over an R ring spectrum. We show that the Adams Spectral Sequence for S_R based on a commutative localized regular quotient R ring spectrum E=R/I[X^{-1}] converges to the homotopy of the E-nilpotent completion pi_*hat{L}^R_ES_R=R_*[X^{-1}]^hat_{I_*}. We also show that when the generating regular sequence of I_* is finite, hatL^R_ES_R is equivalent to L^R_ES_R, the Bousfield localization of S_R with respect to E-theory. The spectral sequence here collapses at its E_2-term but it does not have a vanishing line because of the presence of polynomial generators of positive cohomological degree. Thus only one of Bousfield's two standard convergence criteria applies here even though we have this equivalence. The details involve the construction of an I-adic tower R/I <-- R/I^2 <-- ... <-- R/I^s <-- R/I^{s+1} <-- ... whose homotopy limit is hatL^R_ES_R. We describe some examples for the motivating case R=MU.