Post #1816235
2026-02-27 09:49 UTC
@MartinEscardo @dwarn Here's my account: https://martinescardo.github.io/TypeTopology/gist.ThereAreNoHigherSemilattices2.html
My main take-away is the following observation.
A loop space is trivial if it can be equipped with a binary operation ⋆ such that
- it has an interchange law: (p ⋆ q) ∙ (r ⋆ s) = (p ∙ r) ⋆ (q ∙ s);
- it is idempotent, commutative and associative.
Proving that an idempotent, commutative and associative binary operation on a pointed type induces such an operation ⋆ on its loop space is then quite tricky when it comes to commutativity and associativity. I elaborated David's argument as follows: first prove that ⋆ is commutative up to conjugation, then use idempotency to show that conjugation acts trivially, so that ⋆ really is commutative (without conjugation), and similarly (but slightly more involved) for associativity.
The intellectual credit naturally lies with David, but hopefully my elaboration/account is helpful for others too!
Replies (1)
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@dwarn@mathstodon.xyz 2026-02-27 11:46
@de_Jong_Tom @MartinEscardo Thank you both for taking the time to write these much more readable formalisations. I like the idea of separately considering the consequences of commutativity and associativity on loops.