English

Duality for Topological Modular Forms

Algebraic Topology 2013-04-09 v3

Abstract

It has been observed that certain localizations of the spectrum of topological modular forms are self-dual (Mahowald-Rezk, Gross-Hopkins). We provide an integral explanation of these results that is internal to the geometry of the (compactified) moduli stack of elliptic curves \M \M , yet is only true in the derived setting. When 2 2 is inverted, a choice of level 2 2 structure for an elliptic curve provides a geometrically well-behaved cover of \M \M , which allows one to consider Tmf Tmf as the homotopy fixed points of Tmf(2) Tmf(2) , topological modular forms with level 2 2 structure, under a natural action by GL2(Z/2) GL_2(\Z/2) . As a result of Grothendieck-Serre duality, we obtain that Tmf(2) Tmf(2) is self-dual. The vanishing of the associated Tate spectrum then makes Tmf Tmf itself Anderson self-dual.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1105.3968,
  title  = {Duality for Topological Modular Forms},
  author = {Vesna Stojanoska},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1105.3968},
  year   = {2013}
}

Comments

Final version, to appear in Documenta Mathematica

R2 v1 2026-06-21T18:09:52.537Z