Simplicial Monoid Actions and The Associated Universal Simplicial Monoid Construction

TL;DR

This paper unifies several classical and generalized simplicial monoid constructions by showing their classifying spaces are homotopy cofibers, providing a categorical framework that encompasses Milnor, James, Carlsson, and Wu's constructions.

Contribution

It proves a unifying theorem relating the classifying space of the reduced universal monoid to a homotopy cofiber, generalizing and categorically unifying multiple known constructions.

Findings

Classifying space is the homotopy cofiber of a specific inclusion.

Known constructions are special cases of the main theorem.

Provides a categorical unification of classical and generalized simplicial monoid constructions.

Abstract

The reduced universal monoid on the action category associated to a pointed simplicial M-set has appeared in the guise of various simplicial monoid and group constructions. These include the classical constructions of Milnor and James, as well as their later generalizations by Carlsson and Wu. We prove that, if any two n-simplices in the same orbit differ by the action of an invertible monoid element, then the classifying space of this reduced universal monoid is the homotopy cofiber of the inclusion from the pointed simplicial set into its reduced Borel construction. The known formulae for the respective classifying spaces of the above four constructions are special cases of this result. Thus, we unify categorially the four above-mentioned constructions.