Quillen's theorems A and B

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In topology, a branch of mathematics, Quillen's Theorem A gives a sufficient condition for the classifying spaces of two categories to be homotopy equivalent. Quillen's Theorem B gives a sufficient condition for a square consisting of classifying spaces of categories to be homotopy Cartesian. The two theorems play central roles in Quillen's Q-construction in algebraic K-theory and are named after Daniel Quillen.

The precise statements of the theorems are as follows. [1]

Quillen's Theorem A  If is a functor such that the classifying space of the comma category is contractible for any object d in D, then f induces a homotopy equivalence .

Quillen's Theorem B  If is a functor that induces a homotopy equivalence for any morphism in D, then there is an induced long exact sequence:

In general, the homotopy fiber of is not naturally the classifying space of a category: there is no natural category such that . Theorem B constructs in a case when is especially nice.

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References

  1. Weibel 2013 , Ch. IV. Theorem 3.7 and Theorem 3.8