An infinite loop space structure for K-theory of bimonoidal categories

Abstract

In recent work of Baas-Dundas-Richter-Rognes, the authors introduce the notion of the K- theory of a bimonoidal category R, and show that it is equivalent to the algebraic K-theory space of the ring spectrum KR. In this thesis we show that K(R) is the group completion of the classifying space of the 2-category ModR of modules over R, and show that ModR is a symmetric monoidal 2-category. We explain how to use this symmetric monoidal structure to produce a [Gamma]-(2-category), which gives an infinite loop space structure on K(R). We show that the equivalence mentioned above is an equivalence of infinite loop spaces.