On the levels of maps and topological realization of objects in a triangulated category

Abstract

The level of a module over a differential graded algebra measures the number of steps required to build the module in an appropriate triangulated category. Based on this notion, we introduce a new homotopy invariant of spaces over a fixed space, called the level of a map. Moreover we provide a method to compute the invariant for spaces over a $\K$-formal space. This enables us to determine the level of the total space of a bundle over the 4-dimensional sphere with the aid of Auslander-Reiten theory for spaces due to J{\o}rgensen. We also discuss the problem of realizing an indecomposable object in the derived category of the sphere by the singular cochain complex of a space. The Hopf invariant provides a criterion for the realization.