Quotients of even rings

Abstract

We prove that if $R$ is an $\mathbb{E}_2$-ring with homotopy concentrated in even degrees, and $\{x_j\}$ is any sequence of elements in $\pi_{2*}(R)$, then $R/(x_1,x_2,\cdots)$ admits the structure of an $\mathbb{E}_1$-$R$-algebra. This removes an assumption, common in the literature, that $\{x_j\}$ be a regular sequence.