Jones-Wenzl projectors and the Khovanov homotopy of the infinite twist

Abstract

We construct and study a lift of Jones-Wenzl projectors to the setting of Khovanov spectra, and provide a realization of such lifted projectors via a Cooper-Krushkal-like sequence of maps. We also give a polynomial action on the 3-strand spectral projector allowing a complete computation of the 3-colored Khovanov spectrum of the unknot, proving a conjecture of Lobb-Orson-Sch\"{u}tz. As a byproduct, we disprove a conjecture of Lawson-Lipshitz-Sarkar on the topological Hochschild homology of tangle spectra.