Towards the classification of DGAs with polynomial homology

Abstract

We study the classification of $\mathbb{Z}$-DGAs with polynomial homology $\mathbb{F}_p[x]$ with $\lvert x \rvert >0$, motivated by computations in algebraic $K$-theory. This classification problem was left open in work of Dwyer, Greenlees, and Iyengar. We prove that there are infinitely many such DGAs for even $\lvert x \rvert$ and that for $\lvert x \rvert \geq 2p-2$ any such DGA is formal as a ring spectrum. Through this, we obtain examples of triangulated categories with infinitely many DG-enhancements and a classification of prime DG-division rings. Combining our results with earlier work of the second author and Tamme, we obtain new (relative) algebraic $K$-theory computations for rings such as the mixed characteristic coordinate axes $\mathbb{Z}[x]/px$ and the group ring $\mathbb{Z}[C_{p^n}]$.