Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
The product on the stable homotopy ring of spheres π*scan be defined by composing, smashing or joining maps. Each of these three points of view is used in Section 2 to define Massey products on π*s. In fact we define composition and smash Massey products (x1, … , xt)where X1, … ,xt-1∈ π*s, xt∈ π*(E) and E is a spectrum. In Theorem 3.2, we prove that these three types of Massey products are equal. Consequently, a theorem which is easy to prove for one of these Massey products is also valid for the other two. For example, [3, Theorem 8.1] which relates algebraic Massey products in the Adams spectral sequence to Massey smash products in π*s is now also valid for Massey composition products in π*s