Rank functions on triangulated categories

We introduce the notion of a rank function on a triangulated category 𝒞 {\mathcal{C}} which generalizes the Sylvester rank function in the case when 𝒞 = 𝖯𝖾𝗋𝖿 ⁢ ( A ) {\mathcal{C}=\mathsf{Perf}(A)} is the perfect derived category of a ring A. We show that rank functions are closely related to functors into simple triangulated categories and classify Verdier quotients into simple triangulated categories in terms of particular rank functions called localizing. If 𝒞 = 𝖯𝖾𝗋𝖿 ⁢ ( A ) {\mathcal{C}=\mathsf{Perf}(A)} as above, localizing rank functions also classify finite homological epimorphisms from A into differential graded skew-fields or, more generally, differential graded Artinian rings. To establish these results, we develop the theory of derived localization of differential graded algebras at thick subcategories of their perfect derived categories. This is a far-reaching generalization of Cohn’s matrix localization of rings and has independent interest.

De Rham–Witt sheaves via algebraic cycles

We show that the additive higher Chow groups of regular schemes over a field induce a Zariski sheaf of pro-differential graded algebras, the Milnor range of which is isomorphic to the Zariski sheaf of big de Rham–Witt complexes. This provides an explicit cycle-theoretic description of the big de Rham–Witt sheaves. Several applications are derived.

The Fundamental Group of a Noncommutative Space

We introduce and analyse a general notion of fundamental group for noncommutative spaces, described by differential graded algebras. For this we consider connections on finitely generated projective bimodules over differential graded algebras and show that the category of flat connections on such modules forms a Tannakian category. As such this category can be realised as the category of representations of an affine group scheme G, which in the classical case is (the pro-algebraic completion of) the usual fundamental group. This motivates us to define G to be the fundamental group of the noncommutative space under consideration. The needed assumptions on the differential graded algebra are rather mild and completely natural in the context of noncommutative differential geometry. We establish the appropriate functorial properties, homotopy and Morita invariance of this fundamental group. As an example we find that the fundamental group of the noncommutative torus can be described as the algebraic hull of the topological group $(\mathbb Z+\theta \mathbb Z)^{2}$ ( ℤ + 𝜃 ℤ ) 2 .

Ascent properties for test modules

We investigate modules for which vanishing of Tor-modules implies finiteness of homological dimensions (e.g., projective dimension and G-dimension). In particular, we answer a question of O. Celikbas and Sather-Wagstaff about ascent properties of such modules over residually algebraic flat local ring homomorphisms. To accomplish this, we consider ascent and descent properties over local ring homomorphisms of finite flat dimension, and for flat extensions of finite dimensional differential graded algebras.

Homological epimorphisms, homotopy epimorphisms and acyclic maps

We show that the notions of homotopy epimorphism and homological epimorphism in the category of differential graded algebras are equivalent. As an application we obtain a characterization of acyclic maps of topological spaces in terms of induced maps of their chain algebras of based loop spaces. In the case of a universal acyclic map we obtain, for a wide class of spaces, an explicit algebraic description for these induced maps in terms of derived localization.

A strictly commutative model for the cochain algebra of a space

The commutative differential graded algebra $A_{\mathrm {PL}}(X)$ of polynomial forms on a simplicial set $X$ is a crucial tool in rational homotopy theory. In this note, we construct an integral version $A^{\mathcal {I}}(X)$ of $A_{\mathrm {PL}}(X)$. Our approach uses diagrams of chain complexes indexed by the category of finite sets and injections $\mathcal {I}$ to model $E_{\infty }$ differential graded algebras (dga) by strictly commutative objects, called commutative $\mathcal {I}$-dgas. We define a functor $A^{\mathcal {I}}$ from simplicial sets to commutative $\mathcal {I}$-dgas and show that it is a commutative lift of the usual cochain algebra functor. In particular, it gives rise to a new construction of the $E_{\infty }$ dga of cochains. The functor $A^{\mathcal {I}}$ shares many properties of $A_{\mathrm {PL}}$, and can be viewed as a generalization of $A_{\mathrm {PL}}$ that works over arbitrary commutative ground rings. Working over the integers, a theorem by Mandell implies that $A^{\mathcal {I}}(X)$ determines the homotopy type of $X$ when $X$ is a nilpotent space of finite type.