Algebraic K-theoryAlgebraic K-theory is a subject area in mathematics with connections to geometry, topology, ring theory, and number theory. Geometric, algebraic, and arithmetic objects are assigned objects called K-groups. These are groups in the sense of abstract algebra. They contain detailed information about the original object but are notoriously difficult to compute; for example, an important outstanding problem is to compute the K-groups of the integers.
Fibred categoryFibred categories (or fibered categories) are abstract entities in mathematics used to provide a general framework for descent theory. They formalise the various situations in geometry and algebra in which inverse images (or pull-backs) of objects such as vector bundles can be defined. As an example, for each topological space there is the category of vector bundles on the space, and for every continuous map from a topological space X to another topological space Y is associated the pullback functor taking bundles on Y to bundles on X.
Abelian categoryIn mathematics, an abelian category is a in which morphisms and can be added and in which s and cokernels exist and have desirable properties. The motivating prototypical example of an abelian category is the , Ab. The theory originated in an effort to unify several cohomology theories by Alexander Grothendieck and independently in the slightly earlier work of David Buchsbaum. Abelian categories are very stable categories; for example they are and they satisfy the snake lemma.
Monoidal categoryIn mathematics, a monoidal category (or tensor category) is a equipped with a bifunctor that is associative up to a natural isomorphism, and an I that is both a left and right identity for ⊗, again up to a natural isomorphism. The associated natural isomorphisms are subject to certain coherence conditions, which ensure that all the relevant s commute. The ordinary tensor product makes vector spaces, abelian groups, R-modules, or R-algebras into monoidal categories. Monoidal categories can be seen as a generalization of these and other examples.
Model categoryIn mathematics, particularly in homotopy theory, a model category is a with distinguished classes of morphisms ('arrows') called 'weak equivalences', 'fibrations' and 'cofibrations' satisfying certain axioms relating them. These abstract from the category of topological spaces or of chain complexes ( theory). The concept was introduced by . In recent decades, the language of model categories has been used in some parts of algebraic K-theory and algebraic geometry, where homotopy-theoretic approaches led to deep results.
Sheaf of modulesIn mathematics, a sheaf of O-modules or simply an O-module over a ringed space (X, O) is a sheaf F such that, for any open subset U of X, F(U) is an O(U)-module and the restriction maps F(U) → F(V) are compatible with the restriction maps O(U) → O(V): the restriction of fs is the restriction of f times that of s for any f in O(U) and s in F(U). The standard case is when X is a scheme and O its structure sheaf. If O is the constant sheaf , then a sheaf of O-modules is the same as a sheaf of abelian groups (i.
Projective moduleIn mathematics, particularly in algebra, the class of projective modules enlarges the class of free modules (that is, modules with basis vectors) over a ring, by keeping some of the main properties of free modules. Various equivalent characterizations of these modules appear below. Every free module is a projective module, but the converse fails to hold over some rings, such as Dedekind rings that are not principal ideal domains.
Coherent sheafIn mathematics, especially in algebraic geometry and the theory of complex manifolds, coherent sheaves are a class of sheaves closely linked to the geometric properties of the underlying space. The definition of coherent sheaves is made with reference to a sheaf of rings that codifies this geometric information. Coherent sheaves can be seen as a generalization of vector bundles. Unlike vector bundles, they form an , and so they are closed under operations such as taking , , and cokernels.
K-theoryIn mathematics, K-theory is, roughly speaking, the study of a ring generated by vector bundles over a topological space or scheme. In algebraic topology, it is a cohomology theory known as topological K-theory. In algebra and algebraic geometry, it is referred to as algebraic K-theory. It is also a fundamental tool in the field of operator algebras. It can be seen as the study of certain kinds of invariants of large matrices.
Initial and terminal objectsIn , a branch of mathematics, an initial object of a C is an object I in C such that for every object X in C, there exists precisely one morphism I → X. The notion is that of a terminal object (also called terminal element): T is terminal if for every object X in C there exists exactly one morphism X → T. Initial objects are also called coterminal or universal, and terminal objects are also called final. If an object is both initial and terminal, it is called a zero object or null object.
