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Introduction to Separable Simplicial Algebras

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Abstract

We study separable simplicial algebras and Azumaya simplicial algebras.

Introduction

Motivation

Let kk be a base commutative ring. If kk is a field, separable algebras over kk are exactly 0-dimensional twisted Calabi-Yau algebras [30 Theorem 1.6]; as such, they possess good homological properties (with minimal dimension). While the structure of separable algebras over a field is well-understood, separable algebras over a general commutative base ring are also extensively studied due to their foundational role in several areas such as algebra, number theory, and algebraic geometry. A special class of separable algebras are Azumaya algebras, which serve as key ingredients in defining the Brauer group of a commutative ring.

In this paper, we study separable simplicial algebras and Azumaya simplicial algebras and introduce the Brauer group of a simplicial commutative ring at the end. One of our ultimate goals is to find a useful simplicial version of the Brauer group [17].

Review of previous results

The classical theory of separable algebras can be found in [2, 10, 13]. Pareigis initiates the study of separable algebras in symmetric monoidal categories [28], which is extended to the setting of a braided monoidal category by Van Oystaeyen and Y. Zhang [24]. Later Borceux and Vitale generalize the notion to separable enriched categories [5]. Balmer considers separability in triangulated categories [3], and recently Naumann, Pol, and Ramzi push the notion of separable commutative algebras to symmetric monoidal stable ∞\infty-categories [23]. We also note there are closely related studies of Azumaya algebras and Brauer groups in the monoidal categorical setting [1, 6, 8, 12, 37, 35] along with the notion of separable functors [9, 22].

Although the separability of an algebra is almost unanimously defined by the splitting of the multiplication map (as a bimodule map), an Azumaya algebra can be defined in two natural ways: either as a central separable algebra or as a certain “generator” that is Morita equivalent to the base ring. These two notions are equivalent in the classical setting by the celebrated Auslander-Goldman theorem ([2 Theorem 2.1] and [5 Theorem 1.2]). In the more general monoidal categorical setting, the Morita-theoretical definition of an Azumaya algebra (for instance, see [12 p. 63], [28 p. 114], and [24 Proposition 3.1]) is the most-often studied.

Why the simplicial setting?

Commutative simplicial algebras/rings have been used in algebraic topology, homological algebra, and derived algebraic geometry. We choose to further investigate separable algebras in the simplicial setting because we are searching for useful and computable invariants of simplicial algebras. Our hope is to understand the correct definition of the Brauer group in the simplicial setting, which is also the main goal of our forthcoming paper [17].

Passing from ordinary algebras to simplicial algebras is often a first step toward a homotopical generalization of classical theory [32, 33, 35, 36]; for instance, Toën defines derived Azumaya algebras over a commutative simplicial ring [35]. In general, simplicial algebras carry homotopical information through their homotopy groups while retaining the familiar algebraic language of rings, modules, and homological algebra. In this paper we generalize several classical results concerning separable algebras to the simplicial setting. This becomes possible because we have more tools in the simplicial setting than in the general setting of monoidal categories.

For comparison, let us consider again the notion of an Azumaya algebra in a general setting of monoidal categories as well as in the setting of this paper. Let RR be a commutative simplicial algebra. Our Azumaya algebra over RR is defined to be a central separable RR-algebra (Definition 6.1), which is also Morita-theoretical by Theorem 0.2. In the general setting, one can fully characterize the Morita-theoretical Azumaya algebras as in [12 Theorem 4], it remains unknown if such a notion agrees with the central separable version. This deficiency leads Pareigis to define the 1-Azumaya algebra ([28 p. 115], Morita-theoretically) and the 2-Azumaya algebra ([28 p. 121], central-separability and some extra requirement). Pareigis notes in [28 p. 121] that it is generally unclear if 1-Azumaya algebras and 2-Azumaya algebras coincide. If the unit is projective, then they agree [28 p. 124]. But 2-Azumaya algebras are still not the central-separable ones.

Following Pareigis’ work, Van Oystaeyen and Y. Zhang define two versions of Brauer groups using central separable algebras ([24 p. 123]) and Azumaya algebras ([24 p. 108]). Their unifying theorem [24 Theorem 4.9] equates central-separable algebras with Azumaya algebras but relies on the assumption that the base symmetric monoidal category C\mathcal{C} is k-linear and the commutative ring k is the unit of C\mathcal{C}. Borceux and Vitale’s result [5 Theorem 3.4] is another unifying theorem equating central-separable “strong generators” with Azumaya algebras, which is more akin to [28 Theorem 12] in spirit. When RR is a commutative simplicial ring, the category of simplicial modules over RR is a closed symmetric monoidal category. But the category of simplicial modules over RR does not satisfy the crucial assumption of Van Oystaeyen and Y. Zhang ([24 p. 112]) when RR is not a constant simplicial ring. So the central-separable/Azumaya equivalence (Theorem 0.2) does not follow from the previous work such as [24].

Results of this paper

Let RR be a commutative simplicial ring and RsModR\mathrm{sMod} be the category of simplicial modules over RR. The tensor product in RsModR\mathrm{sMod} is denoted by ⊗R\otimes_R and the unit is RR. Let AA be a simplicial algebra over RR (= a monoid in RsModR\mathrm{sMod}) and AoA^{\mathrm{o}} be the opposite algebra (see Section 1). Let Ae=A⊗RAoA^{\mathrm{e}} = A \otimes_R A^{\mathrm{o}}. Then AA is separable over RR if the multiplication map μ:A→A\mu:A \to A splits.

Basics

We first formulate the simplicial centralizers (Definition 3.7) and enriched separable functors (Definition 3.13) to characterize simplicial separability.

Proposition 0.1 (Propositions 3.10 and 3.16). Let AA be a simplicial algebra over RR. The following are equivalent.

(1) AA is separable over RR.

(2) The centralizer functor (−)A:AesMod→RsMod(-)^{A}: A^{e}\mathrm{sMod} \to R\mathrm{sMod} is exact.

(3) The forgetful functor U:AsMod→RsModU: A\mathrm{sMod} \to R\mathrm{sMod} is a separable RsModR\mathrm{sMod}-enriched functor.

Auslander-Goldman Theorem

Following the classical theory [13], a simplicial algebra AA over RR is Azumaya if AA is central separable over RR. Based on the enriched Morita theory [24, 27], we characterize the simplicial RR-progenerator (Definition 5.1) as a simplicial RR-module MM such that MM is a direct summand of some R⊕tR^{\oplus t} and RR is a direct summand of some M⊕t′M^{\oplus t'} as simplicial RR-modules (Lemma 5.3). We show a simplicial version of Auslander-Goldman Theorem: central-separable Azumaya algebras (condition (1) of Theorem 0.2) agree with Morita-theoretical Azumaya algebras (condition (3) of Theorem 0.2) for simplicial algebras. This fully resolves the question left open in [5, 24, 28] for simplicial algebras.

Theorem 0.2 (Theorem 6.4). (Unifying Theorem) Let AA be a simplicial algebra over RR. The following are equivalent.

(1) AA is Azumaya (central separable) over RR.

(2) AA is a simplicial AeA^{e}-progenerator and AA is central over RR.

(3) AA is a simplicial RR-progenerator and Ae→Hom⁡Rs(A,A)A^{e} \to\operatorname{Hom}_{R}^{s}(A,A) given by left AeA^{e}-actions is an isomorphism of simplicial RR-algebras.

We are wondering if the above unifying theorem holds for other non-simplicial setting. Along this line, we also have

Theorem 0.3 (Theorem 6.6). Let AA be a simplicial algebra over RR. Then AA is separable if and only if AA is Azumaya over the simplicial center Z(A)Z(A) (Definition 1.5) and Z(A)Z(A) is separable over RR.

Classifications

We classify certain families of separable simplicial algebras which indicate some rigidity of separability for simplicial algebras. In this subsection, kk is a base commutative ring.

Theorem 0.4 (Theorem 2.11). Suppose R=kR = k is a commutative ring, viewed as a constant simplicial ring. Let AA be a simplicial algebra over RR. Then AA is separable over kk if and only if A≅A0Δ0:=kΔ0⊗kA0A \cong A_0\Delta^0 := k\Delta^0 \otimes_k A_0 and A0A_0 is an ordinary separable algebra over kk.

Suppose kk is a field. While an ordinary separable kk-algebra has global dimension zero, the category of left simplicial modules over a separable simplicial kk-algebra has infinite global dimension (Corollary 2.12).

Proposition 0.5 (Proposition 6.7). Let AA be a simplicial algebra over RR. Then AA is Azumaya over RR if and only if A≅R⊗R0sA0A \cong R \otimes^{s}_{R_0} A_0 as simplicial RR-algebras and A0A_0 is an Azumaya R0R_0-algebra.

Proposition 0.6 (Corollary 6.8). Let AA be a simplicial algebra over RR. The following are equivalent.

(1) AA is separable over RR.

(2) Z(A)Z(A) is separable over RR, A0A_0 is an Azumaya Z(A)0Z(A)_0-algebra, and

A≅Z(A)⊗Z(A)0sA0A \cong Z(A) \mathbin{\mathop{\otimes}\limits_{Z(A)_0}^{s}} A_0

as simplicial Z(A)Z(A)-algebras.

Proposition 0.6 shows that a separable simplicial RR-algebra is determined by the following data:

(a) a commutative separable simplicial RR-algebra (the center Z(A)Z(A)).

(b) an ordinary Azumaya Z(A)0Z(A)_0-algebra (the algebra A0A_0).

The second datum is controlled, up to Morita equivalence, by the Brauer group Br(Z(A)0)Br(Z(A)_0). Thus the remaining problem is to classify the commutative separable simplicial RR-algebras that can occur as centers.

Lemma 0.7 (Lemma 6.10). Let CC be a commutative simplicial RR-algebra. Then C≅Z(A)C \cong Z(A) for some separable simplicial RR-algebra AA if and only if CC is separable over RR.

Commutative simplicial separable algebras

We characterize commutative simplicial separable algebras as follows.

Theorem 0.8 (Theorem 6.11). Let CC be a commutative simplicial RR-algebra. The following are equivalent.

(1) CC is separable over RR.

(2) C0C_0 is separable over R0R_0 and the canonical simplicial ring morphism

ϕ:R⊗R0sC0→Cr⊗c↦rs0n(c),∀r⊗c∈(R⊗R0sC0)n\phi: R \mathbin{\mathop{\otimes}\limits_{R_0}^{s}} C_0 \to C \qquad r \otimes c \mapsto r s_0^n(c), \qquad\forall r \otimes c \in(R \mathbin{\mathop{\otimes}\limits_{R_0}^{s}} C_0)_n

is a ring epimorphism levelwise.

Brauer group

The definition of the Brauer group of a commutative simplicial ring RR is given in Definition 7.2. We show that it is isomorphic to the Brauer group of the degree-zero component R0R_0.

Theorem 0.9 (Theorem 7.4). (Triviality Theorem) Let RR be a commutative simplicial ring. Then Br(R)≅Br(R0)Br(R) \cong Br(R_0).

The above triviality theorem leads us to consider a simplicial version of the Brauer group [17], denoted by

Brs(R)=(Brs(R)n)n≥0,Br^{s}(R) = \left(Br^{s}(R)_n\right)_{n \geq0},

such that Brs(R)0=Br(R)Br^{s}(R)_0 = Br(R).

Currently, the simplicial group Brs(R)Br^{s}(R) is still mysterious to us and not easy to compute.

Organization of the paper

In Section 1, we review basic definitions of simplicial algebras and simplicial modules. We define simplicial separability and illustrate the notion by examples over a constant base simplicial ring and simplicial matrix rings in Section 2. Centralizer and separable enriched functors are introduced in Section 3, while more properties of simplicial separability are derived in Section 4. We review and adapt the enriched Morita theory for simplicial algebras in Section 5. Azumaya simplicial algebras are studied in Section 6, and the simplicial Auslander-Goldman Theorem is proved. We conclude the paper by a short discussion on the Brauer groups of commutative simplicial rings in Section 7.

Preliminaries

In this paper we try to provide a comprehensive introduction of separable simplicial algebras with many details.

We start with reviewing basic definitions on simplicial algebras and simplicial modules. A ring is always an associative unital ring, and a ring homomorphism preserves the unit of a ring. The category of rings is denoted by Ring⁡\operatorname{Ring}. An algebra is always an associative unital algebra.

Simplicial objects

Let Δ\Delta denote the simplex category whose objects are totally ordered sets {[n]∣n=0,1,2,…}\{[n]\mid n=0,1,2,\ldots\} where [n]:={0,1,…,n}[n]:=\{0,1,\ldots,n\} and whose morphisms are all non-strict order-preserving functions from [k]⟶[n][k]\longrightarrow[n] for every pair of non-negative integers kk and nn. Let C\mathcal{C} be any category. A simplicial object XX in C\mathcal{C} is a contravariant functor from the simplex category Δ\Delta to C\mathcal{C}. A simplicial object can be described as follows. For each nn, Xn:=X([n])X_n:=X([n]) is an object in C\mathcal{C}, and for any morphism θ:[k]→[n]\theta:[k]\to[n] in Δ\Delta, there is an induced map θX∗:Xn→Xk\theta_X^*:X_n\to X_k which is a morphism in C\mathcal{C}. The morphisms {θX∗}\{\theta_X^*\} are called the simplicial structure maps of XX. For each nn, XnX_n is called the level nn part of XX. We may simply write XX as {Xn}n≥0\{X_n\}_{n\geq0} if there is no confusion about the simplicial structure maps. Simplicial objects can also be defined by using face and degeneracy maps [38 Proposition 8.1.3]. For n≥1n\geq1, the degeneracy map s0ns_0^n is induced by the unique map [n]→[0][n]\to[0] in Δ\Delta; similarly, dn0d_n^0 is induced by the unique map [0]→[n][0]\to[n] mapping 00 to nn in Δ\Delta. For each n≥0n\geq0, we use Δn\Delta^n to denote the representable functor Hom⁡Δ(−,[n])\operatorname{Hom}_{\Delta}(-,[n]), which is a simplicial set by definition.

Simplicial rings

A simplicial ring, or an sring, is a simplicial object in Ring⁡\operatorname{Ring}. A special example of an sring is kΔ0k^{\Delta^0}; the constant sring with an ordinary ring kk on every level and all the simplicial structure maps equal the identity maps. In particular, ZΔ0\mathbb{Z}^{\Delta^0} is the constant sring with Z\mathbb{Z} levelwise.

The category of simplicial abelian groups sAb⁡\operatorname{sAb} with ⊗Z\otimes_{\mathbb{Z}} (levelwise tensor product over Z\mathbb{Z}) is a symmetric monoidal category with unit ZΔ0\mathbb{Z}^{\Delta^0}. An sring RR is equivalently a monoid object in (sAb⁡,⊗Z,ZΔ0)(\operatorname{sAb},\otimes_{\mathbb{Z}},\mathbb{Z}^{\Delta^0}) [32 p. 503]. Namely, there is a simplicial abelian group morphism (the multiplication map) μR/ZΔ0:R⊗ZR→R\mu_{R/\mathbb{Z}^{\Delta^0}}:R\otimes_{\mathbb{Z}}R\to R and another simplicial abelian group morphism (the unit map) ηR/ZΔ0:ZΔ0→R\eta_{R/\mathbb{Z}^{\Delta^0}}:\mathbb{Z}^{\Delta^0}\to R such that (R,μR/ZΔ0,ηR/ZΔ0)(R,\mu_{R/\mathbb{Z}^{\Delta^0}},\eta_{R/\mathbb{Z}^{\Delta^0}}) satisfies the usual associativity and unitality axioms.

The tensor product of srings is the tensor product of the underlying simplicial abelian groups. Let sRing⁡\operatorname{sRing} be the category of srings. As the category of monoids in (sAb⁡,⊗Z,ZΔ0)(\operatorname{sAb},\otimes_{\mathbb{Z}},\mathbb{Z}^{\Delta^0}), sRing⁡\operatorname{sRing} is a symmetric monoidal category [34 Appendix A.1].

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