An embedding theorem for abelian categories (Q1333211): Difference between revisions

There are few recent papers on abelian categories. Thus it is a pleasure to see one which studies the embedding of a small abelian category \(\mathcal S\) as a finitely closed generating full subcategory of a Grothendieck category \(\mathcal C\). Finitely closed means that \(\mathcal S\) is closed under finite limits and colimits in \(\mathcal C\). In this case lattices of subobjects of objects of the category \(\mathcal S\) are complete so that the embedding functor preserves infinite intersections and unions. The author establishes the following astonishing result: A small abelian category \(\mathcal S\) allows such an embedding into a Grothendieck category if and only if, for every object \(A\) of \(\mathcal S\), every direct set of subobjects of \(A\) has a colimit which is also a subobject of \(A\). Passing to opposite categories, he obtains a solution of the dual problem: A locally small abelian category \(\mathcal S\) is a finitely closed cogenerating full subcategory of a complete locally small abelian category with exact inverse limits if and only if, for every object \(A\) of \(\mathcal S\) and every filter base \(\{A_ i\}\) of subobjects \(A_ i\) of \(A\), the inverse limit \(\underset \leftarrow\lim A/A_ i\) exists and the induced morphism \(A \to \underset \leftarrow \lim A/A_ i\) is an epimorphism. Two proofs are given. The one for the first embedding theorem is sheaf- theoretic, the one for the dual theorem uses a convenient subcategory of the category of pro-objects over \(\mathcal S\).