Universal coefficient theorem in triangulated categories (Q2478183)

Let \(\mathcal T\) be a triangulated and \(\mathcal A\) an abelian category. A homology theory on \(\mathcal T\) with values in \(\mathcal A\) is a functor \(h:\mathcal T \longrightarrow \mathcal A\) which commutes with shifting and takes distinguished triangles to exact sequences. The authors consider a homology theory \(h:\mathcal T \longrightarrow \mathcal A\) having the following properties: (a) \(h\) is full; (b) if \(h(f)\) is an isomorphism then \(f\) is also an isomorphism; (c) for any object \(x\) in \(\mathcal A\) there is an object \(X\) in \(\mathcal T\) together with an isomorphism between \(h(X)\) and \(x\). They prove that the kernel of \(h\) \[ I=\{ f\in \text{Hom}_{\mathcal T}(X,Y): h(f)=0 \} \] is a square zero ideal which can be described in terms of an Ext-group in \(\mathcal A\) as follows \[ I(X,Y)\cong \text{Ext}^1_{\mathcal A}(h(X)[1], h(Y)). \] Furthermore, \(\mathcal A\) is necessarily a hereditary abelian category (\(\text{Ext}^2_{\mathcal A}=0\)) and all idempotents in \(\mathcal T\) split. The result of the paper generalizes a well known fact that a triangulated category which is isomorphic to an abelian category is necessarily semi-simple (\(\text{Ext}^1_{\mathcal A}=0\)). On the other hand, the familiar properties of phantom maps [\textit{J. D. Christensen} and \textit{N. P. Strickland}, Topology 37, No.~2, 339--364 (1998; Zbl 1001.55009)] can be obtained by specializing the main result of the paper to the homotopy category of spectra.