Localizations of the category of \(A_\infty\) categories and internal Homs (Q2288204)

The authors study three different kinds of higher versions of categories: differential-graded categories, i.e. categories enriched in complexes, which they use as a natural framework for enhancements of triangulated categories; cohomologically unital \(A_\infty\)-categories, i.e. (non-unital) \(A_\infty\)-categories \(\mathsf{C}\) such that the cohomology \(H(\mathsf{C})\) is a (unital category), e.g. the Fukaya category of a symplectic manifold; and strictly unital \(A_\infty\)-categories, which are \(A_\infty\)-categories endowed with strict identities (at the level of cochains) for each object. Each of these can be localized at an appropriate class of quasi-equivalences to yield the homotopy categories respectively denoted by \(\mathrm{Ho(\mathbf{dgCat})}\), \(\mathrm{Ho(\mathbf{A_\infty Cat})}\), and \(\mathrm{Ho(\mathbf{A_\infty Cat^c})}\). Moreover, one can consider the quotients of \(\mathrm{\mathbf{A_\infty Cat}}\) and \(\mathrm{\mathbf{A_\infty Cat^c}}\) by the \(H^0\)-isomorphism relation of functor to produce quotients \(\mathbf{A_\infty Cat} / {\approx}\) and \(\mathbf{A_\infty Cat^c} / {\approx}\). The paper's first main result is that these three localizations and these two quotients are all equivalent. This extends a result of \textit{K. Lefèvre-Hasegawa} [``Sur les A-infini catégories'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:math/0310337}] to the unital setting. As a first consequence this proves that several algebro-geometrical categories have unique \(A_\infty\) enhancements, thanks to earlier results proving that they have unique dg-enhancements. As a second application, the authors tackle a claim of Kontsevich that the dg-category of internal homs between two dg-categories \(\mathbb{R}\underline{\mathrm{Hom}}(\mathbf{A}, \mathbf{B})\) is given by the dg-category of \(A_\infty\)-functors \(\mathbf{Fun}_{\mathbf{A_\infty Cat}}(\mathbf{A}, \mathbf{B})\). yields a simpler description of morphisms in the localization \(\mathrm{Ho(\mathbf{dgCat})}\). (A proof of this claim appeared in [\textit{G. Faonte}, J. Noncommut. Geom. 11, No. 3, 957--1000 (2017; Zbl 1390.18034)], but the authors claim to have analysed the proof and found issues.)