The connection between May's axioms for a triangulated tensor product and Happel's description of the derived category of the quiver \(D_4\) (Q1856380)

Answering the question what the ``natural'' properties of the tensor product are in \textit{J. P. May} [Adv. Math. 163, 34-73 (2001; Zbl 1007.18012)], an axiomatic description of the properties of triangulated categories with a symmetric tensor product has been given. The current article argues that there is a relationship between earlier constructions of Verdier in \textit{A. A. Beilinson, J. Bernstein}, and \textit{P. Deligne} [``Faiseaux pervers'', Astérisque 100 (1982; Zbl 0536.14011)], and \textit{D. Happel} [Comment. Math. Helv. 62, 339-389 (1987; Zbl 0626.16008)]. Not only that these earlier papers relate to May's but they also shed some new light to the results of his paper. The findings are as follows: (i) May's axiom (TC3) produces exactly the same diagram as Verdier has found (this was also pointed out by Haynes Miller). (ii) The special case of \(D^b(\square)\) is universal. (iii) May's axiom (TC4) follows from (TC3) and the octahedral axiom. (iv) There is an equivalence of categories \(D^b(\square)=D^b(Y)\), where \(D^b(Y)\) is the bounded derived category of the category of representations of the quiver \(D_4\). Happel has studied this in the special case where the categories are all linear over a field \(F\). Thus, in the case of \(F\)-linear categories, a great deal of information can be obtained from Happel's work.