An abelian category of motivic sheaves (Q1931838)

Let \(k\) be a field of characteristic zero and let \(X\) be an algebraic variety over \(k\). The goal of the paper under review is to construct a category of motivic ``sheaves'' over \(X\) using Nori's method. To roughly explain the idea, consider the category of all varieties over \(k\) and note that singular cohomology gives a contravariant functor to the category of finite dimensional \(\mathbb{Q}\)-vector spaces. Also note that the \(i\)-th cohomology group \(H^i(X)\) of \(X\) is in fact a module over the ring \(\text{End}(H^i)\) of natural transformations of the cohomology functor, or a comodule over the ``dual'' coalgebra \(\text{End}^\vee(H^i)\). We can then consider the category of finite-dimensional comodules over this coalgebra. Section 2 collects some facts about endomorphism coalgebras and comodules over them. Nori's construction is also explained. Any category can be regarded as a directed graph and conversely from a directed graph we can build a category of paths which gives a left adjoint to the forgetful functor from categories to graphs. Hence, we can apply the above idea to directed graphs by considering a functor from a graph to the category of modules over a field and taking its coalgebra. The following section begins with some results concerning constructible sheaves and Whitney stratifications. The next step is to construct a category of premotivic sheaves. Given a connected variety \(S\), one first constructs a graph from it. For instance, the vertices of the graph are quadruples consisting of a quasi-projective morphism \(X\to S\), a closed subvariety \(Y\) of \(X\) satisfying a certain technical condition, a natural number \(i\in \mathbb{N}\) and an integer \(w\). For an arbitrary variety, we take the product of the graphs associated to the connected components. Next, given a good stratification of \(S\) one considers a subgraph of objects such that the ``relative'' \(i\)-th higher direct image is constructible with respect to the stratification. There exists a functor from this subgraph to \(F\)-vector spaces, where \(F\) is a field. The consruction from Section 2 then gives a comodule category and the category of premotivic sheaves \(\mathcal{PM}(S)\) is obtained as a direct limit over all these. This category if abelian and \(F\)-linear and the association \(S\mapsto \mathcal{PM}(S)\) is a contravariant pseudofunctor. In the next section the author constructs a category of motivic sheaves \(\mathcal{M}(S,F)\). This is the fibre over \(S\) of the stack associated to the prestack \(\mathcal{PM}\) over the category of \(k\)-varieties. An alternative more explicit description is also given. This category is again \(F\)-linear and abelian. It satisfies several nice properties as proved in the main theorem of the paper. For example, there exists an exact Betti realization functor to the category of constructible sheaves of \(F\)-modules for the classical topology. An exact Hodge realization and an étale realization functor also exist. Furthermore, there are inverse direct images compatible with realizations, and also higher direct images for projective or constant maps which are also compatible with realizations. The existence of the latter is established in Section 5. In Section 6 the author studies so-called motivic local systems which are associated with particularly nice families \((X\to S,Y,i,w)\). He, in particular, proves that all these local systems form a full abelian subcategory of \(\mathcal{M}(S,\mathbb{Q})\) which is a Tannakian category whose objects carry a weight filtration such that the associated graded objects are pure. Section 7 discusses the analogue of the Hodge conjecture in the setting of the paper. In the three short appendices some facts about \(2\)-categories, the comparison theorem between higher direct images of a constuctible sheaf of \(\mathbb{Z}/N\mathbb{Z}\)-modules in the étale and classical topology, and the classical t-structure for mixed Hodge modules are given.