Nilpotence theorems via homological residue fields (Q2329467)

The nilpotence theorem is a result in stable homotopy theory, proved in [\textit{E. S. Devinatz} et al., Ann. Math. (2) 128, No. 2, 207--241 (1988; Zbl 0673.55008)]. In the present article, the author proves an abstract version of the nilpotence theorem in the context of tensor-triangulated categories. The first main result states that: Given a morphism \(f:x\to y\) in an essentially small, rigid tensor-triangulated category \(\mathcal K\), if \(\bar h(f)=0\) for every homological residue field \(\bar h:\mathcal K\to\mathcal A\), then there exists a positive integer \(n\) such that \(f^{\otimes n}=0\) in \(\mathcal K\). For the notion of a homological residue field, the reader is referred to [\textit{P. Balmer} et al., Sel. Math., New Ser. 25, No. 1, Paper No. 13, 36 p. (2019; Zbl 1409.18011)]. The author then turns to generalisations of the nilpotence theorem and analyses the case when \(\mathcal K=\mathcal T^c\) sits inside a rigidly compactly generated `big' tensor-triangulated category, and proves that: Given a morphism \(f:x\to y\) in \(\mathcal T\) with \(x\in\mathcal T^c\), such that \(\bar h_{\mathcal B}(f)=0\) in \(\bar{\mathcal A}(\mathcal K;\mathcal B)\) for every homological residue field \(\bar h_{\mathcal B}\) and every homological prime ideal \(\mathcal B\) of \(\operatorname{mod-}\mathcal K\), then there exists a positive integer \(n\) such that \(f^{\otimes n}=0\) in \(\mathcal T\). In his study, the author considers the big Grothendieck category \(\mathcal A=\operatorname{Mod-}\mathcal K\) of all \(\mathcal K\)-modules, and proves the following. Let \(f:h(x)\to F\) be a morphism in \(\mathcal A\), for \(x\in\mathcal K\). Suppose that the \(\mathcal K\)-module \(F\) is \(\otimes\)-flat, and that \(Q_{\mathcal B}(f)=0\) in \(\mathcal A/\langle\mathcal B\rangle\) for every maximal Serre \(\otimes\)-ideal \(\mathcal B\) in the category \(\operatorname{mod-}\mathcal K\) of finitely presented \(\mathcal K\)-modules. Then \(f\) is \(\otimes\)-nilpotent in \(\operatorname{Mod-}\mathcal K\). In the final section of the article, the author works out a few examples and obtains certain classification results.