On the existence of a compact generator on the derived category of a noetherian formal scheme (Q409247)

If \((X,\mathcal{O}_{X})\) is a quasi-compact, quasi-separated scheme, the derived category \(D_{qc}(X)\) of sheaves of modules with quasi-coherent homologies is generated by a single perfect complex, i. e. a complex which is locally isomorphic to a complex of vector bundles on \(X\): this was proved by \textit{A. Bondal} and \textit{M. van den Bergh} in [Mosc. Math. J. 3, No. 1, 1--36 (2003; Zbl 1135.18302)]. In the paper under review, the authors extend this result to the case of noetherian formal schemes. If \((\mathcal{X},\mathcal{O}_{\mathcal{X}})\) is a noetherian formal scheme with an ideal of definition \(\mathcal{I}\), the category of all \(\mathcal{O}_{\mathcal{X}}\)-modules is denoted \(A(\mathcal{X})\), and there is a functor \(\Gamma'_{\mathcal{X}}:A(\mathcal{X})\longrightarrow A(\mathcal{X})\) sending a \(\mathcal{O}_{\mathcal{X}}\)-module \(\mathcal{F}\) to the limit, for \(n>0\) of \(\mathcal{H}om_{\mathcal{O}_{\mathcal{X}}}(\mathcal{O}_{\mathcal{X}}/\mathcal{I}^{n},\mathcal{F})\), which only depends on the topology defined by \(\mathcal{I}\). Let \(A_{t}(\mathcal{X})\) be the subcategory of \(A(\mathcal{X})\) of \(\mathcal{O}_{\mathcal{X}}-\)modules \(\mathcal{F}\) such that \(\Gamma'_{\mathcal{X}}\mathcal{F}=\mathcal{F}\), and \(A_{qc}(\mathcal{X})\) subcategory of \(A(\mathcal{X})\) of quasi-coherent sheaves. The category \(A_{qct}(\mathcal{X}):=A_{qc}(\mathcal{X})\cap A_{t}(\mathcal{X})\) is a Grothendieck category which was introduced by \textit{L. Alonso Tarrío}, \textit{A. Jeremías López} and \textit{J. Lipman} in [``Studies in duality on noetherian formal schemes and non-noetherian ordinary schemes'', Contemp. Math. 244, 3--90 (1999; Zbl 0953.14011)]. Its derived category is denoted \(D_{qct}(\mathcal{X})\), which is a triangulated subcategory of \(D(A(\mathcal{X}))\). The authors prove that if \((\mathcal{X},\mathcal{O}_{\mathcal{X}})\) is a noetherian formal scheme, then the category \(D_{qct}(\mathcal{X})\) is generated by a perfect complex: the proof follows the same structure of the proof of Bondal and van den Bergh, and goes by induction on the number of affine open formal subschemes needed to cover \(\mathcal{X}\). For an affine noetherian formal scheme, this is contained in a previous paper of \textit{L. Alonso Tarrío}, \textit{A. Jeremías López}, \textit{M. Pérez Rodríguez} and \textit{M. J. Vale Gonsalves}, namely [Adv. Math. 218, No. 4, 1224--1252 (2008; Zbl 1149.14016)], where it is shown that the generator is the complex of sheaves associated to a Koszul complex built on a set of generators of the ideal of definition. In the general case, the perfect complex generating \(D_{qct}(\mathcal{X})\) is obtained by gluing generators on different open subsets. In the appendix of the paper, the authors show that if \((\mathcal{X},\mathcal{O}_{\mathcal{X}})\) is a noetherian formal scheme, the subcategory \(D_{qct}(\mathcal{X})^{c}\) of compact objects of \(D_{qct}(\mathcal{X})\) is skeletally small, i. e. there is a set \(S\) of objects of \(D_{qct}(\mathcal{X})^{c}\) such that every object of \(D_{qct}(\mathcal{X})^{c}\) is isomorphic to an object of \(S\): this is used in the proof of the main result of the paper. The proof is divided in several steps: first, they show it for affine formal schemes. Then, using a Mayer-Vietoris type argument they show it for the union of two open formal subschemes \(\mathcal{U}_{1}\) and \(\mathcal{U}_{1}\) of \(\mathcal{X}\) such that \(D_{qct}(\mathcal{U}_{i})^{c}\) and \(D_{qct}(\mathcal{U}_{1}\cap\mathcal{U}_{2})^{c}\) are skeletally small. Finally they do induction on the number of affine open formal schemes needed to cover \(\mathcal{X}\) (first with the additional hypothesis of \(\mathcal{X}\) being separated, and then passing to the general case).