Failure of Brown representability in derived categories (Q5956083)

Let \({\mathcal T}\) be a triangulated category with coproducts. An object \(c\) is called compact if the functor \({\mathcal T}(c,-)\) preserves coproducts. For example \({\mathcal T}\) could be \({\mathcal S}\), the homotopy category of spectra, in which case the compact objects are the finite spectra. Alternatively, \({\mathcal T}\) could be \(D(R)\), the derived category of a ring \(R\), in which case the compact objects are complexes isomorphic to finite complexes of finitely generated projective modules. The original Brown representability theorem for homology says that homological functors on compact objects in \({\mathcal S}\) are representable, and that natural transformations between such functors are induced by morphisms in \({\mathcal S}\). It is known that the analogous result for natural transformations can fail for \(D(R)\). The authors now find rings \(R\) such that the analogous result for functors also fails in \(D(R)\). The results are related to the projective global dimensions \(\text{pgldim}R\) and \(\text{pgldim}D(R)\); the authors show that \(\text{pgldim}R\leq\text{pgldim}D(R)\) in many cases, and they give examples in which the inequality is strict.