The geometry of blueprints. I: Algebraic background and scheme theory (Q664758)

The notion of blueprints is a common generalization of the notions of monoids and rings. A blueprint can be understood as a pair \((M,S)\), where \(S\) is a semi-ring and \(M\subset S\) a multiplicative submonoid which generates \(S\) as a semi-ring. A ring \(R\) defines a blueprint via \((R,R)\), a monoid \(A\) gives the blueprint \((A,{\mathbb Z}[A])\). A morphism of blueprints \((M,S)\to (M',S')\) is a semi-ring homomorphism \(\phi:S\to S'\) satisfying \(\phi(M)\subset M'\). The current paper first studies the categorial properties of blueprints. Then ideals and congruences are introduced. Finally, the notion of a blue scheme is defined. This is a straightforward generalization of the notion of a scheme using prime ideal spaces as spectra. In general, the relation between a blueprint \(B\) and the global sections \(\Gamma B\) of its spectrum is more complicated than for rings or monoids, as the canonical morphism \(B\to\Gamma B\) is not necessarily an isomorphism. However, it induces an isomorphism of blue schemes \(\text{Spec}(\Gamma B)\cong\text{Spec}(B)\) and one gets \(\Gamma\Gamma B=\Gamma B\). This is the first step of an ambitious program, which encompasses sheaf cohomology, \(K\)-theory, and a unified view on analytic geometry over \({\mathbb Q}_p\) or \({\mathbb F}_1\).