On diagram-chasing in double complexes

IPFS File on IPFS (Hint: this is only the Hash - if you get a timeout, this file is not available on our server.)

diagram-chasing double complex exact sequence salamander lemma total homology

Abelian categories, Grothendieck categories (18E10) Chain complexes (category-theoretic aspects), dg categories (18G35)

Abstract: Diagram-chasing arguments frequently lead to "magical" relations between distant points of diagrams: exactness implications, connecting morphisms, etc.. These long connections are usually composites of short "unmagical" connections, but the latter, and the objects they join, are not visible in the proofs. I try to remedy this situation. Given a double complex in an abelian category, we consider, for each object A of the complex, the familiar horizontal and vertical homology objects at A, and two other objects, which we name the "donor" A_{�ox} and and the "receptor" ^{�ox}A at A. For each arrow of the double complex, we prove the exactness of a 6-term sequence of these objects (the "Salamander Lemma"). Standard results such as the 3x3-Lemma, the Snake Lemma, and the long exact sequence of homology associated with a short exact sequence of complexes, are obtained as easy applications of this lemma. We then obtain some generalizations of the last of the above examples, getting various exact diagrams from double complexes with all but a few rows and columns exact. The total homology of a double complex is also examined in terms of the constructions we have introduced. We end with a brief look at the world of triple complexes, and two exercises.

Review text

This article explains how to prove the classical diagram lemmas of homological algebra and obtain long exact homology sequences out of double complexes through a new diagram chasing technique involving the so-called \textit{Salamander Lemma}. The idea is that certain ``short-distance paths in a double complex give rise to a ``short-distance exact sequence, which sequences may then be pasted together to yield ``long-distance exact sequences such as the one arising in the Snake Lemma.NEWLINENEWLINEGiven an object \(A\) in a double complex in an abelian category, the author does not only consider the horizontal homology object \(A{\bullet}\,\), but also objects \(A_{\square}\) and \({}^{\square}\!A\) which he calls the \textit{donor} and the \textit{receptor} at \(A\). Now given arrows \(A\to B\) (horizontally) and \(C\to A\), \(B\to D\) (vertically) in a double complex, the Salamander Lemma produces an exact sequence NEWLINE\[NEWLINEC_{\square} \;\to\; A{\bullet} \;\to\; A_{\square} \;\to\; {}^{\square}\!B \;\to\; B{\bullet} \;\to\; {}^{\square}\!D.NEWLINE\]NEWLINE Depending on properties of the given double complex, some of the arrows in the exact sequence may turn out to be isomorphisms, which can then be used in diagram chasing arguments. In the article this technique is developed in full and applications are given.NEWLINENEWLINEIt seems interesting to explore how much of this theory is still available outside the abelian context. A recent branch of categorical algebra studies how the validity of diagram lemmas determines properties of the surrounding category, as for instance in [\textit{G.~Janelidze} et al., J. Pure Appl. Algebra 168, No. 2--3, 367--386 (2002; Zbl 0993.18008)] and \textit{Z.~Janelidze} [Theory Appl. Categ. 23, 221--242 (2010; Zbl 1234.18009)]. Whence the question: \textit{What is a category in which the Salamander Lemma holds?}

Recommendations

Cited in

(7)

This page was built for publication: On diagram-chasing in double complexes

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q2884474)