Universal Functor Research Articles

Universal functors on symmetric quotient stacks of Abelian varieties

We consider certain universal functors on symmetric quotient stacks of Abelian varieties. In dimension two, we discover a family of {{mathbb {P}}}-functors which induce new derived autoequivalences of Hilbert schemes of points on Abelian surfaces; a set of braid relations on a holomorphic symplectic sixfold; and a pair of spherical functors on the Hilbert square of an Abelian surface, whose twists are related to the well-known Horja twist. In dimension one, our universal functors are fully faithful, giving rise to a semiorthogonal decomposition for the symmetric quotient stack of an elliptic curve (which we compare to the one discovered by Polishchuk–Van den Bergh), and they lift to spherical functors on the canonical cover, inducing twists which descend to give new derived autoequivalences here as well.

A universal characterization of higher algebraic K-theory

In this paper we establish a universal characterization of higher algebraic K-theory in the setting of small stable infinity categories. Specifically, we prove that connective algebraic K-theory is the universal additive invariant, i.e., the universal functor with values in spectra which inverts Morita equivalences, preserves filtered colimits, and satisfies Waldhausen's additivity theorem. Similarly, we prove that non-connective algebraic K-theory is the universal localizing invariant, i.e., the universal functor that moreover satisfies the "Thomason-Trobaugh-Neeman" localization theorem. To prove these results, we construct and study two stable infinity categories of "noncommutative motives"; one associated to additivity and another to localization. In these stable infinity categories, Waldhausen's S. construction corresponds to the suspension functor and connective and non-connective algebraic K-theory spectra become corepresentable by the noncommutative motive of the sphere spectrum. In particular, the algebraic K-theory of every scheme, stack, and ring spectrum can be recovered from these categories of noncommutative motives. In order to work with these categories of noncommutative motives, we establish comparison theorems between the category of spectral categories localized at the Morita equivalences and the category of small idempotent-complete stable infinity categories. We also explain in detail the comparison between the infinity categorical version of Waldhausen K-theory and the classical definition. As an application of our theory, we obtain a complete classification of the natural transformations from higher algebraic K-theory to topological Hochschild homology (THH) and topological cyclic homology (TC). Notably, we obtain an elegant conceptual description of the cyclotomic trace map.

Embedding categories with exactness into their abelianization

AbstractWe give a partial answer to the following questions: Given an additive category and a class of sequences, under what conditions is the universal functor to the abelian category faithful and what other sequences are taken to exact sequences?The “answers” to these questions appear as theorems 2.2 and 3.2 respectively and amount to a weakening of the condition that there be enough relative projectives.We then characterize those additive categories with exactness which have the property that all relative exact sequences are determined by a small set of functors into the category of abelian groups.

Satellites and Universal Functors

Satellites and Universal Functors