Let . Work with commutative rings and take a quotient to mean a surjection , considered up to an isomorphism of commuting with . Equivalently, retain its kernel as a submodule of . Here a rank- locally free module is finite locally free, or equivalently a finite projective module of constant rank . A ring homomorphism sends the quotient to
The tensor product of modules is right exact and preserves finite projectivity, so this defines the functorial action. We prove scheme representability in the usual functor of points sense:
naturally in . The Grassmannian of locally free quotients will be constructed explicitly.
Assume first , and choose a basis of . For every ordered subset , consider those quotients for which are a basis of . This choice gives a unique identification , in which the quotient is represented by an matrix whose columns indexed by are the identity matrix. Its remaining entries are arbitrary elements of . Thus this subfunctor is represented by the affine scheme
There is no further change-of-basis ambiguity: the selected quotient images already specify its basis uniquely.
For another subset , write for the square submatrix consisting of the columns. The same quotient lies in the chart exactly when its determinant is a unit. Consequently the chart overlap is the principal open subset
On that overlap the matrix normalized in the basis is
The entries are regular on by the adjugate matrix. Conversely, the columns of form , so normalization back to recovers . The transition is therefore an isomorphism .
The cocycle identity follows from the same matrix computation, not just an assertion about bases. On a triple overlap, normalization first to and then to gives
This is direct normalization from to . By gluing of schemes along open subschemes, the standard affine charts of the quotient Grassmannian therefore glue to a scheme over .
The universal matrices also glue a universal quotient. On , use the surjection
On overlaps, identify its targets by , precisely the transition matrix above. The cocycle identity glues these free sheaves into a rank- locally free sheaf and glues the maps into . Its kernel is locally free of rank : on an explicit basis is
Hence we have the universal exact sequence
It remains to verify that these charts capture every quotient, including a nonfree projective target. Given , define as the locus where the selected images , , form a basis. This is open: locally trivialize the locally free sheaf associated with , and it is the nonvanishing locus of the corresponding maximal minor. The sets cover . Indeed, at every prime , the images of all vectors span the -dimensional residue-field quotient, so some of them form a basis there. Their determinant is a unit in , hence they form a basis over that local ring and on an open neighbourhood of .
On , trivialize using exactly those selected images. The remaining columns give regular functions and hence a morphism . On , the normalized matrices satisfy the displayed transition formula, so the local morphisms glue to a morphism
Its pullback of the universal quotient is the original quotient, because this is true in each of the specified bases. Conversely, any morphism pulls back the universal sequence to a rank- locally free quotient. On each inverse-image chart its matrix is exactly the normalized matrix used to reconstruct , so the two constructions are inverse. They are unchanged by an isomorphism commuting with the quotient map, and they commute with every base change . This proves the natural bijection and therefore
Taking kernels over a field identifies this with the usual Grassmannian of -dimensional subspaces of . The construction itself does not assume the target module is globally free.
For , the only quotient is zero; for , a surjection to a locally free module of the same rank is an isomorphism, as can be checked locally by its determinant. Both endpoint functors are represented by . If , no such quotient exists over a nonempty test scheme, and the representing scheme is empty. Finally, scheme representability does not mean representation by a single ring: already gives , which is not affine. This is the standard algebraic-geometric meaning of representability for the functor on rings here.
Use shifted degrees
Its graded Lie bracket is the sign-adjusted Whitehead bracket from Question 2, equivalently the Samelson product on loops. This regrading is essential: the geometric bracket has degree minus one in the unshifted sphere grading. A free graded Lie algebra on a graded vector space means with the universal extension property for linear maps from to any graded Lie algebra.
Here are the general results used. The Bott–Samelson theorem says that, for a connected based CW complex , the inclusion induces an isomorphism of graded algebras
with the Pontryagin product. The Milnor–Moore theorem says that for simply connected , rational loop Hurewicz homomorphism identifies with the primitives of that loop-homology Hopf algebra and induces . The graded Poincaré-Birkhoff-Witt theorem identifies the associated graded algebra of , for its word-length filtration, with the graded symmetric algebra on ; hence its primitive elements of a Hopf algebra are exactly over . Finally the rational Whitehead theorem identifies rational homology equivalences of simply connected CW complexes with rational homotopy equivalences. Rationalization of a topological space induces the corresponding isomorphisms of loop-space homotopy and rational homology.
Suppose first has the rational homotopy type of . A reduced suspension is simply connected when is connected; a disconnected has , so it cannot have the rational homology of the simply connected . Put , in strictly positive degrees. Bott–Samelson theorem gives as an algebra. To deduce freeness of the primitive Lie algebra, its coproduct must also be considered: the initial Bott–Samelson theorem generators can have reduced-diagonal terms when has nontrivial cup products.
By Milnor–Moore theorem write this Hopf algebra as . Its algebra indecomposables satisfy
The first identity follows from the enveloping relation: after all positive products are killed, every bracket is killed and no additional linear relation is introduced. Hence each homogeneous basis vector of has a primitive representative in . Choose such representatives . Sending to defines an algebra map from to itself whose effect on indecomposables is the identity. It is an isomorphism: decomposable terms, and every factor in those terms has smaller positive degree than . Degree induction solves recursively for each original generator and constructs the inverse. This works even with arbitrarily many generators in a degree.
Equip the source tensor algebra with primitive generators. The map is now a Hopf-algebra isomorphism, because the chosen images are primitive. The primitives in this tensor Hopf algebra are exactly : by the two universal properties, and the graded Graded Poincaré–Birkhoff–Witt theorem gives its primitive subspace. Consequently , proving the forward direction without assuming a primitive coproduct for the original generators.
Conversely suppose for a positively graded . Choose a homogeneous basis of . Represent its corresponding homotopy class by a based sphere map , and combine these maps into
The wedge sum is a reduced suspension, namely . The preceding direction, applied to this wedge sum, gives its free rational homotopy Lie algebra on the sphere inclusions. Indeed these particular tensor generators are primitive because the reduced diagonal of each sphere is zero, and loop Hurewicz homomorphism sends the adjoint sphere inclusion to that generator. Naturality of the bracket shows that sends the free generating basis to the prescribed free generating basis of . It is therefore an isomorphism of free graded Lie algebras, hence an isomorphism in every rational homotopy degree. The rational Whitehead theorem makes a rational homotopy equivalence. This proves the reverse implication and also shows that a wedge sum of spheres can be chosen as the reduced suspension.
For every chosen connected with , the required algebra statement is precisely the Bott–Samelson theorem isomorphism, transported along rational homotopy equivalence:
Multiplication is concatenation of tensors and the degree-zero tensor is the unit. All freeness assertions here are graded, with the Koszul signs described above.
Let . Its quotient cell structure has one cell in each of dimensions . In particular is five-connected. The relative cohomology sequence, or its cellular cochain complex, gives
The subscripts denote degrees. Under the quotient map back to , the three positive classes pull back to . All positive products vanish, since their degree is at least twelve. Thus the cohomology ring of a collapsed projective subspace in this case is the square-zero algebra on these three classes.
Now compute its Sullivan minimal model , using cohomological grading and the convention that even generators generate a polynomial ring and odd generators an exterior algebra. Five-connectivity gives for . Since a minimal differential is decomposable, it cannot have a nonzero value below degree twelve. Matching cohomology through degree ten therefore forces
with no other generators in degrees at most ten. The first products must then be killed by generators
These follow by killing respectively the unwanted degree-twelve, degree-fourteen, and two degree-sixteen classes. Subsequent generators kill and the resulting syzygies. For example is closed of degree nineteen, so it requires a further generator of degree eighteen. Thus the full minimal model is not just the algebra on the first seven generators.
There is nevertheless a simple map from the full model to : send to the three displayed classes and every other generator to zero. It is a chain map, since every generator differential is a sum of products of positive-degree elements, and all positive products in vanish. It induces an isomorphism in cohomology: the entire cohomology of is concentrated in degrees , and its indicated basis maps to the indicated basis of . This proves formality of a topological space and identifies the full minimal model as a minimal resolution of , rather than only matching the initial part of its cohomology.
An explicit description of that full resolution is useful. Take the free graded Lie algebra
Its Chevalley–Eilenberg cochain algebra has one generator of degree for every homogeneous Lie basis word , and its quadratic differential is dual to the bracket, with the usual graded signs. Rescaling the bracket-word duals gives exactly the generators and differentials listed above. Positive Lie degrees make this algebra Sullivan minimal. Its cohomology is : the universal enveloping algebra is , and the augmentation module has the exact free resolution
Exactness is immediate because every nonempty tensor word has a unique last letter. Applying gives just the unit and the three dual classes in total degrees ; products of positive classes land in an absent Ext degree two and are zero. Chevalley–Eilenberg cochains of a graded Lie algebra compute this Ext, so this also verifies the full model's cohomology.
The wedge sum has the same connectivity, cohomology ring, and initial closed minimal generators. The same full-model-to- argument applies to , so its minimal model is also , by uniqueness of Sullivan minimal models of quasi-isomorphic simply connected rational cochain algebras. The Sullivan minimal-model classification identifies isomorphic minimal models with the same rational homotopy type. Consequently
The explicit infinite minimal resolution above is shared by both spaces.