Direct image from an open restriction Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-07
For an open inclusion , this sheaf has sections on an open set . Restriction defines . Its stalks outside may be nonzero, so it differs from extension by zero.
Injective sheaf Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-06
A sheaf of abelian groups is injective if every morphism to it from a subsheaf extends to the containing sheaf. Every such sheaf embeds in an injective sheaf. Injective sheaves are flasque: the inclusion of extension by zero constant-integer sheaves associated to turns the extension property into surjectivity of restriction from to .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 22 5 Solution 2026-10-14
For a cochain complex , define the shift of a cochain complex byFor a cochain map , put . This is again a cochain map, so the construction is a functor. The sign ensures the standard cone identities; the shifted differential squares to zero. Iteration gives and differential , and .
For , its algebraic mapping cone isApplying this differential twice gives first component , since is a cochain map, and second component . The mapsare cochain maps: and . They are maps of complexes of sheaves, because every displayed operation is a sheaf morphism in each degree.
The bounded below derived category of sheaves can be constructed by first quotienting the category of bounded below cochain complexes by cochain homotopy and then formally inverting all quasi-isomorphisms. A morphism may be represented by a roof . Alternatively, take injective resolutions of sheaves and use homotopy classes of maps between the resulting injective complexes. The cohomology sheaf functors descend to the localization, because they already identify homotopic maps and turn quasi-isomorphisms into isomorphisms. If in , applying these functors gives for every . Conversely, if all these sheaves vanish, the unique map is a quasi-isomorphism, which becomes invertible in . HenceAn exact triangle in a derived category is a triangle isomorphic to a cone triangleIn particular the last arrow is part of the structure; a mere sequence of three objects with successive composite zero does not suffice.
Suppose is degreewise exact. DefineThen , so is a cochain map. It is natural under maps of short exact sequences. It is degreewise surjective as a sheaf map, and its kernel can be identified with using . In these coordinates the kernel differential isThere is a contracting homotopy in degree :Thus the kernel has zero cohomology sheaves. The cohomology-sheaf exact sequence is the sequence of the short exact sequence of complexes , or equivalently its ordinary complex-cohomology sequence at every stalk. It follows that induces isomorphisms of all cohomology sheaves, provingUnder this isomorphism the cone triangle becomes the exact trianglewhere in the derived category.
For the final construction write and set , , , each initially placed in degree zero. The stated sequence is exact on stalks: on its first map is an isomorphism and its last sheaf is zero; on the equator its first sheaf is zero and the second map is an isomorphism. Take its connecting morphismThe source has only , whereas the target has only . Therefore every induced map is zero: in any degree at least one of its source and target is zero. This is a ghost morphism in a derived category.
To prove the derived morphism itself is nonzero, apply derived global sections, giving the hypercohomology sequence. The extension by zero identifies with the compactly supported cohomology of , and closed direct image identifies with . The complement is two open disks, each homeomorphic to , soThe degree-one part of the resulting exact sequence isThus is injective, in particular nonzero. With the hemispheres oriented from , the last map is , so an appropriately oriented equator generator maps to . A zero morphism in the derived category of sheaves would induce a zero map after derived global sections and taking cohomology. Consequently , although for every . This establishes explicitly that the collection of cohomology-sheaf functors detects zero objects but is not faithful on morphisms.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 16 4 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Recall that a flasque sheaf has surjective restriction maps on every inclusion of open subsets. We first prove the flasque-kernel section-lifting lemma: in an exact sequence of sheaves, with a flasque sheaf, every section of on any open subset lifts to a section of on .
Fix such a section . Order its lifts on open subsets by extension. A chain has an upper bound by the sheaf gluing axiom, so Zorn's lemma gives a maximal lift . If , choose a point outside and a neighborhood on which has a local lift . On , the difference is a section of . Extend it to by flasqueness and subtract it from . The corrected lift now agrees with and glues on , contradicting maximality. Thus , proving the lemma.
It follows also that if both and are flasque sheaves, then is a flasque sheaf. Given a section of on , first lift it to on , extend that lift to , and project to .
Next, an injective sheaf of modules is a flasque sheaf. For , let and denote the open inclusions into . Extension by zero gives a monomorphism : on every stalk it is either , the identity, or . By the adjunction for extension by zero,Injectivity therefore makes surjective. This proves injective module sheaves are flasque.
Take an injective resolution of sheaves of . Write and, successively,The initial is a flasque sheaf; each is a flasque sheaf; and the quotient argument proves inductively that all are flasque sheaves. The section-lifting lemma makes each displayed sequence exact after global sections. Consequently the complex of global sections of the injective resolution of sheaves has zero positive cohomology. Since that complex defines sheaf cohomology,
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 113 4 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
A flasque sheaf has surjective restriction maps for every pair of opens . To prove the claim for an injective sheaf of modules, let and . The natural mapis a monomorphism: its stalks are either the identity on , the map from zero to that stalk, or the zero-to-zero map. Here is extension by zero for module sheaves.
The extension-by-zero adjunction identifiesThe injective object property extends every morphism from to one from . Under the displayed identification this is exactly surjectivity of . Injective module sheaves are therefore flasque. This argument works on an arbitrary ringed space, without Noetherian or separation assumptions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 113 4 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
We prove the vanishing by an injective resolution of sheaves and the flasque-kernel section-lifting lemma.
For a short exact sequence of sheaves with flasque kernel, every section of on an open set lifts to there. Indeed choose a maximal partial lift by the Zorn lemma, using the sheaf gluing axiom on chains. At any point outside its domain choose a local lift. The difference on the overlap is a section of and extends to the new open set by flasqueness; subtract that extension from the new lift and glue. Maximality forces the lift's domain to be the whole open set. Thus taking sections preserves this short exact sequence.
Every injective sheaf is flasque: for , the monomorphism between the extension by zero sheaves and the defining extension property of injectivity make the restriction surjective. Embed into an injective sheaf . The quotient is flasque as well: lift a section of on a smaller open to , extend it in , and project.
The long exact sequence in sheaf cohomology now gives , since is surjective, and for gives , since injectives have zero positive-degree derived functors. Repeat the construction for the flasque quotient. After finitely many such shifts any specified positive degree reduces to a vanishing first group. HenceNo separation, compactness or scheme hypothesis is used.