Sheaf of abelian groups

A sheaf of abelian groups is a sheaf of sets whose sections on each open set form an abelian group and whose restriction maps are group homomorphisms. Its stalk of a sheaf is the corresponding group of germs. Kernels are computed on sections, whereas cokernels are obtained by sheafification of the sectionwise cokernel. An exact sequence can therefore be checked on stalks.

The direct sum of sheaves of abelian groups is the sheafification of the presheaf $U\mapsto {⨁}_i{\mathcal{F}}_i(U)$. It need not equal that presheaf: sections are locally represented using finitely many summands, while globally infinitely many can occur. For point-supported skyscraper sheaves at closed points, allowable point supports are a locally finite family of subsets.

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 $U\subseteq V$ turns the extension property into surjectivity of restriction from $V$ to $U$.

An exact sequence of sheaves of abelian groups is a sequence of sheaf homomorphisms for which the image of each map equals the kernel of the next. Exactness can be checked on every stalk of a sheaf. Exactness of the associated sequences of sections on every open set is a stronger condition: a surjective sheaf homomorphism need only admit lifts locally.

A sequence $0\to {\mathcal{F}}^{\prime }\to \mathcal{F}\to {\mathcal{F}}^{\prime \prime }\to 0$ of sheaves is exact exactly when the induced sequence on every stalk is exact.

For an abelian group $A$, the constant sheaf has sections over an open set given by its locally constant $A$-valued functions. It is the sheafification of the constant presheaf, and its sections on a disconnected open set need not have a single common value.

Every nonempty open subset of an irreducible space is connected. A locally constant function into a fixed abelian group $D$ is therefore constant on that open set. Restrictions between nonempty opens identify with the identity of $D$, and restrictions to the empty set are surjective onto zero. Thus the constant sheaf is flasque, with global sections $D$ and zero higher sheaf cohomology on a nonempty irreducible space. For an integral scheme its constant function-field sheaf has its natural structure-sheaf action by regular functions viewed in the function field.