Seminars in Higher Category Theory

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Vladimir Sosnilo: Resolutions of c-categories

21st November, 2024

Many results about schemes can be generalized to the non-commutative setting of stable ∞-categories. For bounded weighted categories, things are even better: one can formulate and prove a natural analogue of the theorem of Dundas-Goodwillie-McCarthy which is one of the fundamental tools in studying algebraic K-theory. However, in algebraic geometry bounded weighted categories do not show up very often: for instance, the ∞-category of perfect complexes over a scheme X only admits a reasonable weight structure when X is affine. We introduce a new notion of a c-category which is designed to cover a diverse class of geometric examples, including all quasi-compact quasi-separated schemes, yet allowing for all the weighted arguments to work out in this setting. Our main result shows that a c-category can be resolved in finitely many steps by categories of perfect complexes over connective ring spectra. This allows us to prove an analogue of the DGM theorem for c-categories, as well as the vanishing of their Hochschild homology below a certain degree. We also show that either of the following admits a structure of a c-category:

1. the derived category of any exact (∞-)category that has finite Ext-dimension;

2. the subcategory of compact objects in any weakly approximable stable ∞-category in the sense of Neeman.

In particular, using the computation of the Hochschild homology for c-categories mentioned before we obtain that the category of module-spectra over the ring C*(𝕊2) of cochains over the 2-sphere is not weakly approximable.

Bertrand Toën: Geometric quantization for shifted symplectic structures

4th July, 2024

The purpose of this talk is to present an ongoing work on geometric quantization in the setting of shifted symplectic structures. I will start by recalling the various notions involved as well as the results previously obtained by James Wallbridge, who constructed the prequantized (higher) categories of a given integral shifted symplectic structure. I will then explain our main result so far: the construction of the shifted analogues of the Kostant–Souriau prequantum operators, which will be realized as a "Poisson module over a Poisson category" (a categorification of the notion of a Poisson module over a Poisson algebra). This will be obtained by means of deformation theory arguments for categories of sheaves in the setting of (derived) differential geometry. If time permits, I will discuss further aspects associated to the notion of polarizations of shifted symplectic structures.

Calum Hughes: An elementary theory of the 2-category of small categories

5th June, 2024

Lawvere’s Elementary Theory of the Category of Sets (ETCS) posits that the category Set is a well-pointed elementary topos with natural numbers object satisfying the axiom of choice. This provides a category theoretic foundation for mathematics which axiomatises the properties of function composition in contrast to Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory with the axiom of choice (ZFC), which axiomatises sets and their membership relation. Furthermore, ETCS augmented with the axiom schema of replacement can be shown to be equiconsistent with ZFC.

In this talk, I will present a categorification of ETCS which axiomatises the 2-category of small categories, functors and natural transformations; this is the elementary theory of the 2-category of small categories (ET2CSC) of the title. This extends Bourke’s characterisation of categories internal to a category E with pullbacks to the setting where E satisfies the extra properties of ETCS. Important 2-categorical definitions I will introduce are 2-well-pointedness, the full subobject classifier and the categorified axiom of choice. The main conclusion is that ET2CSC is 'Morita biequivalent’ with ETCS, meaning that the two theories have biequivalent 2-categories of models.

I will also describe how Shulman and Weber’s ideas on discrete opfibration classifiers can be used to incorporate replacement, in a way reminiscent of algebraic set theory.

Timothy Logvinenko: The Heisenberg category of a category

23rd May, 2024

In the 90s, Nakajima and Grojnowski identified the total cohomology of the Hilbert schemes of points on a smooth projective surface with the Fock space representation of the Heisenberg algebra associated to its cohomology lattice. Later, Krug lifted this to derived categories and generalized it to the symmetric quotient stacks of any smooth projective variety.

On the other hand, Khovanov introduced a categorification of the free boson Heisenberg algebra, i.e., the one associated to the rank 1 lattice. It is a monoidal category whose morphisms are described by a certain planar diagram calculus which categorifies the Heisenberg relations. A similar categorification was constructed by Cautis and Licata for the Heisenberg algebras of ADE type root lattices.

We show how to associate the Heisenberg 2-category to any smooth and proper DG category and then define its Fock space 2-representation. This construction unifies all the results above and extends them to what can be viewed as the generality of arbitrary non-commutative smooth and proper schemes.

Paolo Stellari: Comparing the homotopy categories of dg categories and of A∞-categories

9th May, 2024

In this talk, we show that the homotopy category of (small) dg categories and the homotopy category of A∞-categories are equivalent (even from a higher categorical viewpoint). We will discuss several issues related to the various notions of unity and provide several applications. The main ones are about the uniqueness of enhancements for triangulated categories and a full proof of a claim by Kontsevich and Keller concerning a description of the category of internal Homs for dg categories.

Gregory Arone: The tensor triangular geometry of functor categories

14th March, 2024

We consider the (infinity) category of excisive (aka polynomial) functors from Spectra to Spectra. Understanding this category is a basic problem in functor calculus. We will approach it from the perspective of tensor triangular geometry. Day convolution equips the category of excisive functors with the structure of a rigid monoidal triangulated category. We describe completely the Balmer spectrum of this category, i.e., its spectrum of prime tensor ideals. This leads to a Thick Subcategory Theorem for excisive functors. A key ingredient in the proof is a blueshift theorem for the generalized Tate construction associated with the family of non-transitive subgroups of products of symmetric groups. If there is time, I will say something about work in progress to extend these results to more general functor categories.

Matt Booth: Global Koszul duality

7th March, 2024

Conilpotent Koszul duality, as formulated by Positselski and Lefevre-Hasegawa, gives an equivalence (of model categories, or of ∞-categories) between augmented dg algebras and conilpotent dg-coalgebras. One should think of this as a non-commutative version of the Lurie-Pridham correspondence: indeed in characteristic zero, cocommutative conilpotent dg coalgebras are Koszul dual to dg Lie algebras, and this is precisely the correspondence between formal moduli problems and their tangent complexes. I'll talk about a global analogue where the conilpotency assumption is removed; geometrically this corresponds to non-commutative formal moduli problems modelled on profinite completions, rather than pro-Artinian completions. Global Koszul duality is best expressed as a Quillen equivalence between curved dg algebras and curved dg coalgebras, and in both categories the weak equivalences are defined using an auxiliary object, the Maurer-Cartan dg category of a curved dg algebra.

Jay Shah: Real topological Hochschild homology, C2-stable trace theories, and Poincaré cyclic graphs

29th February, 2024

To study topological Hochschild homology as an invariant of stable ∞-categories and endow it with its universal property in this context, Nikolaus introduced the formalism of stable cyclic graphs and trace theories (after Kaledin). On the other hand, Poincaré ∞-categories are a C2-refinement of stable ∞-categories that provide an adequate formalism for studying real and hermitian algebraic K-theory, which should be then well-approximated by the real cyclotomic trace. In this talk, we explain how to systematically provide Poincaré refinements of all the components of Nikolaus's approach to stable trace theories.

Vanessa Miemietz: Higher representation theory

12th October, 2023

I will try to motivate the development of a subject called finitary 2-representation theory and explain some techniques and results on the example of Soergel bimodules of finite Coxeter type.

Vadim Vologodsky: Prismatic F-gauges and Fontaine-Laffaille Modules

11th October, 2023

With every bounded prism Bhatt and Scholze associated a cohomology theory of formal p-adic schemes. The prismatic cohomology comes equipped with the Nygaard filtration and the Frobenius endomorphism. The Bhatt-Scholze construction has been advanced further by Drinfeld and Bhatt-Lurie who constructed a cohomology theory with values in a stable ∞-category of prismatic F-gauges. The new cohomology theory is universal, meaning that, for every bounded prism, the associated prismatic cohomology theory factors through the category of prismatic F-gauges.

In this talk, I will explain how a full subcategory of the category of prismatic F-gauges formed by objects whose Hodge-Tate weights lie in the interval [0,p-2] is equivalent to the derived category of Fontaine-Laffaille modules with a similar weight constraint. In the geometric context, this means that the prismatic F-gauge associated with a formally smooth scheme over p-adic integers of dimension less than p-1 can be recovered from its Hodge filtered de Rham cohomology equipped with the Nygaard refined crystalline Frobenius endomorphism.

If time permits, I will explain a generalization of the above statement to the case of prismatic F-gauges over a smooth p-adic formal scheme.

Thibaut Mazuir: Higher algebra of A∞-algebras in Morse theory

28th January, 2022

In this short talk, I will introduce the notion of n-morphisms between two A∞-algebras. These higher morphisms are such that 0-morphisms correspond to standard A∞-morphisms and 1-morphisms correspond to A∞-homotopies. Their combinatorics are then encoded by new families of polytopes, which I call the n-multiplihedra and which generalize the standard multiplihedra. Elaborating on works by Abouzaid and Mescher, I will then explain how this higher algebra of A∞-algebras naturally arises in the context of Morse theory, using moduli spaces of perturbed Morse gradient trees.

Alexei Davydov: Condensation of anyons in topological states of matter and structure theory of E2-algebras

13th December, 2021

The talk will be on the algebraic structure present in both parts of the title. This algebraic story is most pronounced for E2-algebras in the category of 2-vector spaces (also known as braided fusion categories). Condensation gives rise to an equivalence relation on such E2-algebras (Witt equivalence) with sets of equivalence classes exhibiting nice properties, e.g. being abelian groups (Witt groups). The Witt group of braided fusion categories is a countably generated abelian group with the torsion part annihilated by 32.

Fosco Loregian: Towards a formal category theory of derivators

23rd November, 2021

Derivator theory, initiated by Grothendieck and Heller in the '90s to correct the shortcomings of triangulated categories, motivated a lot of research regarding the foundation of (∞,1)-category theory, and its applications to algebraic geometry/topology.

For a 2-category theorist, a (pre)derivator is a familiar object - (a suitably co/complete) prestack on the category cat of small categories - and yet still little is known about the formal properties of the 2-category PDer. The present talk is motivated by the belief that time is ripe for a more conceptual look into the foundations of derivator theory, and that far from being a mere exercise in style, such a conceptualization yields many practical advantages.

After briefly outlining the essentials of "formal category theory'' (2-categories can be used to organize the theory of "categories with structure" just as category theory organizes the theory of "sets with structure"), I will report on a conjecture regarding the possibility to provide a "yoneda structure" or a "proarrow equipment" to the 2-category of pre/derivators. Under suitable assumptions, these are equivalent ways to equip PDer with a calculus of Kan extensions, and building on prior work of Di Liberti and myself, this allows to speak about "locally presentable" and "accessible" objects (showing that Adamek-Rosický and Renaudin's definitions eventually coincide); the overall goal is to provide a suitable form of special/general adjoint functor theorem for a morphism of prederivators (such a theorem would simplify a lot the life of the average algebraic geometer).

John Bourke: An orthogonal approach to algebraic weak factorization systems

30th September, 2021

Factorization systems (both weak and strong) are commonly defined as consisting of two classes of maps satisfying a certain orthogonality relation and a factorization axiom. The standard definition of algebraic weak factorization system, involving comonads and monads, is rather different. The goal of this talk will be to describe an equivalent definition of algebraic weak factorization system emphasising orthogonality and factorization.

Nicholas Meadows: Higher theories and monads

16th September, 2021

We extend Bourke and Garner's idempotent adjunction between monads and pretheories to the framework of ∞-categories, and exploit this to prove many classical theorems about monads in the ∞-categorical setting. Among other things, we prove that the category of algebras for an accessible monad on a locally presentable ∞ category is locally presentable. We also apply the result to construct examples of ∞-categorical monads from pretheories.