Coherent sheaf explained

In mathematics, especially in algebraic geometry and the theory of complex manifolds, coherent sheaves are a class of sheaves closely linked to the geometric properties of the underlying space. The definition of coherent sheaves is made with reference to a sheaf of rings that codifies this geometric information.

Coherent sheaves can be seen as a generalization of vector bundles. Unlike vector bundles, they form an abelian category, and so they are closed under operations such as taking kernels, images, and cokernels. The quasi-coherent sheaves are a generalization of coherent sheaves and include the locally free sheaves of infinite rank.

Coherent sheaf cohomology is a powerful technique, in particular for studying the sections of a given coherent sheaf.

Definitions

(X,lOX)

is a sheaf

lF

of

lOX

-modules that has a local presentation, that is, every point in

X

has an open neighborhood

U

in which there is an exact sequence
I
l{O}
X

|U\to

J
l{O}
X

|U\tol{F}|U\to0

for some (possibly infinite) sets

I

and

J

.

(X,lOX)

is a sheaf

lF

of

lOX

-modules satisfying the following two properties:

lF

is of finite type over

lOX

, that is, every point in

X

has an open neighborhood

U

in

X

such that there is a surjective morphism
n|
l{O}
U

\tol{F}|U

for some natural number

n

;
  1. for any open set

U\subseteqX

, any natural number

n

, and any morphism

\varphi:

n|
l{O}
U

\tol{F}|U

of

lOX

-modules, the kernel of

\varphi

is of finite type.

Morphisms between (quasi-)coherent sheaves are the same as morphisms of sheaves of

lOX

-modules.

The case of schemes

When

X

is a scheme, the general definitions above are equivalent to more explicit ones. A sheaf

lF

of

lOX

-modules is quasi-coherent if and only if over each open affine subscheme

U=\operatorname{Spec}A

the restriction

lF|U

is isomorphic to the sheaf

\tilde{M}

associated to the module

M=\Gamma(U,lF)

over

A

. When

X

is a locally Noetherian scheme,

lF

is coherent if and only if it is quasi-coherent and the modules

M

above can be taken to be finitely generated.

On an affine scheme

U=\operatorname{Spec}A

, there is an equivalence of categories from

A

-modules to quasi-coherent sheaves, taking a module

M

to the associated sheaf

\tilde{M}

. The inverse equivalence takes a quasi-coherent sheaf

lF

on

U

to the

A

-module

lF(U)

of global sections of

lF

.

Here are several further characterizations of quasi-coherent sheaves on a scheme.[1]

Properties

On an arbitrary ringed space, quasi-coherent sheaves do not necessarily form an abelian category. On the other hand, the quasi-coherent sheaves on any scheme form an abelian category, and they are extremely useful in that context.[2]

On any ringed space

X

, the coherent sheaves form an abelian category, a full subcategory of the category of

lOX

-modules.[3] (Analogously, the category of coherent modules over any ring

A

is a full abelian subcategory of the category of all

A

-modules.) So the kernel, image, and cokernel of any map of coherent sheaves are coherent. The direct sum of two coherent sheaves is coherent; more generally, an

lOX

-module that is an extension of two coherent sheaves is coherent.

A submodule of a coherent sheaf is coherent if it is of finite type. A coherent sheaf is always an

lOX

-module of finite presentation, meaning that each point

x

in

X

has an open neighborhood

U

such that the restriction

lF|U

of

lF

to

U

is isomorphic to the cokernel of a morphism
n|
lO
U

\to

m|
lO
U
for some natural numbers

n

and

m

. If

lOX

is coherent, then, conversely, every sheaf of finite presentation over

lOX

is coherent.

The sheaf of rings

lOX

is called coherent if it is coherent considered as a sheaf of modules over itself. In particular, the Oka coherence theorem states that the sheaf of holomorphic functions on a complex analytic space

X

is a coherent sheaf of rings. The main part of the proof is the case

X=Cn

. Likewise, on a locally Noetherian scheme

X

, the structure sheaf

lOX

is a coherent sheaf of rings.

Basic constructions of coherent sheaves

lOX

-module

lF

on a ringed space

X

is called locally free of finite rank, or a vector bundle, if every point in

X

has an open neighborhood

U

such that the restriction

lF|U

is isomorphic to a finite direct sum of copies of

lOX|U

. If

lF

is free of the same rank

n

near every point of

X

, then the vector bundle

lF

is said to be of rank

n

.

Vector bundles in this sheaf-theoretic sense over a scheme

X

are equivalent to vector bundles defined in a more geometric way, as a scheme

E

with a morphism

\pi:E\toX

and with a covering of

X

by open sets

U\alpha

with given isomorphisms

\pi-1(U\alpha)\congAn x U\alpha

over

U\alpha

such that the two isomorphisms over an intersection

U\alpha\capU\beta

differ by a linear automorphism. (The analogous equivalence also holds for complex analytic spaces.) For example, given a vector bundle

E

in this geometric sense, the corresponding sheaf

lF

is defined by: over an open set

U

of

X

, the

lO(U)

-module

lF(U)

is the set of sections of the morphism

\pi-1(U)\toU

. The sheaf-theoretic interpretation of vector bundles has the advantage that vector bundles (on a locally Noetherian scheme) are included in the abelian category of coherent sheaves.

lOX

-module operations, but these give back locally free sheaves.

X=\operatorname{Spec}(R)

,

R

a Noetherian ring. Then vector bundles on

X

are exactly the sheaves associated to finitely generated projective modules over

R

, or (equivalently) to finitely generated flat modules over

R

.[4]

X=\operatorname{Proj}(R)

,

R

a Noetherian

\N

-graded ring, be a projective scheme over a Noetherian ring

R0

. Then each

\Z

-graded

R

-module

M

determines a quasi-coherent sheaf

lF

on

X

such that

lF|\{

} is the sheaf associated to the

R[f-1]0

-module

M[f-1]0

, where

f

is a homogeneous element of

R

of positive degree and

\{f\ne0\}=\operatorname{Spec}R[f-1]0

is the locus where

f

does not vanish.

n

, let

R(n)

denote the graded

R

-module given by

R(n)l=Rn+l

. Then each

R(n)

determines the quasi-coherent sheaf

lOX(n)

on

X

. If

R

is generated as

R0

-algebra by

R1

, then

lOX(n)

is a line bundle (invertible sheaf) on

X

and

lOX(n)

is the

n

-th tensor power of

lOX(1)

. In particular,
lO
Pn

(-1)

is called the tautological line bundle on the projective

n

-space.

P2

that is not a vector bundle is given by the cokernel in the following sequence

l{O}(1)\xrightarrow{(x2-yz,y3+xy2-xyz)}l{O}(3) ⊕ l{O}(4)\tol{E}\to0

this is because

l{E}

restricted to the vanishing locus of the two polynomials has two-dimensional fibers, and has one-dimensional fibers elsewhere.

Z

is a closed subscheme of a locally Noetherian scheme

X

, the sheaf

lIZ/X

of all regular functions vanishing on

Z

is coherent. Likewise, if

Z

is a closed analytic subspace of a complex analytic space

X

, the ideal sheaf

lIZ/X

is coherent.

lOZ

of a closed subscheme

Z

of a locally Noetherian scheme

X

can be viewed as a coherent sheaf on

X

. To be precise, this is the direct image sheaf

i*lOZ

, where

i:Z\toX

is the inclusion. Likewise for a closed analytic subspace of a complex analytic space. The sheaf

i*lOZ

has fiber (defined below) of dimension zero at points in the open set

X-Z

, and fiber of dimension 1 at points in

Z

. There is a short exact sequence of coherent sheaves on

X

:

0\tolIZ/X\tolOX\toi*lOZ\to0.

lF

and

lG

on a ringed space

X

, the tensor product sheaf

lF

lOX

lG

and the sheaf of homomorphisms
lHom
lOX

(lF,lG)

are coherent.

i!l{O}X

for

X=\operatorname{Spec}(\Complex[x,x-1])\xrightarrow{i}\operatorname{Spec}(\Complex[x])=Y

Since this sheaf has non-trivial stalks, but zero global sections, this cannot be a quasi-coherent sheaf. This is because quasi-coherent sheaves on an affine scheme are equivalent to the category of modules over the underlying ring, and the adjunction comes from taking global sections.

Functoriality

Let

f:X\toY

be a morphism of ringed spaces (for example, a morphism of schemes). If

lF

is a quasi-coherent sheaf on

Y

, then the inverse image

lOX

-module (or pullback)

f*lF

is quasi-coherent on

X

.[5] For a morphism of schemes

f:X\toY

and a coherent sheaf

lF

on

Y

, the pullback

f*lF

is not coherent in full generality (for example,
*lO
f
Y

=lOX

, which might not be coherent), but pullbacks of coherent sheaves are coherent if

X

is locally Noetherian. An important special case is the pullback of a vector bundle, which is a vector bundle.

If

f:X\toY

is a quasi-compact quasi-separated morphism of schemes and

lF

is a quasi-coherent sheaf on

X

, then the direct image sheaf (or pushforward)

f*lF

is quasi-coherent on

Y

.[2]

k

, let

X

be the affine line over

k

, and consider the morphism

f:X\to\operatorname{Spec}(k)

; then the direct image

f*lOX

is the sheaf on

\operatorname{Spec}(k)

associated to the polynomial ring

k[x]

, which is not coherent because

k[x]

has infinite dimension as a

k

-vector space. On the other hand, the direct image of a coherent sheaf under a proper morphism is coherent, by results of Grauert and Grothendieck.

Local behavior of coherent sheaves

An important feature of coherent sheaves

lF

is that the properties of

lF

at a point

x

control the behavior of

lF

in a neighborhood of

x

, more than would be true for an arbitrary sheaf. For example, Nakayama's lemma says (in geometric language) that if

lF

is a coherent sheaf on a scheme

X

, then the fiber

lFx

lOX,x

k(x)

of

F

at a point

x

(a vector space over the residue field

k(x)

) is zero if and only if the sheaf

lF

is zero on some open neighborhood of

x

. A related fact is that the dimension of the fibers of a coherent sheaf is upper-semicontinuous. Thus a coherent sheaf has constant rank on an open set, while the rank can jump up on a lower-dimensional closed subset.

In the same spirit: a coherent sheaf

lF

on a scheme

X

is a vector bundle if and only if its stalk

lFx

is a free module over the local ring

lOX,x

for every point

x

in

X

.

On a general scheme, one cannot determine whether a coherent sheaf is a vector bundle just from its fibers (as opposed to its stalks). On a reduced locally Noetherian scheme, however, a coherent sheaf is a vector bundle if and only if its rank is locally constant.

Examples of vector bundles

For a morphism of schemes

X\toY

, let

\Delta:X\toX x YX

be the diagonal morphism, which is a closed immersion if

X

is separated over

Y

. Let

lI

be the ideal sheaf of

X

in

X x YX

. Then the sheaf of differentials
1
\Omega
X/Y
can be defined as the pullback

\Delta*lI

of

lI

to

X

. Sections of this sheaf are called 1-forms on

X

over

Y

, and they can be written locally on

X

as finite sums

style\sumfjdgj

for regular functions

fj

and

gj

. If

X

is locally of finite type over a field

k

, then
1
\Omega
X/k
is a coherent sheaf on

X

.

If

X

is smooth over

k

, then

\Omega1

(meaning
1
\Omega
X/k
) is a vector bundle over

X

, called the cotangent bundle of

X

. Then the tangent bundle

TX

is defined to be the dual bundle

(\Omega1)*

. For

X

smooth over

k

of dimension

n

everywhere, the tangent bundle has rank

n

.

If

Y

is a smooth closed subscheme of a smooth scheme

X

over

k

, then there is a short exact sequence of vector bundles on

Y

:

0\toTY\toTX|Y\toNY/X\to0,

which can be used as a definition of the normal bundle

NY/X

to

Y

in

X

.

For a smooth scheme

X

over a field

k

and a natural number

i

, the vector bundle

\Omegai

of i-forms on

X

is defined as the

i

-th exterior power of the cotangent bundle,

\Omegai=Λi\Omega1

. For a smooth variety

X

of dimension

n

over

k

, the canonical bundle

KX

means the line bundle

\Omegan

. Thus sections of the canonical bundle are algebro-geometric analogs of volume forms on

X

. For example, a section of the canonical bundle of affine space

An

over

k

can be written as

f(x1,\ldots,xn)dx1\wedge\wedgedxn,

where

f

is a polynomial with coefficients in

k

.

Let

R

be a commutative ring and

n

a natural number. For each integer

j

, there is an important example of a line bundle on projective space

Pn

over

R

, called

lO(j)

. To define this, consider the morphism of

R

-schemes

\pi:An+1-0\toPn

given in coordinates by

(x0,\ldots,xn)\mapsto[x0,\ldots,xn]

. (That is, thinking of projective space as the space of 1-dimensional linear subspaces of affine space, send a nonzero point in affine space to the line that it spans.) Then a section of

lO(j)

over an open subset

U

of

Pn

is defined to be a regular function

f

on

\pi-1(U)

that is homogeneous of degree

j

, meaning that

f(ax)=ajf(x)

as regular functions on (

A1-0) x \pi-1(U)

. For all integers

i

and

j

, there is an isomorphism

lO(i)lO(j)\conglO(i+j)

of line bundles on

Pn

.

In particular, every homogeneous polynomial in

x0,\ldots,xn

of degree

j

over

R

can be viewed as a global section of

lO(j)

over

Pn

. Note that every closed subscheme of projective space can be defined as the zero set of some collection of homogeneous polynomials, hence as the zero set of some sections of the line bundles

lO(j)

. This contrasts with the simpler case of affine space, where a closed subscheme is simply the zero set of some collection of regular functions. The regular functions on projective space

Pn

over

R

are just the "constants" (the ring

R

), and so it is essential to work with the line bundles

lO(j)

.

Serre gave an algebraic description of all coherent sheaves on projective space, more subtle than what happens for affine space. Namely, let

R

be a Noetherian ring (for example, a field), and consider the polynomial ring

S=R[x0,\ldots,xn]

as a graded ring with each

xi

having degree 1. Then every finitely generated graded

S

-module

M

has an associated coherent sheaf

\tildeM

on

Pn

over

R

. Every coherent sheaf on

Pn

arises in this way from a finitely generated graded

S

-module

M

. (For example, the line bundle

lO(j)

is the sheaf associated to the

S

-module

S

with its grading lowered by

j

.) But the

S

-module

M

that yields a given coherent sheaf on

Pn

is not unique; it is only unique up to changing

M

by graded modules that are nonzero in only finitely many degrees. More precisely, the abelian category of coherent sheaves on

Pn

is the quotient of the category of finitely generated graded

S

-modules by the Serre subcategory of modules that are nonzero in only finitely many degrees.[6]

The tangent bundle of projective space

Pn

over a field

k

can be described in terms of the line bundle

lO(1)

. Namely, there is a short exact sequence, the Euler sequence:

0\to

lO
Pn

\tolO(1)\toTPn\to0.

It follows that the canonical bundle
K
Pn
(the dual of the determinant line bundle of the tangent bundle) is isomorphic to

lO(-n-1)

. This is a fundamental calculation for algebraic geometry. For example, the fact that the canonical bundle is a negative multiple of the ample line bundle

lO(1)

means that projective space is a Fano variety. Over the complex numbers, this means that projective space has a Kähler metric with positive Ricci curvature.

Vector bundles on a hypersurface

Consider a smooth degree-

d

hypersurface

X\subseteqPn

defined by the homogeneous polynomial

f

of degree

d

. Then, there is an exact sequence

0\tolOX(-d)\to

*\Omega
i
Pn

\to\OmegaX\to0

where the second map is the pullback of differential forms, and the first map sends

\phi\mapstod(f\phi)

Note that this sequence tells us that

lO(-d)

is the conormal sheaf of

X

in

Pn

. Dualizing this yields the exact sequence

0\toTX\to

*T
i
Pn

\tolO(d)\to0

hence

lO(d)

is the normal bundle of

X

in

Pn

. If we use the fact that given an exact sequence

0\tolE1\tolE2\tolE3\to0

of vector bundles with ranks

r1

,

r2

,

r3

, there is an isomorphism
r2
Λ

lE2\cong

r1
Λ

lE1 ⊗

r3
Λ

lE3

of line bundles, then we see that there is the isomorphism
*\omega
i
Pn

\cong\omegaXlOX(-d)

showing that

\omegaX\conglOX(d-n-1)

Serre construction and vector bundles

One useful technique for constructing rank 2 vector bundles is the Serre construction[7] [8] pg 3 which establishes a correspondence between rank 2 vector bundles

l{E}

on a smooth projective variety

X

and codimension 2 subvarieties

Y

using a certain

Ext1

-group calculated on

X

. This is given by a cohomological condition on the line bundle

\wedge2l{E}

(see below).

The correspondence in one direction is given as follows: for a section

s\in\Gamma(X,l{E})

we can associated the vanishing locus

V(s)\subseteqX

. If

V(s)

is a codimension 2 subvariety, then
  1. It is a local complete intersection, meaning if we take an affine chart

Ui\subseteqX

then
s|
Ui

\in\Gamma(Ui,l{E})

can be represented as a function

si:Ui\toA2

, where

si(p)=

1(p),
(s
i
2(p))
s
i
and

V(s)\capUi=

2)
V(s
i
  1. The line bundle

\omegaX

2l{E}|
\wedge
V(s)
is isomorphic to the canonical bundle

\omegaV(s)

on

V(s)

In the other direction,[9] for a codimension 2 subvariety

Y\subseteqX

and a line bundle

l{L}\toX

such that

H1(X,l{L})=H2(X,l{L})=0

\omegaY\cong(\omegaXl{L})|Y

there is a canonical isomorphism

Hom((\omegaXl{L})|Y,\omegaY)\cong

1(l{I}
Ext
Yl{L},l{O}

X)

,
which is functorial with respect to inclusion of codimension

2

subvarieties. Moreover, any isomorphism given on the left corresponds to a locally free sheaf in the middle of the extension on the right. That is, for

s\inHom((\omegaXl{L})|Y,\omegaY)

that is an isomorphism there is a corresponding locally free sheaf

l{E}

of rank 2 that fits into a short exact sequence

0\tol{O}X\tol{E}\tol{I}Yl{L}\to0

This vector bundle can then be further studied using cohomological invariants to determine if it is stable or not. This forms the basis for studying moduli of stable vector bundles in many specific cases, such as on principally polarized abelian varieties and K3 surfaces.[10]

Chern classes and algebraic K-theory

A vector bundle

E

on a smooth variety

X

over a field has Chern classes in the Chow ring of

X

,

ci(E)

in

CHi(X)

for

i\geq0

. These satisfy the same formal properties as Chern classes in topology. For example, for any short exact sequence

0\toA\toB\toC\to0

of vector bundles on

X

, the Chern classes of

B

are given by

ci(B)=ci(A)+c1(A)ci-1(C)+ … +ci-1(A)c1(C)+ci(C).

It follows that the Chern classes of a vector bundle

E

depend only on the class of

E

in the Grothendieck group

K0(X)

. By definition, for a scheme

X

,

K0(X)

is the quotient of the free abelian group on the set of isomorphism classes of vector bundles on

X

by the relation that

[B]=[A]+[C]

for any short exact sequence as above. Although

K0(X)

is hard to compute in general, algebraic K-theory provides many tools for studying it, including a sequence of related groups

Ki(X)

for integers

i>0

.

A variant is the group

G0(X)

(or

K0'(X)

), the Grothendieck group of coherent sheaves on

X

. (In topological terms, G-theory has the formal properties of a Borel–Moore homology theory for schemes, while K-theory is the corresponding cohomology theory.) The natural homomorphism

K0(X)\toG0(X)

is an isomorphism if

X

is a regular separated Noetherian scheme, using that every coherent sheaf has a finite resolution by vector bundles in that case. For example, that gives a definition of the Chern classes of a coherent sheaf on a smooth variety over a field.

More generally, a Noetherian scheme

X

is said to have the resolution property if every coherent sheaf on

X

has a surjection from some vector bundle on

X

. For example, every quasi-projective scheme over a Noetherian ring has the resolution property.

Applications of resolution property

Since the resolution property states that a coherent sheaf

lE

on a Noetherian scheme is quasi-isomorphic in the derived category to the complex of vector bundles :

lEk\to\tolE1\tolE0

we can compute the total Chern class of

lE

with

c(lE)=c(lE0)c(lE

-1
1)

(-1)k
c(lE
k)

For example, this formula is useful for finding the Chern classes of the sheaf representing a subscheme of

X

. If we take the projective scheme

Z

associated to the ideal

(xy,xz)\subseteqC[x,y,z,w]

, then

c(lOZ)=

c(lO)c(lO(-3))
c(lO(-2)lO(-2))
since there is the resolution

0\tolO(-3)\tolO(-2)lO(-2)\tolO\tolOZ\to0

over

CP3

.

Bundle homomorphism vs. sheaf homomorphism

When vector bundles and locally free sheaves of finite constant rank are used interchangeably,care must be given to distinguish between bundle homomorphisms and sheaf homomorphisms. Specifically, given vector bundles

p:E\toX,q:F\toX

, by definition, a bundle homomorphism

\varphi:E\toF

is a scheme morphism over

X

(i.e.,

p=q\circ\varphi

) such that, for each geometric point

x

in

X

,

\varphix:p-1(x)\toq-1(x)

is a linear map of rank independent of

x

. Thus, it induces the sheaf homomorphism

\widetilde{\varphi}:lE\tolF

of constant rank between the corresponding locally free

lOX

-modules (sheaves of dual sections). But there may be an

lOX

-module homomorphism that does not arise this way; namely, those not having constant rank.

In particular, a subbundle

E\subseteqF

is a subsheaf (i.e.,

lE

is a subsheaf of

lF

). But the converse can fail; for example, for an effective Cartier divisor

D

on

X

,

lOX(-D)\subseteqlOX

is a subsheaf but typically not a subbundle (since any line bundle has only two subbundles).

The category of quasi-coherent sheaves

The quasi-coherent sheaves on any fixed scheme form an abelian category. Gabber showed that, in fact, the quasi-coherent sheaves on any scheme form a particularly well-behaved abelian category, a Grothendieck category.[11] A quasi-compact quasi-separated scheme

X

(such as an algebraic variety over a field) is determined up to isomorphism by the abelian category of quasi-coherent sheaves on

X

, by Rosenberg, generalizing a result of Gabriel.

Coherent cohomology

See main article: Coherent sheaf cohomology. The fundamental technical tool in algebraic geometry is the cohomology theory of coherent sheaves. Although it was introduced only in the 1950s, many earlier techniques of algebraic geometry are clarified by the language of sheaf cohomology applied to coherent sheaves. Broadly speaking, coherent sheaf cohomology can be viewed as a tool for producing functions with specified properties; sections of line bundles or of more general sheaves can be viewed as generalized functions. In complex analytic geometry, coherent sheaf cohomology also plays a foundational role.

Among the core results of coherent sheaf cohomology are results on finite-dimensionality of cohomology, results on the vanishing of cohomology in various cases, duality theorems such as Serre duality, relations between topology and algebraic geometry such as Hodge theory, and formulas for Euler characteristics of coherent sheaves such as the Riemann–Roch theorem.

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. .
  2. .
  3. .
  4. .
  5. .
  6. .
  7. Serre. Jean-Pierre. 1960–1961. Sur les modules projectifs. Séminaire Dubreil. Algèbre et théorie des nombres. fr. 14. 1. 1–16.
  8. Gulbrandsen. Martin G.. 2013-05-20. Vector Bundles and Monads On Abelian Threefolds. Communications in Algebra. 41. 5. 1964–1988. 10.1080/00927872.2011.645977. 0092-7872. 0907.3597.
  9. Hartshorne. Robin. 1978. Stable Vector Bundles of Rank 2 on P3. Mathematische Annalen. 238. 229–280.
  10. Book: Huybrechts, Daniel. The Geometry of Moduli Spaces of Sheaves. Lehn. Manfred. 2010. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-13420-0. 2. Cambridge Mathematical Library. Cambridge. 123–128, 238–243. 10.1017/cbo9780511711985.
  11. .