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The Stacks project

38.6 Translation into algebra

It may be useful to spell out algebraically what it means to have a complete dévissage. We introduce the following notion (which is not that useful so we give it an impossibly long name).

Definition 38.6.1. Let R \to S be a ring map. Let \mathfrak q be a prime of S lying over the prime \mathfrak p of R. A elementary étale localization of the ring map R \to S at \mathfrak q is given by a commutative diagram of rings and accompanying primes

\xymatrix{ S \ar[r] & S' \\ R \ar[u] \ar[r] & R' \ar[u] } \quad \quad \xymatrix{ \mathfrak q \ar@{-}[r] & \mathfrak q' \\ \mathfrak p \ar@{-}[u] \ar@{-}[r] & \mathfrak p' \ar@{-}[u] }

such that R \to R' and S \to S' are étale ring maps and \kappa (\mathfrak p) = \kappa (\mathfrak p') and \kappa (\mathfrak q) = \kappa (\mathfrak q').

Definition 38.6.2. Let R \to S be a finite type ring map. Let \mathfrak r be a prime of R. Let N be a finite S-module. A complete dévissage of N/S/R over \mathfrak r is given by R-algebra maps

\xymatrix{ & A_1 & & A_2 & & ... & & A_ n \\ S \ar[ru] & & B_1 \ar[lu] \ar[ru] & & ... \ar[lu] \ar[ru] & & ... \ar[lu] \ar[ru] & & B_ n \ar[lu] }

finite A_ i-modules M_ i and B_ i-module maps \alpha _ i : B_ i^{\oplus r_ i} \to M_ i such that

  1. S \to A_1 is surjective and of finite presentation,

  2. B_ i \to A_{i + 1} is surjective and of finite presentation,

  3. B_ i \to A_ i is finite,

  4. R \to B_ i is smooth with geometrically irreducible fibres,

  5. N \cong M_1 as S-modules,

  6. \mathop{\mathrm{Coker}}(\alpha _ i) \cong M_{i + 1} as B_ i-modules,

  7. \alpha _ i : \kappa (\mathfrak p_ i)^{\oplus r_ i} \to M_ i \otimes _{B_ i} \kappa (\mathfrak p_ i) is an isomorphism where \mathfrak p_ i = \mathfrak rB_ i, and

  8. \mathop{\mathrm{Coker}}(\alpha _ n) = 0.

In this situation we say that (A_ i, B_ i, M_ i, \alpha _ i)_{i = 1, \ldots , n} is a complete dévissage of N/S/R over \mathfrak r.

Remark 38.6.3. Note that the R-algebras B_ i for all i and A_ i for i \geq 2 are of finite presentation over R. If S is of finite presentation over R, then it is also the case that A_1 is of finite presentation over R. In this case all the ring maps in the complete dévissage are of finite presentation. See Algebra, Lemma 10.6.2. Still assuming S of finite presentation over R the following are equivalent

  1. M is of finite presentation over S,

  2. M_1 is of finite presentation over A_1,

  3. M_1 is of finite presentation over B_1,

  4. each M_ i is of finite presentation both as an A_ i-module and as a B_ i-module.

The equivalences (1) \Leftrightarrow (2) and (2) \Leftrightarrow (3) follow from Algebra, Lemma 10.36.23. If M_1 is finitely presented, so is \mathop{\mathrm{Coker}}(\alpha _1) (see Algebra, Lemma 10.5.3) and hence M_2, etc.

Definition 38.6.4. Let R \to S be a finite type ring map. Let \mathfrak q be a prime of S lying over the prime \mathfrak r of R. Let N be a finite S-module. A complete dévissage of N/S/R at \mathfrak q is given by a complete dévissage (A_ i, B_ i, M_ i, \alpha _ i)_{i = 1, \ldots , n} of N/S/R over \mathfrak r and prime ideals \mathfrak q_ i \subset B_ i lying over \mathfrak r such that

  1. \kappa (\mathfrak r) \subset \kappa (\mathfrak q_ i) is purely transcendental,

  2. there is a unique prime \mathfrak q'_ i \subset A_ i lying over \mathfrak q_ i \subset B_ i,

  3. \mathfrak q = \mathfrak q'_1 \cap S and \mathfrak q_ i = \mathfrak q'_{i + 1} \cap A_ i,

  4. R \to B_ i has relative dimension \dim _{\mathfrak q_ i}(\text{Supp}(M_ i \otimes _ R \kappa (\mathfrak r))).

Remark 38.6.5. Let A \to B be a finite type ring map and let N be a finite B-module. Let \mathfrak q be a prime of B lying over the prime \mathfrak r of A. Set X = \mathop{\mathrm{Spec}}(B), S = \mathop{\mathrm{Spec}}(A) and \mathcal{F} = \widetilde{N} on X. Let x be the point corresponding to \mathfrak q and let s \in S be the point corresponding to \mathfrak p. Then

  1. if there exists a complete dévissage of \mathcal{F}/X/S over s then there exists a complete dévissage of N/B/A over \mathfrak p, and

  2. there exists a complete dévissage of \mathcal{F}/X/S at x if and only if there exists a complete dévissage of N/B/A at \mathfrak q.

There is just a small twist in that we omitted the condition on the relative dimension in the formulation of “a complete dévissage of N/B/A over \mathfrak p” which is why the implication in (1) only goes in one direction. The notion of a complete dévissage at \mathfrak q does have this condition built in. In any case we will only use that existence for \mathcal{F}/X/S implies the existence for N/B/A.

Lemma 38.6.6. Let R \to S be a finite type ring map. Let M be a finite S-module. Let \mathfrak q be a prime ideal of S. There exists an elementary étale localization R' \to S', \mathfrak q', \mathfrak p' of the ring map R \to S at \mathfrak q such that there exists a complete dévissage of (M \otimes _ S S')/S'/R' at \mathfrak q'.

Proof. This is a reformulation of Proposition 38.5.7 via Remark 38.6.5 \square


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