The Stacks project

Proof. It is clear that (b) implies (a). We now check that (a) implies (c). If $f$ is not universally injective, we can find $M \in \text{Mod}_ R$ such that the map $1_ M \otimes f: M \to M \otimes _ R S$ has nontrivial kernel $N$. The natural projection $M \to M/N$ is not an isomorphism, but its image in $DD_{S/R}$ is an isomorphism. Hence $f^*$ is not fully faithful.

We finally check that (c) implies (b). By Lemma 35.4.20, for $(M, \theta ) \in DD_{S/R}$, the natural map $f^* f_*(M,\theta ) \to M$ is an isomorphism of $S$-modules. On the other hand, for $M_0 \in \text{Mod}_ R$, we may tensor (35.4.18.1) with $M_0$ over $R$ to obtain an equalizer sequence, so $M_0 \to f_* f^* M$ is an isomorphism. Consequently, $f_*$ and $f^*$ are quasi-inverse functors, proving the claim. $\square$