Exactness of the 2-categories of abelian and triangulated categories

Joint work with Elena Caviglia, Zurab Janelidze and Ülo Reimaa.

We introduce a notion of $2$-homological category modelled on pointed homological categories in the sense of Grandis, using bizero objects whose null $1$-cells are zero objects in the hom-categories for formulating $2$-dimensional pointedness. We first prove directly that the $2$-category of di-exact homological categories, which generalize Puppe exact categories, functors preserving all kernels and cokernels, and arbitrary natural transformations is $2$-homological. Its normal subcategories are saturated thick subcategories, and its exact quotients are constructed by a complete three-arrow fraction calculus similar to the one known for Puppe exact categories. We then adapt this proof to prove that the $2$-category of triangulated categories is also $2$-homological; here, instead of the ternary fractions we use the well-known Verdier fractions. Abstracting the common quotient structure of these proofs yields a general criterion, using which we further establish that the $2$-categories of pointed, additive and abelian categories are also $2$-homological. The criterion also applies to categories enriched in semimodules over a fixed commutative rig, with a zero object, and to their full sub-$2$-category with finite biproducts. Their quotients are linear congruence quotients. Combining enrichment with Puppe exactness gives further examples whose quotients are exact linear localizations, including linear abelian categories as the finite-biproduct case. In the abelian and triangulated cases the normal subcategories and quotients are, respectively, Serre subcategories and Serre quotients, and thick triangulated subcategories and Verdier localizations.

Download here