Exalcomm

In algebra, Exalcomm is a functor classifying the extensions of a commutative algebra by a module. More precisely, the elements of Exalcomm_k(R,M) are isomorphism classes of commutative k-algebras E with a homomorphism onto the k-algebra R whose kernel is the R-module M (with all pairs of elements in M having product 0). There are similar functors Exal and Exan for non-commutative rings and algebras, and functors Exaltop, Exantop. and Exalcotop that take a topology into account.

"Exalcomm" is an abbreviation for "COMMutative ALgebra EXtension" (or rather for the corresponding French phrase). It was introduced by Grothendieck (1964, 18.4.2).

Exalcomm is one of the André–Quillen cohomology groups and one of the Lichtenbaum–Schlessinger functors.

Given homomorphisms of commutative rings A → B → C and a C-module L there is an exact sequence of A-modules (Grothendieck 1964, 20.2.3.1)

$0\rightarrow \operatorname{Der}_B(C,L)\rightarrow \operatorname{Der}_A(C,L)\rightarrow \operatorname{Der}_A(B,L) \rightarrow \operatorname{Exalcomm}_B(C,L)\rightarrow \operatorname{Exalcomm}_A(C,L)\rightarrow \operatorname{Exalcomm}_A(B,L),$

where Der_A(B,L) is the module of derivations of the A-algebra B with values in L. This sequence can be extended further to the right using André–Quillen cohomology.

References

• Grothendieck, Alexandre; Dieudonné, Jean (1964). "Éléments de géométrie algébrique: IV. Étude locale des schémas et des morphismes de schémas, Première partie" Check |url= value (help). Publications Mathématiques de l'IHÉS 20: 65. doi:10.1007/bf02684747. MR 0173675.
• Weibel, Charles A. (1994), An introduction to homological algebra, Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics 38, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-43500-0, ISBN 978-0-521-55987-4, MR 1269324