REVIEW 2 major objections 5 minor 1 cited by
Locally type $\text{FP}_n$ and $n$-coherent categories
T0 review · 2 major / 5 minor · reviewed 2026-08-14 · deepseek-v4-flash
Pith's one-line read Finiteness classes collapse in n-coherent categories
desk verdict A solid, genuinely useful generalization of FP_n finiteness to Grothendieck categories; Theorem 4.7 is the core and appears sound, with the long Lemma 2.6 as the main soft spot. read the letter →
The pith
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
The reading
What carries the argument
The engine is the class $\mathrm{FP}_n$ of objects of type $\mathrm{FP}_n$—objects $F$ for which $\mathrm{Ext}^i_{\mathcal{G}}(F,-)$ preserves direct limits for $0 \le i \le n-1$—together with its Ext-orthogonal class $\mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj}$ of $\mathrm{FP}_n$-injective objects. The proof runs through two mechanisms: the closure properties of $\mathrm{FP}_n$ under short exact sequences (Proposition 2.8), obtained by applying the 5-lemma to the monomorphism property of Lemma 2.6; and the complete cotorsion pair $({}^\perp_1(\mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj}), \mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj})$ cogenerated by a set (Theorem 3.6), obtained from a small-cotorsion-pair argument. Theorem 4.7 then identifies heredity of this cotorsion pair, thickness of $\mathrm{FP}_n$, and the collapse $\mathrm{FP}_n = \mathrm{FP}_\infty$ as a single condition.
What would settle it
Exhibit a locally type $\mathrm{FP}_2$ Grothendieck category in which the $\mathrm{FP}_2$-injective cotorsion pair is hereditary yet $\mathrm{FP}_2$ is strictly larger than $\mathrm{FP}_\infty$. Theorem 4.7 asserts these cannot coexist, so finding one settles the claim negatively.
Extended reading notes
Core claim
The central claim is Theorem 4.7: in a Grothendieck category $\mathcal{G}$ that is locally type $\mathrm{FP}_n$, the following are equivalent—every object of type $\mathrm{FP}_n$ is $n$-coherent; $\mathrm{FP}_n$ is closed under kernels of epimorphisms; $\mathrm{FP}_n$ is thick; $\mathcal{G}$ has a generating set of $n$-coherent objects satisfying the finite-sum condition of Lemma 4.4; and $\mathrm{FP}_n = \mathrm{FP}_\infty$. For $n \ge 1$, these are also equivalent to the $\mathrm{FP}_n$-injective cotorsion pair $({}^\perp_1(\mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj}), \mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj})$ being hereditary, to $\mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj}$ being closed under cokernels of monomorphisms, to $\mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj} = \mathrm{FP}_\infty\text{-Inj}$ (the absolutely clean objects), and to $\mathrm{FP}_{n+1}\text{-Inj} \subseteq \mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj}$. The paper's interpretation is that $n$-coherent categories are the categorical setting in which the module-theoretic theorem for $n$-coherent rings—hereditary $\mathrm{FP}_n$-injective cotorsion pair and relative Gorenstein homological algebra—holds in full generality.
Load-bearing premise
The central assumption is that the Grothendieck category is locally type $\mathrm{FP}_n$—it has a generating set of objects of type $\mathrm{FP}_n$, a genuine restriction since a category may contain no nonzero objects of this type—and the closure theorems further require the category to be locally finitely presented; without such generators the classes $\mathrm{FP}_n$, $\mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj}$, and the cotorsion pairs built from them do not exist.
Editorial extensions
If this is right
- Every $n$-coherent category is locally type $\mathrm{FP}_\infty$, so the finiteness classes $\mathrm{FP}_n$ and $\mathrm{FP}_\infty$ coincide throughout the category.
- The $n$-coherent categories form an ascending chain: 0-coherent (locally noetherian) $\subseteq$ 1-coherent (locally coherent) $\subseteq \cdots \subseteq$ $\infty$-coherent.
- In any $n$-coherent category, $\mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj}$ is not only preenveloping but covering, generalising the existence of absolutely pure covers in locally coherent categories.
- For $n \ge 1$, whenever $F$ is of type $\mathrm{FP}_n$, every $\mathrm{Ext}^k(F,-)$ can be computed from $\mathrm{FP}_n$-injective coresolutions, because $\mathrm{FP}_n$-injectives are $\mathrm{Hom}(F,-)$-acyclic.
- If the category is additionally locally finite dimensional $n$-coherent, an abelian model structure exists whose fibrant objects are exactly the Gorenstein $\mathrm{FP}_n$-injectives; dropping the finite-dimensional hypothesis still yields an exact model structure on the subcategory of objects of finite Gorenstein $\mathrm{FP}_n$-injective dimension.
Reading between the lines
- Beyond the paper: if the theorem is right, a locally type $\mathrm{FP}_n$ category in which $\mathrm{FP}_n\text{-Inj}$ is covering but $\mathrm{FP}_n \ne \mathrm{FP}_\infty$ would be a genuine counterexample to the converse of Corollary 4.14; since the paper does not settle whether $n$-coherence is necessary for covering, looking for such categories is a concrete next step.
- Beyond the paper: the Yoneda-extension proof of Lemma 2.6 suggests that the same monomorphism technique can push type-$\mathrm{FP}_n$ statements into categories without projective generators, such as derived categories of sheaves or functor categories with only pseudo-kernels.
- Beyond the paper: the Appendix B discussion of $n$-coherent rings suggests that a Zariski-local notion of '$n$-coherent scheme' for $n \ge 2$ is plausible; if the product question about $n$-coherent rings is resolved affirmatively, then $\mathrm{Qcoh}(X)$ would be $n$-coherent exactly when all local affine rings are $n$-coherent.
Signed reviews
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The paper introduces objects of type FP_n in an arbitrary Grothendieck category G, defines locally type FP_n categories as those with a generating set of such objects, and defines n-coherent categories as locally type FP_n categories in which every type FP_n object is n-coherent. The central result, Theorem 4.7, gives several equivalent characterizations of n-coherence, including closure of FP_n under kernels of epimorphisms, thickness of FP_n, equality FP_n = FP_∞, and, for n ≥ 1, hereditariness of the FP_n-injective cotorsion pair and related injectivity conditions. The proofs use closure properties of FP_n developed in Section 2, whose key technical input is Lemma 2.6, a monomorphism property for the canonical map lim Ext^n(F, -) → Ext^n(F, lim -), proved in Appendix A via Yoneda n-fold extensions. Section 3 shows that FP_n-Inj is the right half of a functorially complete cotorsion pair, and Section 5 defines Gorenstein FP_n-injective objects and constructs abelian and exact model structures. The paper also gives applications to quasi-coherent sheaves and functor categories.
Significance. If Theorem 4.7 is correct, it unifies the module-theoretic results of Bravo–Pérez and the locally noetherian/locally coherent hierarchy in a framework that does not require enough projectives; the applications to Qcoh(X) and Fun(C^op, Ab) are natural and nontrivial. The detailed proof of Lemma 2.6, a delicate and load-bearing monomorphism property, is a genuine contribution, as are the concrete examples showing that type FP_n and n-presentability diverge without projective generators. The paper proposes new definitions with substantive consequences rather than merely reformulating known module facts. The main unresolved concerns are the amount of material left to the reader in Section 5 and the compressed presentation of a few steps of the central proof, rather than an apparent mathematical error in the main theorem.
major comments (2)
- [Section 5, Lemma 5.2 and Proposition 5.3] Lemma 5.2 is described as a 'straightforward exercise' left to the reader, and Proposition 5.3 is explicitly 'left to the reader'. These results are load-bearing: Proposition 5.3's closure properties are used in Proposition 5.7 to assert that (Inj, GI) is a strong Frobenius pair, and Proposition 5.7 underpins Proposition 5.8 and Theorem 5.10. Since the abstract advertises model structures whose fibrant objects are the Gorenstein FP_n-injectives, the reader needs a complete proof or precise pointers to the literature with enough detail to verify the claims in the Grothendieck-category setting.
- [Theorem 4.7, proof of (d) implies (b)] The sentence 'Construct a diagram as in the proof of Lemma 4.4' does not name the exact sequences to which Proposition 2.8(3) is applied; the diagram in Lemma 4.4 is also compressed, so the conclusion that 'both K and P are in FP_{n-1}' is not directly checkable. Please rewrite the diagram with labeled short exact sequences and state which hypothesis (B,C ∈ FP_n or ⊕C_j ∈ C_n) is used in each application of Proposition 2.8.
minor comments (5)
- [Appendix A, proof of Lemma 2.6] The step 'By the induction hypothesis, we know that Ext^{n-1}(F, lim W_t) ≅ lim Ext^{n-1}(F, W_t)' is not a consequence of Lemma 2.6 alone, which only gives a monomorphism; the isomorphism follows from the hypothesis that F is of type FP_n. The argument is sound once this is corrected, but the present wording makes the proof of the central technical lemma harder to verify.
- [Theorem 4.7, proof of (g) implies (e)] The sentence 'the case n = 0 is well-known' about closure of FP_0-Inj under direct limits could mislead: in an arbitrary Grothendieck category, injective objects are not closed under direct limits. Please state explicitly that this is used only under the hypotheses that make the category locally noetherian, or restrict the sentence to n ≥ 1.
- [Definition 2.1 and following paragraph] The claim that 'any object of type FP_n is finitely presented' should explicitly be read for n ≥ 1; for n = 0 only finite generation is intended. The surrounding text already explains this, but the unqualified sentence is potentially confusing.
- [Remark 5.12] The citation '[32, 31, Chapter 7]' for Hovey's stronger notion of triangulated category appears to be a typo; presumably the intended reference is [32, Chapter 7].
- [Proposition 3.5] The phrase 'since FP_n(G) is a generating set' should be justified: a locally type FP_n category has some generating set of type FP_n objects, and any such generator is isomorphic to an element of FP_n(G) once a complete set of representatives is chosen.
Circularity Check
No circularity: Theorem 4.7 is a genuine generalization whose key technical lemma is proved in the appendix, and the cited prior results are used as independent lemmas rather than as restatements of the target claims.
full rationale
The paper's central claim, Theorem 4.7, is not forced by its definitions or by fitted inputs. The notions of objects of type FP_n (Definition 2.1), locally type FP_n categories (Definition 2.3), and n-coherent categories (Definitions 4.1 and 4.6) are independent finiteness conditions, not reformulations of the equivalent properties being derived. The proof of Theorem 4.7 rests on Proposition 2.8, whose key technical ingredient is Lemma 2.6; that lemma is not assumed but proved at length in Appendix A using Yoneda extensions and standard homological facts, so the main derivation is self-contained at the level of proof obligation. The implication (c) implies (g) invokes [26, Lemma 3.6(4)], a prior published lemma whose hypothesis that the set of representatives of FP_n is thick is exactly condition (c); this is a legitimate application of an independent result, not a definitional collapse or a self-citation that smuggles in the conclusion. Similarly, Proposition 3.8 cites [10, Theorem B.1], a separate characterization of objects of type FP_n; using it to prove (i) implies (b) is a standard deduction from an earlier theorem, not a circular reduction. No fitted parameters are disguised as predictions, no uniqueness theorem is imported to forbid alternatives, and no known empirical pattern is merely renamed. Some cited results are from the authors' prior work, but they are parameter-free lemmas with stated hypotheses that do not include the target equivalence, so under the rules they count as independent support. The main unresolved point is the length and delicacy of the Appendix A proof of Lemma 2.6, which invites independent verification, but a verification burden is not circularity. Therefore the derivation chain is not circular; the appropriate score is 0.
Assumptions & free parameters
assumptions (7)
- standard math Every Grothendieck category is locally presentable, has exact direct limits, and has enough injectives with injective envelopes.
- standard math The class of γ-presented objects in a locally presentable category is skeletally small.
- standard math Hovey's correspondence between abelian model structures and compatible complete cotorsion pairs holds.
- standard math Gillespie's generalization of Hovey's correspondence to exact categories holds.
- standard math The theory of Frobenius pairs yields complete cotorsion pairs in exact subcategories.
- domain assumption The ground Grothendieck category G is locally type FP_n, meaning it has a generating set of objects of type FP_n.
- domain assumption G is locally finitely presented for the closure properties (Proposition 2.8) and for Lemma 2.6.
invented entities (3)
-
locally type FP_n categories
independent evidence
-
n-coherent categories
independent evidence
-
Gorenstein FP_n-injective objects
independent evidence
Cite this review
Pith. "Pith review of Locally type $\text{FP}_n$ and $n$-coherent categories." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/VNXG3QEL
@misc{pith2026190810987,
author = {Pith},
title = {Pith review of: Locally type $\textFP_n$ and $n$-coherent categories},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/VNXG3QEL}},
note = {Machine review of arXiv:1908.10987}
}
abstract
We study finiteness conditions in Grothendieck categories by introducing the concepts of objects of type $\text{FP}_n$ and studying their closure properties with respect to short exact sequences. This allows us to propose a notion of locally type $\text{FP}_n$ categories as a generalization of locally finitely generated and locally finitely presented categories. We also define and study the injective objects that are Ext-orthogonal to the class of objects of type $\text{FP}_n$, called $\text{FP}_n$-injective objects, which will be the right half of a complete cotorsion pair. As a generalization of the category of modules over an $n$-coherent ring, we present the concept of $n$-coherent categories, which also recovers the notions of locally noetherian and locally coherent categories for $n = 0, 1$. Such categories will provide a setting in which the $\text{FP}_n$-injective cotorsion pair is hereditary, and where it is possible to construct (pre)covers by $\text{FP}_n$-injective objects. Moreover, we see how $n$-coherent categories provide a suitable framework for a nice theory of Gorenstein homological algebra with respect to the class of $\text{FP}_n$-injective modules. We define Gorenstein $\text{FP}_n$-injective objects and construct two different model category structures (one abelian and the other one exact) in which these Gorenstein objects are the fibrant objects.
Forward citations
Cited by 1 Pith paper
-
Locally finitely presented and coherent hearts
For large classes of Grothendieck categories, the heart of the Happel-Reiten-Smaloe t-structure is locally finitely presented exactly when the torsion pair is generated by finitely presented objects.
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[1]
J. Adámek and J. Rosický. Locally Presentable and Accessible Categories, volume 189 of London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994
work page 1994
- [2]
- [3]
-
[4]
V . Becerril, O. Mendoza, M. A. Pérez, and V . Santiago. Frobe nius pairs in abelian cat- egories. Correspondences with cotorsion pairs, exact mode l categories, and Auslander- Buchweitz contexts. J. Homotopy Relat. Struct. , 14(1):1–50, 2019
work page 2019
-
[5]
H. Becker. Models for singularity categories. Adv. Math., 254:187–232, 2014
2014
-
[6]
Y . Berest. Homological Algebra. Course notes. Cornell University , Available from http://pi.math.cornell.edu/∼web6330/notes_Mar_16_14.pdf
- [7]
- [8]
Show all 51 references
-
[9]
Bravo, J
D. Bravo, J. Gillespie, and M. Hovey . The stable module cat egory of a general ring. Preprint, 2014
2014
-
[10]
Bravo and C
D. Bravo and C. E. Parra. Torsion pairs over n-hereditar y rings. Communications in Algebra, 47(5):1892–1907, 2019
1907
-
[11]
Bravo and M
D. Bravo and M. A. Pérez. Finiteness conditions and cotor sion pairs. J. Pure Appl. Algebra , 221(6):1249–1267, 2017
2017
-
[12]
T. Bühler. Exact categories. Expo. Math., 28(1):1–69, 2010
2010
-
[13]
L. W. Christensen, S. Estrada, and A. Iacob. A Zariski-l ocal notion of F-total acyclicity for complexes of sheaves. Quaest. Math., 40(2):197–214, 2017
2017
-
[14]
D. L. Costa. Parameterizing families of non-Noetheria n rings. Comm. Algebra, 22(10):3997– 4011, 1994
1994
-
[15]
Crivei, M
S. Crivei, M. Prest, and B. Torrecillas. Covers in finitely accessible categories. Proc. Amer. Math. Soc., 138(4):1213–1221, 2010
2010
-
[16]
S. Dean. Dualities and Finitely Presented Functors . PhD thesis, University of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL, UK, 2017
2017
-
[17]
D. E. Dobbs, S.-E. Kabbaj, and N. Mahdou. n-coherent rings and modules. In Commutative ring theory (Fès, 1995) , volume 185 of Lecture Notes in Pure and Appl. Math. , pages 269–281. Dekker, New York, 1997
1995
-
[18]
D. E. Dobbs, S.-E. Kabbaj, N. Mahdou, and M. Sobrani. When is D +M n-coherent and an (n,d )-domain? In Advances in commutative ring theory (Fez, 1997) , volume 205 of Lecture Notes in Pure and Appl. Math. , pages 257–270. Dekker, New York, 1999
1997
-
[19]
E. E. Enochs, S. Estrada, and S. Odaba¸ sı. Pure injectiv e and absolutely pure sheaves. Proc. Edinb. Math. Soc. (2) , 59(3):623–640, 2016
2016
-
[20]
E. E. Enochs and O. M. G. Jenda. Relative Homological Algebra. Volume 1 , volume 30 of De Gruyter Expositions in Mathematics . Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin, extended edition, 2011. 36 DANIEL BRA VO, JAMES GILLESPIE, AND MARCO A. PÉREZ
2011
-
[21]
Estrada and J
S. Estrada and J. Gillespie. Notes on absolutely clean q uasi-coherent sheaves
-
[22]
Estrada and J
S. Estrada and J. Gillespie. The projective stable cate gory of a coherent scheme. Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh Sect. A , 149(1):15–43, 2019
2019
-
[23]
Gillespie
J. Gillespie. The flat model structure on Ch(R). T rans. Amer. Math. Soc., 356(8):3369–3390, 2004
2004
-
[24]
Gillespie
J. Gillespie. Kaplansky classes and derived categories . Math. Z., 257(4):811–843, 2007
2007
-
[25]
Gillespie
J. Gillespie. Model structures on exact categories. J. Pure Appl. Algebra , 215(12):2892–2902, 2011
2011
-
[26]
Gillespie
J. Gillespie. Models for homotopy categories of injecti ves and Gorenstein injectives. Comm. Algebra, 45(6):2520–2545, 2017
2017
-
[27]
S. Glaz. Commutative coherent rings, volume 1371 of Lecture Notes in Mathematics. Springer- V erlag, Berlin, 1989
1989
-
[28]
Göbel and J
R. Göbel and J. Trlifaj. Approximations and Endomorphism Algebras of Modules , volume 41 of De Gruyter Expositions in Mathematics . Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin, 2006
2006
-
[29]
Görtz and T
U. Görtz and T. Wedhorn. Algebraic Geometry I. Schemes With Examples and Exercises . Ad- vanced Lectures in Mathematics. Vieweg + Teubner, Wiesbaden, 2010
2010
-
[30]
Hartshorne
R. Hartshorne. Algebraic Geometry. Springer-V erlag, New York-Heidelberg, 1977. Graduate Texts in Mathematics, No. 52
1977
-
[31]
I. Herzog. The Ziegler spectrum of a locally coherent Gr othendieck category .Proc. London Math. Soc. (3), 74(3):503–558, 1997
1997
-
[32]
M. Hovey . Model Categories, volume 63 of Mathematical Surveys and Monographs. American Mathematical Society , Providence, RI, 1999
1999
-
[33]
M. Hovey . Cotorsion pairs, model category structures, a nd representation theory . Math. Z., 241(3):553–592, 2002
2002
-
[34]
G. Jasso. n-Abelian andn-exact categories. Math. Z., 283(3-4):703–759, 2016
2016
-
[35]
S. Lang. Algebra, volume 211 of Graduate T exts in Mathematics. Springer-V erlag, New York, third edition, 2002
2002
-
[36]
Mitchell
B. Mitchell. Theory of Categories . Pure and Applied Mathematics, V ol. XVII. Academic Press, New York-London, 1965
1965
-
[37]
J. J. Rotman. An Introduction to Homological Algebra . Universitext. Springer, New York, second edition, 2009
2009
-
[38]
Saorín and J
M. Saorín and J. Št’ovíˇ cek. On exact categories and appl ications to triangulated adjoints and model structures. Adv. Math., 228(2):968–1007, 2011
2011
-
[39]
D. Sieg. A Homological Approach to the Splitting Theory of PLS-spaces . PhD thesis, Universität Trier, Universitätsring 15, 54296 Trier, 2010
2010
-
[40]
Stenström
B. Stenström. Coherent rings and FP -injective modules. J. London Math. Soc. (2) , 2:323– 329, 1970
1970
-
[41]
Stenström
B. Stenström. Rings of Quotients . Springer-V erlag, New York-Heidelberg, 1975. Die Grundlehren der Mathematischen Wissenschaften, Band 217, A n introduction to methods of ring theory
1975
-
[42]
Št’ovíˇ cek
J. Št’ovíˇ cek. On purity and applications to coderived and singularity categories. Preprint, 2014
2014
-
[43]
R. Strebel. A homological finiteness criterion. Math. Z., 151(3):263–275, 1976
1976
-
[44]
K. Ueno. Algebraic Geometry. 2 , volume 197 of T ranslations of Mathematical Monographs . American Mathematical Society , Providence, RI, 2001. Sheav es and cohomology , Trans- lated from the 1997 Japanese original by Goro Kato, Iwanami Se ries in Modern Mathe- matics
2001
-
[45]
W. V . Vasconcelos. The rings of dimension two . Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York-Basel, 1976. Lecture Notes in Pure and Applied Mathematics, V ol. 22. LOCALLY TYPE FP n AND n-COHERENT CATEGORIES 37
1976
-
[46]
V erdier
J.-L. V erdier. Des catégories dérivées des catégories abéliennes. Astérisque, (239):xii+253 pp. (1997), 1996. With a preface by Luc Illusie, Edited and wi th a note by Georges Maltsin- iotis
1997
-
[47]
C. A. Weibel. An introduction to homological algebra , volume 38 of Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994
1994
-
[48]
Wisbauer
R. Wisbauer. Foundations of Module and Ring Theory. A handbook for study and research. Revised and updated Engl. ed. Philadelphia etc.: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, r evised and updated engl. ed. edition, 1991
1991
-
[49]
J. Xu. Flat covers of modules , volume 1634 of Lecture Notes in Mathematics . Springer-V erlag, Berlin, 1996
1996
-
[50]
G. Yang, Z. Liu, and L. Liang. Ding projective and Ding in jective modules. Algebra Colloq., 20(4):601–612, 2013
2013
-
[51]
P ROF. I NG . R AFAEL LAGUARDIA
T. Zhao and M. A. Pérez. Relative FP-injective and FP-flat complexes and their model structures. Communications in Algebra, 47(4):1708–1730, 2019. UNIVERSIDAD AUSTRAL DE CHILE ., F ACULTAD DE CIENCIAS ., I NSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS FÍSICAS Y MATEMÁTI - CAS ., V ALDIVIA , R EGIÓN DE ...
2019
Reviewed August 14, 2026 · model on record in the stance chip above.
Discussion (0). Continue with ORCID to comment.