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arxiv: 2605.19616 · v1 · pith:GUHSKSL3new · submitted 2026-05-19 · 🧮 math.AG

Deformations of morphisms of coherent sheaves

Donatella Iacono , Emma Lepri , Elena Martinengo This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-20 02:17 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 🧮 math.AG
keywords deformations of morphismscoherent sheavesdifferential graded Lie algebrasDeligne groupoidsThom-Whitney totalisationinfinitesimal deformationssmooth varietiesalgebraic geometry
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The pith

A generalization of Hinich's descent theorem supplies an explicit dgLa that controls deformations of morphisms between coherent sheaves.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper first extends Hinich's theorem on descent of Deligne groupoids from the usual setting to differential graded Lie algebras that have no negative cohomology. It then applies the extended theorem to the deformation problem for a morphism from one coherent sheaf to another on a smooth variety over a field of characteristic zero. In this setting both the sheaves and the morphism itself are allowed to vary. The authors produce a concrete dgLa whose Deligne functor encodes the infinitesimal deformations by taking the Thom-Whitney totalisation of a semicosimplicial dgLa built directly from the geometric input. Readers working in algebraic geometry would care because the construction turns an abstract moduli problem into an object that can be studied by standard Lie-algebra techniques.

Core claim

We generalise Hinich's Theorem of descent of Deligne groupoids to the case where the dgLas involved have no negative cohomology. We apply this result to study the infinitesimal deformations of a morphism α: F → G of coherent sheaves, where both the sheaves F and G and the map α can be deformed, on a smooth variety over a field of characteristic zero. In particular, we provide an explicit dgLa that controls these deformations via the Deligne functor, applying the Thom-Whitney totalisation to a specific semicosimplicial dgLa, constructed from geometrical data.

What carries the argument

The Thom-Whitney totalisation of a semicosimplicial dgLa built from the geometric data of the sheaves and the morphism; this totalisation produces the single dgLa whose Deligne functor governs the deformations.

If this is right

  • The Deligne functor applied to the constructed dgLa recovers the groupoid of infinitesimal deformations of the morphism together with the sheaves.
  • Deformations of the sheaves and deformations of the morphism are treated simultaneously inside a single algebraic object.
  • The construction works on any smooth variety over a field of characteristic zero.
  • The same dgLa can be used to compute obstructions and tangent spaces to the deformation problem via its cohomology.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The method may extend to morphisms in the derived category of coherent sheaves once suitable dgLa models are available.
  • Similar explicit dgLas could be built for deformations of sections of a bundle or of maps between higher-rank bundles.
  • The result suggests that many geometric deformation problems on smooth varieties admit controlling dgLas obtained by totalisation of geometrically defined semicosimplicial objects.

Load-bearing premise

The dgLas that arise have vanishing negative cohomology, so that the generalised descent theorem can be applied directly to the deformation functor.

What would settle it

Compute the actual infinitesimal deformation space of a concrete morphism, for example between two line bundles on projective space, and check whether its dimension and obstructions match the cohomology of the constructed dgLa; a mismatch would show that the dgLa does not control the deformations.

read the original abstract

We generalise Hinich's Theorem of descent of Deligne groupoids to the case where the dgLas involved have no negative cohomology. We apply this result to study the infinitesimal deformations of a morphism $\alpha: {\mathcal F} \to {\mathcal G}$ of coherent sheaves, where both the sheaves $ {\mathcal F}$ and $ {\mathcal G}$ and the map $\alpha$ can be deformed, on a smooth variety over a field of characteristic zero. In particular, we provide an explicit dgLa that controls these deformations via the Deligne functor, applying the Thom-Whitney totalisation to a specific semicosimplicial dgLa, constructed from geometrical data.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

2 major / 2 minor

Summary. The manuscript generalizes Hinich's theorem on descent of Deligne groupoids to the setting of dg Lie algebras with vanishing negative cohomology. It applies the result to the infinitesimal deformation theory of a morphism α: F → G of coherent sheaves on a smooth variety over a field of characteristic zero, constructing an explicit controlling dgLa by applying Thom-Whitney totalization to a semicosimplicial dgLa assembled from Čech-type geometric data associated to F, G, and α.

Significance. If the generalization and the cohomology-vanishing claim hold, the work supplies a concrete dgLa whose Deligne functor governs deformations of morphisms of coherent sheaves, extending existing deformation-theoretic tools in algebraic geometry. The explicit geometric construction of the semicosimplicial dgLa is a positive feature that could facilitate further computations.

major comments (2)
  1. [§3.2, Theorem 3.4] §3.2, Theorem 3.4 (generalized Hinich theorem): the proof that the descent statement for Deligne groupoids continues to hold when the dgLas have H^i = 0 for all i < 0 must be examined in detail; the original Hinich argument uses negative-degree components in an essential way, and it is not immediately clear how the truncation or vanishing hypothesis replaces those steps.
  2. [§4.3, Construction 4.7 and Proposition 4.9] §4.3, Construction 4.7 and Proposition 4.9: the claim that the Thom-Whitney totalization of the semicosimplicial dgLa built from the Čech data of F, G, and α has vanishing negative cohomology is load-bearing for the application of the generalized theorem, yet the verification is only sketched via a spectral-sequence argument that does not explicitly compute the relevant H^{-1} term.
minor comments (2)
  1. [§4.1] Notation for the semicosimplicial dgLa (e.g., the face and degeneracy maps) is introduced without a self-contained summary table; a short diagram or explicit formulas in §4.1 would improve readability.
  2. The reference list omits the original Hinich paper on Deligne groupoids; it should be cited explicitly when the generalization is stated.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

2 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the careful reading and constructive suggestions. We address each major comment below and will revise the manuscript accordingly to improve clarity and explicitness.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: [§3.2, Theorem 3.4] §3.2, Theorem 3.4 (generalized Hinich theorem): the proof that the descent statement for Deligne groupoids continues to hold when the dgLas have H^i = 0 for all i < 0 must be examined in detail; the original Hinich argument uses negative-degree components in an essential way, and it is not immediately clear how the truncation or vanishing hypothesis replaces those steps.

    Authors: We agree that the adaptation of Hinich's argument requires careful justification under the vanishing hypothesis. The key replacement occurs because the Deligne groupoid is constructed from Maurer-Cartan elements and gauge equivalences, which live in non-negative degrees; with H^i=0 for i<0 the negative components are absent and the simplicial structure of the Deligne groupoid descends directly via the standard cosimplicial identities without needing the original negative-degree fillers. We will expand the proof of Theorem 3.4 with a step-by-step comparison to Hinich's original argument, explicitly indicating where the vanishing hypothesis substitutes for the negative-degree data. revision: yes

  2. Referee: [§4.3, Construction 4.7 and Proposition 4.9] §4.3, Construction 4.7 and Proposition 4.9: the claim that the Thom-Whitney totalization of the semicosimplicial dgLa built from the Čech data of F, G, and α has vanishing negative cohomology is load-bearing for the application of the generalized theorem, yet the verification is only sketched via a spectral-sequence argument that does not explicitly compute the relevant H^{-1} term.

    Authors: We acknowledge that the sketch of the vanishing result in Proposition 4.9 is insufficiently explicit. The spectral sequence arising from the Thom-Whitney filtration has E_1 page given by the Čech cohomology of the sheaves of derivations and homomorphisms associated to F, G and α; under the smoothness and coherence hypotheses the H^{-1} term vanishes because there are no global sections of the relevant negative-degree complexes on the intersections. In the revision we will add an explicit computation of this H^{-1} term, including the identification of the relevant sheaf cohomology groups and confirmation that they are zero in degree -1. revision: yes

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity: generalization of external theorem and explicit construction from geometrical data are independent

full rationale

The derivation generalizes Hinich's descent theorem (an external reference) to dgLas with vanishing negative cohomology and then applies the result to the deformation functor of a morphism of coherent sheaves. The controlling dgLa is obtained by applying the standard Thom-Whitney totalisation to a semicosimplicial dgLa built directly from the geometric data (Čech-type or local-to-global resolutions of the sheaves and the map α). This step is a concrete construction whose cohomology properties must be verified separately; it does not reduce by definition or by self-citation to the target deformation functor. No fitted parameters, self-definitional loops, or load-bearing self-citations appear in the chain. The paper is therefore self-contained against external benchmarks.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The central claim rests on the generalization of Hinich's theorem under the no-negative-cohomology condition and on the geometric construction of the semicosimplicial dgLa; no free parameters or invented entities are mentioned in the abstract.

axioms (1)
  • domain assumption dgLas involved have no negative cohomology
    This is the explicit case to which Hinich's descent theorem is generalised before the application to sheaf morphisms.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5637 in / 1315 out tokens · 40033 ms · 2026-05-20T02:17:09.606948+00:00 · methodology

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Reference graph

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