Commutative Algebra – Why $f_!$ Does Not Preserve Discrete Objects

ac.commutative-algebracondensed-mathematics

Let $A$ be a finitely generated $\mathbb{Z}$-algebra and let
$f: \operatorname{Spec} A \rightarrow \operatorname{Spec} \mathbb{Z}$ be the canonical map.
On pg. 53, Thm. 8.2 of https://www.math.uni-bonn.de/people/scholze/Condensed.pdf
one defines a functor $$f_!: D(A_\blacksquare) \rightarrow D(\mathbb{Z}_\blacksquare)$$ where $A_\blacksquare$ and $\mathbb{Z}_\blacksquare$ denotes certain categories of solid modules.

On the same page, Scholze remarks that $f_!$ does not preserve discrete objects in general?

Is there an easy way to see that $f_!$ can not possibly preserve discrete objects for general morphisms $f?$

Best Answer

You can see this by a direct calculation, for example in the most basic case $A=\mathbb{Z}[T]$. When you apply $f_!$ to $A=\mathbb{Z}[T]$ itself, you get the object represented by the two-term complex $$\mathbb{Z}[T]\to \mathbb{Z}((T^{-1})).$$ with $\mathbb{Z}[T]$ in degree $0$. (This is the "compactly supported cohomology of the structure sheaf" on $\mathbb{A}^1$; the Laurent series in $T^{-1}$ represents "functions defined in a neighborhood of $\infty$").

The map in this complex is injective, and the cokernel is $T^{-1}\mathbb{Z}[[T]]$, which is not discrete. In fact, $f_!A$ is predual to an infinite discrete object, namely the usual algebraic Grothendieck dualizing complex of f. This is a general feature of the situation, and follows from the adjunction between $f_!$ and $f^!$. Actually, $f_!$ has a complementary property to preservation of discreteness: it preserves pseudocoherent objects.

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