This page hosts information on Andreas Hochenegger's talk "What is … a derived category?" at the "What is …?" seminar. The talk will take place on Friday, January 7, 4:30pm at FU Arnimallee 6, SR 031.
The derived category is an important object in algebraic geometry. The derived category associated to a variety is an important invariant that is even stronger than cohomology. I will try to give a gentle introduction by showing how the definition of this category evolved.