Duality pairs, phantom maps, and definability in triangulated categories

Abstract

We define duality triples and duality pairs in compactly generated triangulated categories and investigate their properties. This enables us to give an elementary way to determine whether a class is closed under pure subobjects, pure quotients and pure extensions, as well as providing a way to show the existence of approximations. One key ingredient is a new characterization of phantom maps. We then introduce an axiomatic form of Auslander–Gruson–Jensen duality, from which we define dual definable categories, and show that these coincide with symmetric coproduct closed duality pairs. This framework is ubiquitous, encompassing both algebraic triangulated categories and stable homotopy theories. Accordingly, we provide many applications in both settings, with a particular emphasis on silting theory and stratified tensor-triangulated categories.