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Context and Notation

Let $X$ be a manifold and $\mathcal{C} = Op(X)$ be the category of open subsets of $X$ with inclusions. I then consider the projective model structure on the (simplicial model) category, $sPre$, of simplicial presheaves, $\mathcal{C}^{op} \to sSet$, and its simplicial mapping space (i.e. homotopy function complex), $\underline{sPre}(-,-)$.

To (left) localize this projective model structure I can choose a collection of morphisms between cofibrant objects and in this case I will choose some subfunctors, $\mathcal{U} \hookrightarrow r_{\bullet} V $, where $V \in obj(\mathcal{C})$ and $r_{\bullet}$ is the (simplicial) Yoneda embedding, $\mathcal{C} \xrightarrow{r_{\bullet}} sPre$. Let $S= \{ \mathcal{U} \hookrightarrow r_{\bullet} V \}$ be such a collection of maps between cofibrant objects in $sPre$, where $V$ and $\mathcal{U}$ are varying.

A simplicial presheaf $G \in obj(sPre)$ is then called $S$-local if each map $\mathcal{U} \hookrightarrow r_{\bullet} V$ induces a weak equivalence of simplicial sets, $$G(V) = \underline{sPre}(r_{\bullet} V, G)\to \underline{sPre}(\mathcal{U}, G). $$

Now, having been mostly learning from papers like DuHoIs and Lurie, it seems that there should be a "one-step-sheafification" construction. Perhaps I am oversimplifying the setup needed, but if I were to just not necessarily care whether I recovered the usual local projective model structure, I want to know if the following sheafification construction is still $S$-local in the current context.

My Question Given the setup above, let $F$ be a simplicial presheaf and define, $$F^{\dagger}(V) = hocolim_{\mathcal{U} \hookrightarrow r_{\bullet} V} \underline{sPre}(\mathcal{U}, F)$$

Now I feel as though it should be due to some abstract nonsense that $F^{\dagger}$ is $S$-local but I don't see it. In other words, it should be true that for each $\mathcal{Y} \hookrightarrow r_{\bullet}Z$ in $S$ we have a weak equivalence,

$$hocolim_{\mathcal{U} \hookrightarrow r_{\bullet} Z} \underline{sPre}(\mathcal{U}, F)= F^{\dagger}(Z) = \underline{sPre}(r_{\bullet} Z, F^{\dagger})\to \underline{sPre}(\mathcal{Y}, F^{\dagger}). $$

Why is this a weak equivalence or what am I missing / doing wrong? I know that I could have stated my question more generally but in the event my context hints at why something is true in my special setting, that would be great.

Thank you!

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There are two ways to make this construction work.

The first way is to iterate the step $F↦F^†$ transfinitely many times. The reason that a single iteration of $F↦F^†$ is not sufficient is that while $F^†$ does add the missing data that prevents $F$ from satisfying the lifting property for elements of $S$, the newly added parts of $F^†$ may prevent it from satisfying the lifting property itself.

By iterating $F↦F^†$ sufficiently many times, we circumvent this problem by ensuring that any map from the domain or codomain of an element of $S$ factors through some intermediate stage of the transfinite composition. Thus, it suffices to iterate $F↦F^†$ for $α$ steps, where $α$ is a regular cardinal such that all domains and codomains of $S$ are $α$-small.

The other way is applicable when $S$ forms a Grothendieck topology. In this case, the $S$-localization functor can be computed using Verdier's hypercovering theorem, with the same homotopy colimit except that $U→r$ now has to run over all hypercovers generated by $S$. This construction does not require iteration, it does everything in one step.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you for this response, Dmitri. I am trying to do this S-localization whereby I replace hypercovers with subfunctors of Yoneda. Perhaps you are saying the answer to my question lies within Verdier's theorem? Is there no answer to my question without passing to a discussion about covers or hypercovers? $\endgroup$
    – cheyne
    Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 17:00
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    $\begingroup$ @cheyne: F^† does not compute the sheafification even for ordinary sheaves of sets, there are counterexamples that show you must apply it twice. So there is no way to make it work even in the elementary cases. That's why one must either expand covers to hypercovers (which are not subfunctors of representable functors), or iterate the construction. Indeed, it is a classical theorem in sheaf theory that F^†† computes the sheafification of a presheaf of sets, and Lurie proves in higher topos theory that iterating † n+2 times computes the sheafification of a presheaf of n-groupoids. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 17:04
  • $\begingroup$ I am aware of these issues you are referring to but I would like to focus on your "hypercovers(which are not subfunctors of representable functors)" comment. My understanding was that Lurie is actually taking a hocolim over all covering sieves (Remark 6.2.2.12) and these are in bijective correspondence with subfunctors of the representable (Prop 6.2.2.5). So in this sense, according to Lurie, it seems we should be able to have the conversation without saying "hypercover" but I don't see how to resolve my question. Thank you! $\endgroup$
    – cheyne
    Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 17:36
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    $\begingroup$ @cheyne: Yes, Lurie's F^† is the same functor. If you look at the proof of Proposition 6.2.2.7, Lurie has to construct a transfinite sequence T_β in the manner I described. So Lurie's approach corresponds to the first solution in my answer. At the beginning of Section 6.5.3 you can find a discussion similar to my answer, phrased in terms of ∞-categories. In particular, in the 4th paragraph of Section 6.5.3 he discusses how to compute sheafifications using hypercovers, in a single step. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 18:26
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    $\begingroup$ @cheyne: To rephrase: any attempt to write down a sheafification functor as a single-step construction using only subobjects of representable functors (i.e., sieves) cannot work because of the many counterexamples (for example, see Section III.5, page 130, in Mac Lane and Moerdijk's Sheaves in Geometry and Logic). In order to get a correct sheafification functor, you need to “access” higher homotopy groups, which can be either done one step at a time using transfinite constructions, or by generalizing from subobjects of representable presheaves (i.e., sieves) to hypercovers. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 18:41

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