English

Fundamental Exact Sequence for the Pro-\'Etale Fundamental Group

Algebraic Geometry 2024-02-28 v2 Number Theory

Abstract

The pro-\'etale fundamental group of a scheme, introduced by Bhatt and Scholze, generalizes formerly known fundamental groups -- the usual \'etale fundamental group π1et\pi_1^{\mathrm{et}} defined in SGA1 and the more general group defined in SGA3. It controls local systems in the pro-\'etale topology and leads to an interesting class of "geometric covers" of schemes, generalizing finite \'etale covers. We prove the homotopy exact sequence over a field for the pro-\'etale fundamental group of a geometrically connected scheme XX of finite type over a field kk, i.e. that the sequence 1π1proet(Xkˉ)π1proet(X)Galk11 \rightarrow \pi_1^{\mathrm{proet}}(X_{\bar{k}}) \rightarrow \pi_1^{\mathrm{proet}}(X) \rightarrow \mathrm{Gal}_k \rightarrow 1 is exact as abstract groups and the map π1proet(Xkˉ)π1proet(X)\pi_1^{\mathrm{proet}}(X_{\bar{k}}) \rightarrow \pi_1^{\mathrm{proet}}(X) is a topological embedding. On the way, we prove a general van Kampen theorem and the K\"unneth formula for the pro-\'etale fundamental group.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1910.14015,
  title  = {Fundamental Exact Sequence for the Pro-\'Etale Fundamental Group},
  author = {Marcin Lara},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1910.14015},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

Major revision. The title has slightly changed. The main proof has been completely rewritten -- simplified and improved -- to make the it more readable. A detailed sketch of an alternative, quick approach added as a final remark. Various smaller changes throughout the article. Some minor typos and errors corrected. The numbering has changed. Comments always welcome!

R2 v1 2026-06-23T11:59:50.281Z