Sheaf (mathematics)

In mathematics, a sheaf is a tool for systematically tracking locally defined

data attached to the open sets of a topological space. The data can be
restricted to smaller open sets, and the data assigned to an open set is
equivalent to all collections of compatible data assigned to collections of
smaller open sets covering the original one. For example, such data can consist
of the rings of continuous or smooth real-valued functions defined on each
open set. Sheaves are by design quite general and abstract objects, and their
correct definition is rather technical. They are variously defined, for example,
as sheaves of sets or sheaves of rings, depending on the type of data assigned
to open sets.

There are also maps (or morphisms) from one sheaf to another; sheaves (of a
specific type, such as sheaves of abelian groups) with their morphisms on a
fixed topological space form a category. On the other hand, to each continuous
map there is associated both a direct image functor, taking sheaves and their
morphisms on the domain to sheaves and morphisms on the codomain, and
an inverse image functor operating in the opposite direction. These functors,
and certain variants of them, are essential parts of sheaf theory.

Due to their general nature and versatility, sheaves have several applications
in topology and especially in algebraic and differential geometry. First,
geometric structures such as that of a differentiable manifold or a scheme can
be expressed in terms of a sheaf of rings on the space. In such contexts several
geometric constructions such as vector bundles or divisors are naturally
specified in terms of sheaves. Second, sheaves provide the framework for a
very general cohomology theory, which encompasses also the "usual"
topological cohomology theories such as singular cohomology. Especially in
algebraic geometry and the theory of complex manifolds, sheaf cohomology
provides a powerful link between topological and geometric properties of
spaces. Sheaves also provide the basis for the theory of D-modules, which
provide applications to the theory of differential equations. In addition,
generalisations of sheaves to more general settings than topological spaces,
such as Grothendieck topology, have provided applications to mathematical
logic and number theory.