Non-commutative crepant resolutions: scenes from categorical geometry

Non-commutative crepant resolutions are algebraic objects defined by Van den Bergh to realize an equivalence of derived categories in birational geometry. They are motivated by tilting theory, the McKay correspondence, and the minimal model program, and have applications to string theory and representation theory. In this expository article I situate Van den Bergh's definition within these contexts and describe some of the current research in the area.Comment: 57 pages; final version, to appear in "Progress in Commutative Algebra: Ring Theory, Homology, and Decompositions" (Sean Sather-Wagstaff, Christopher Francisco, Lee Klingler, and Janet Vassilev, eds.), De Gruyter. Incorporates many small bugfixes and adjustments addressing comments from the referee and other

Model Theory for a Compact Cardinal

We would like to develop model theory for T, a complete theory in L_{theta,theta}(tau) when theta is a compact cardinal. We already have bare bones stability theory and it seemed we can go no further. Dealing with ultrapowers (and ultraproducts) naturally we restrict ourselves to "D a theta-complete ultrafilter on I, probably (I,theta)-regular". The basic theorems of model theory work and can be generalized (like Los theorem), but can we generalize deeper parts of model theory? The first section tries to sort out what occurs to the notion of stable T for complete L_{theta,theta}-theories T. We generalize several properties of complete first order T, equivalent to being stable (see [Sh:c]) and find out which implications hold and which fail. In particular, can we generalize stability enough to generalize [Sh:c, Ch. VI]? Let us concentrate on saturation in the local sense (types consisting of instances of one formula). We prove that at least we can characterize the T's (of cardinality < theta for simplicity) which are minimal for appropriate cardinal lambda > 2^kappa +|T| in each of the following two senses. One is generalizing Keisler order which measures how saturated are ultrapowers. Another asks: Is there an L_{theta,theta}-theory T_1 supseteq T of cardinality |T| + 2^theta such that for every model M_1 of T_1 of cardinality > lambda, the tau(T)-reduct M of M_1 is lambda^+-saturated. Moreover, the two versions of stable used in the characterization are different