Topology Seminar: Ben Williams

In an Exposé published in 1968, Alexander Grothendieck generalized the notion of a central simple algebra over a field by defining Azumaya algebras in locally ringed topoi. Specific examples of Azumaya algebras in locally ringed topoi include (up to isomorphism) principal PUn or POn bundles on CW complexes, as well as Azumaya algebras over commutative rings. If the topos is connected, it is possible to define two invariants of an Azumaya algebra, the period & the index, which measure the nontriviality of the algebra. It is a classical theorem that the period & index have the same prime divisors in the case of central simple algebras over a field, and this is also known in the case of PUn bundles over CW complexes. In this talk, I will show that in the case of any locally ringed topos, the period & index have the same prime divisors.