Homotopical algebraic geometry I: Topos theory

Abstract - This is the first of a series of papers devoted to lay the foundations of Algebraic Geometry in homotopical and higher categorical contexts. In this first part we investigate a notion of higher topos. For this, we use S-categories (i.e. simplicially enriched categories) as models for certain kind of ∞-categories, and we develop the notions of S-topologies, S-sites and stacks over them. We prove in particular, that for an S-category T endowed with an S-topology, there exists a model category of stacks over T, generalizing the model category structure on simplicial presheaves over a Grothendieck site of Joyal and Jardine. We also prove some analogs of the relations between topologies and localizing subcategories of the categories of presheaves, by proving that there exists a one-to-one correspondence between S-topologies on an S-category T, and certain left exact Bousfield localizations of the model category of pre-stacks on T. Based on the above results, we study the notion of model topos introduced by Rezk, and we relate it to our model categories of stacks over S-sites. In the second part of the paper, we present a parallel theory where S-categories, S-topologies and S-sites are replaced by model categories, model topologies and model sites. We prove that a canonical way to pass from the theory of stacks over model sites to the theory of stacks over S-sites is provided by the simplicial localization construction of Dwyer and Kan. As an example of application, we propose a definition of étale K-theory of ring spectra, extending the étale K-theory of commutative rings.