Mutation via Hovey twin cotorsion pairs and model structures in extriangulated categories

Abstract

We give a simultaneous generalization of exact categories and triangulated categories, which is suitable for considering cotorsion pairs, and which we call extriangulated categories. Extension-closed, full subcategories of triangulated categories are examples of extriangulated categories. We give a bijective correspondence between some pairs of cotorsion pairs which we call Hovey twin cotorsion pairs, and admissible model structures. As a consequence, these model structures relate certain localizations with certain ideal quotients, via the homotopy category which can be given a triangulated structure. This gives a natural framework to formulate reduction and mutation of cotorsion pairs, applicable to both exact categories and triangulated categories. These results can be thought of as arguments towards the view that extriangulated categories are a convenient setup for writing down proofs which apply to both exact categories and (extension-closed subcategories of) triangulated categories.