Deformation theory of objects in homotopy and derived categories I: general theory

Abstract

This is the first paper in a series. We develop a general deformation theory of objects in homotopy and derived categories of DG categories. Namely, for a DG module $E$ over a DG category we define four deformation functors $\Def ^{\h}(E)$, $\coDef ^{\h}(E)$, $\Def (E)$, $\coDef (E)$. The first two functors describe the deformations (and co-deformations) of $E$ in the homotopy category, and the last two - in the derived category. We study their properties and relations. These functors are defined on the category of artinian (not necessarily commutative) DG algebras.