Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2008
In this paper we develop a descent technique for generalized (co)-homology theories defined in the category of algebraic varieties. By such a theory we mean a functor Sch→C, where C is a closed model category in the sense of Quillen satisfying certain axioms (cf. §4). We have chosen to work in such a general context so as to include two situations for which the results of SGA 4 of Deligne and Saint-Donat are not applicable: descent of multiplicative structures (i.e. of differential graded algebras) and descent for generalized sheaf cohomology (such as the algebraic K-theory of coherent sheaves over a noetherian scheme).