This entry is about the general properties and characterization of (∞,1)-categories of (∞,1)-sheaves – also known as ∞-stack (∞,1)-toposes.
The 1-categorical analog of the discussion is this entry is at category of sheaves.
For any (∞,1)-category every (∞,1)-functor which admits a fully faithful right adjoint – equivalently every (∞,1)-functor which is left adjoint to the inclusion of its essential image into – is a localization of an (∞,1)-category onto a reflective (∞,1)-subcategory characterized by the collection of morphisms which it sends to equivalences?. One can think of it
as inverting these morphisms;
as projecting onto those objects of which are local with respect to these morphsims: those objects which sees as a collection of equivalences.
Using the familiar characterization of the category of sheaves in the 1-categorical context, this straightforwardly suggests to characterize -categories of -sheaves – also called (Grothendieck-Rezk-Lurie) (∞,1)-topoi as essential images of left exact? -functors from (∞,1)-categories of (∞,1)-presheaves
(called ∞-stackification, analogous to sheafification)
that have a fully faithful right adjoint forgetful functor
The hypercomplete -sheaf toposes are presented by the model structure on simplicial presheaves.
Detailed discussion of this model category presentation is at
The study of simplicial presheaves apparently goes back to
which considers locally Kan simplicial presheaves as a category of fibrant objects.
This was later conceived in terms of a model structure on simplicial presheaves and on simplicial sheaves by Jocal and Jardine. Toë summarizes the situation and emphasizes the interpretation in terms of ∞-stacks living in -categories for instance in
B. Toën, Higher and derived stacks: a global overview (arXiv) .
The full picture in terms of Grothendieck--topoi of -sheaves is the topic of
J. Lurie, Higher Topos Theory.
localization -functors (-sheafification for the present purpose) are discussed in section 5.2.7;
local objects (-sheaves for the present purpose) and local isomorphisms are discussed in section 5.5.4;
the definition of -topoi of -sheaves is then definition 6.1.0.4 in section 6.1;
the characterization of -sheaves in terms of descent and codescent is in section 6.1.3
the relation between the Brown–Joyal–Jardine model and the general story is discussed at length in section 6.5.4