Cotorsion pairs, model category structures, and representation theory

We make a general study of Quillen model structures on abelian categories. We show that they are closely related to cotorsion pairs, which were introduced by Salce [Sa179] and have been much studied recently by Enochs and coauthors [EJ00]. This gives a method of constructing model structures on abelian categories, which we illustrate by building two model structures on the category of modules over a (possibly noncommutative) Gorenstein ring. The homotopy category of these model structures is a generalization of the stable module category much used in modular representation theory. This stable module category has also been studied by Benson [Ben97].