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Setup: Let $\mathcal{O}$ be an operad in the category of sets, and let $\mathcal{O}\text{-Alg}$ denote the category of algebras on it (i.e., operad functors $\mathcal{O}\to\mathbf{Set}$. This category is cocomplete; let $\kappa$ denote an initial object. Call an algebra $X$ initially monic if the unique map $!_X\colon\kappa\to X$ is monic.

Question 1: If $X$ and $Y$ are initially monic, is their coproduct $X\sqcup Y$ initially monic as well?

Remark: If, in the setup, we replace "operad" by "algebraic theory", then the answer to the question becomes no, as shown here by Zhen Lin in the case of $R$-algebras. I'm wondering if the issue might somehow come down to the diagonal maps.

Question 2: Can one characterize algebraic theories $\mathcal{T}$ for which the coproduct of initially monic algebras is initially monic?

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  • $\begingroup$ I'm confused: aren't $R$-algebras also algebras for an operad (namely, the commutative operad in $R$-modules), so that Zhen Lin's counterexample also applies here? $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 4, 2016 at 2:05
  • $\begingroup$ Oh, wait, your talk of algebraic theories make me think that possibly you meant operads in the category of sets specifically, in which case you can ignore my previous remark, but should add that requirement to the question. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 4, 2016 at 2:06
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    $\begingroup$ Can the initial object be something other than $\mathcal{O}(0)?$ $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 4, 2016 at 6:21
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    $\begingroup$ Regarding the question about characterizing the algebraic theories: I don't know, but a keyword I used to compose my answer was 'amalgamation' which carries model-theoretic resonances (a more specific phrase is 'weak amalgamation property'). See for example here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalgamation_property, or perhaps better yet A Shorter Model Theory by Hodges, for some possible inspiration or food for thought. I thought at first, by the way, that for any operad $O$ and any algebra $A$ there would be an operad $O_A$ governing the co-slice, but couldn't quite prove it. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 6, 2016 at 2:19
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    $\begingroup$ (For Lawvere theories, see this paper by Martin Hyland for a mention of the coslice result, arxiv.org/pdf/1211.5762v2.pdf, around propositions 2.6 and 2.7.) $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 6, 2016 at 19:49

1 Answer 1

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Even for single-sorted operads, the coproduct of initially monic algebras need not be initially monic.

First a general construction. Let $A$ be a commutative monoid. Then the comma category $A \downarrow \mathrm{CMon}$ (aka the undercategory or co-slice under $A$) is the category of algebras of an operad $\mathcal{O}_A$. I'll indicate a proof of that later, but it allows us to relativize the question to consideration of pushouts of monos in $\mathrm{CMon}$, where we ask: if $i_B: A \to B$ and $i_C: A \to C$ are monos in $\mathrm{CMon}$ and we take the pushout $P = B \oplus_A C$, is it true that the canonical map $A \to P$ is monic? This is equivalent to the question of initial monicity for the operad $\mathcal{O}_A$.

The answer is 'no'. The following is a modification of an example that appears in

  • Kimura, On semigroups, PhD dissertation, Tulane University 1957.

Take $A = \{u, v, 1, 0\}$ to be a commutative monoid with identity element $1$ and null element $0$, with all products $x y = 0$ for $x \neq 1, y \neq 1$. Define $B = A \sqcup \{b\}$, adjoining a new element $b$ to $A$, and extending the multiplication on $A$ by $b u = u b = v$ and $b \cdot 1 = 1 \cdot b = b$ and $b x = x b = 0$ for any $x \notin \{u, 1\}$. Similarly define $C = A \sqcup \{c\}$ with $c v = v c = u$ and $c \cdot 1 = 1 \cdot c = c$ and $c x = x c = 0$ for $x \notin \{v, 1\}$. Let $i_B: A \to B$ and $i_C: A \to C$ be the inclusion maps, and let $P$ be the pushout of $i_B$ and $i_A$ with coproduct coprojections $j: B \to P$, $k: C \to P$. I claim $k \circ i_C: A \to P$ is not monic. The short version of the calculation is that in $P$ we have

$$u = v c = b u c = b \cdot 0 = 0$$

and the long version (if anyone really needs it) is that $(k \circ i_C)(u) = (k \circ i_C)(0)$ according to the string of equations

$$k(i_C u) = k(i_C v \cdot c) = k(i_C v) k(c) = j(i_B v) k(c) = j(b i_B u) k(c) = j(b)j(i_B u)k(c) = j(b)k(i_C u)k(c) = j(b)k(i_C u \cdot c) = j(b)k(i_C 0) = j(b)j(i_B 0) = j(b \cdot i_B 0) = j(i_B 0) = k(i_C 0).$$

Now for the claim of an operad $\mathcal{O}_A$ whose algebras are $A \downarrow \mathrm{CMon}$. We have pairs of adjoint functors

$$F_A \dashv U_A: A\downarrow \mathrm{CMon} \to \mathrm{CMon}, \qquad F \dashv U: \mathrm{CMon} \to \mathrm{Set}$$

where $U F$ is the monad attached to the commutative monoid operad and the forgetful functor $U_A: A \downarrow \mathrm{CMon} \to \mathrm{CMon}$ is monadic. The composite $U \circ U_A$ is also monadic; this follows for example from the crude monadicity theorem (both $U$ and $U_A$ reflect isomorphisms and preserve reflexive coequalizers). What remains to be seen is that the monad attached to $U \circ U_A$ is an analytic monad in the sense of the theory of Joyal species. This has two parts: that the underlying functor of the monad $U U_A F_A F$ is an analytic functor, and that the monad unit and multiplication are cartesian natural transformations.

One way to characterize analytic functors $\mathrm{Set} \to \mathrm{Set}$ is that they are functors which preserve filtered colimits and weak wide pullbacks (see for example this paper), so we check that the three functors $U, F,$ and $U_A F_A = A \oplus -: \mathrm{CMon} \to \mathrm{CMon}$ have these properties. That $U$ and $F$ do follows from the fact that $U F$ does (being an analytic functor) plus the fact that $U$ preserves and reflects limits and even weak limits, plus the fact that $U$ preserves filtered colimits. Meanwhile, the underlying functor of the monad $A \oplus -: \mathrm{CMon} \to \mathrm{CMon}$ preserves filtered colimits (this is true for the functor $A \oplus - \cong A + -$, seen as taking the coproduct with $A$) and preserves wide pullbacks (this is true for the functor $A \oplus - \cong A \times -$, seen as taking the product with $A$).

That the monad data for the monadic functor $A \downarrow \mathrm{CMon} \to \mathrm{Set}$ are cartesian follows from (1) the observation that the unit and multiplication of the monad $A \oplus -: \mathrm{CMon} \to \mathrm{CMon}$ are cartesian; this is most easily seen by considering $A \oplus -$ in the guise of $A \times -$, where the cartesianness boils down to consideration of products of pullback squares, and (2) the fact that cartesian natural transformations are closed under pasting, e.g., given that the units $u: 1_{\mathrm{Set}} \to U F$ and $\eta: 1_{\mathrm{CMon}} \to A \oplus -$ are cartesian, so is the unit of the monad formed by pasting

$$1 \stackrel{u}{\to} U F \stackrel{1 \eta 1}{\to} U(A \oplus -)F$$

(using the fact that $U$ preserves pullbacks).

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