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Let $\mathcal C$ be a locally finitely-presentable category, and let $X$ be a finitely-presentable object of $\mathcal C$.

Question: Can there exist a nontrivial idempotent on $X$ whose fixed points are isomorphic to $X$?

I don't think this should be possible in reasonable cases.

Instances of this question include:

  • Can a finitely-presentable ring be a nontrivial retract of itself?

  • Can a finitely-presentable group be a nontrivial retract of itself?

  • Can a finitely-presentable module be a nontrivial retract of itself?

et cetera.

EDIT: It occurs to me that there's a "universal" example where this does occur: let $\mathcal A$ be the category freely generated by an object with a nontrivial self-retract, and let $\mathcal C$ be the presheaf category on $\mathcal A$. So I suppose I'm really looking for conditions ensuring that this doesn't happen.

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    $\begingroup$ About the group case, a closely related question is Sequence of proper retracting homomorphisms between finitely presented groups, which would be answered if one has a f.p. group isomorphic to a proper retract of itself. $\endgroup$
    – YCor
    Commented Oct 31, 2019 at 22:49
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    $\begingroup$ I think that at least in the case of modules over a (commutative) ring (with 1) the result follows from the Nakayama lemma. $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 31, 2019 at 23:24
  • $\begingroup$ @IvanDiLiberti Nice, thanks! Let's see if I can flesh this out... If $M \cong M \oplus N$ as $R$-modules, then for any maximal ideal $m$, we have $M_m \cong M_m \oplus N_m$. Since $R_m$ is local, Nakayama's lemma implies that a minimal generating set for $M_m$ over $R_m$ is given by the union of minimal generating sets for $M_m,N_m$. So we have two minimal generating sets for $M_m$ which again by Nakayama have the same cardinality, which is finite. So the minimal generating set for $N_m$ has cardinality zero, so $N_m = 0$. Since this holds for all maximal ideals $m$, we have $N=0$. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 2, 2019 at 11:18
  • $\begingroup$ @TimCampion, I had a completely different proof in mind, which uses that a surjective endomorphism of a fin gen module is an isomorphism, but yours seems legit to me! $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 2, 2019 at 11:27
  • $\begingroup$ @TimCampion, now I was studying how much you can generalize Nakayama lemma and I found this beautiful answer (mathoverflow.net/users/2384/gjergji-zaimi). Unfortunately this theory hasn't been exported to the semiabelian context (yet). Yet, some approximations do exist (rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41980-018-0020-2). $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 2, 2019 at 11:30

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The property just says that every split epimorphism $X \to X$ (equivalently, every split monomorphism $X \to X$) is an isomorphism. I find this is easier to analyse.

I do not agree that this "should" hold in reasonable cases. I would rather say that it holds "just by accident" in some categories.

There is an immediate counterexample given by the universal cocomplete category with an object $X$ and two morphisms $i,p : X \to X$ satisfying $p \circ i = \mathrm{id}_X$. I omit its construction here, but one can check from its construction that it is locally finitely presentable, that $X$ is finitely presentable and that $p$ is no isomorphism.

There are non-commutative rings $R$ with $R \cong R^2$ as $R$-modules (for example take $R$ to be the endomorphism ring of an infinite-dimensional vector space), so here $\mathrm{Mod}_R$ doesn't have the property. But when $R$ is commutative, then $\mathrm{Mod}_R$ has this property. It has already been proven in the comments, but here is a different proof: Let $M \cong M \oplus N$ for some finitely presentable $M$. Then $N$ is finitely presentable as well. By Noetherian approximation, we way massume that $R$ is Noetherian*. Then $M$ is Noetherian. But then every epimorphism $M \to M$ is an isomorphism, so $N=0$.

I am pretty sure that the category of groups doesn't have the property either, but it will be hard to find counterexamples.

*Details: $R$ is a filtered colimit of finitely presentable, thus Noetherian commutative rings $R_i$. Then $M \cong M_i \otimes_{R_i} R$ for some $i$, the same for $N$, since $M$ and $N$ are finitely presentable (just lift the presentation). The homomorphism $M \to M \oplus N$ also lifts to $M_i \to M_i \oplus N_i$ after increasing $i$ if necessary, the same for its inverse, and since they become inverse in the colimit, they become inverse over $R_i$ if we increase $i$ again.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks! I'd be curious to learn a little more about this Noetherian approximation works. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 10, 2020 at 22:25
  • $\begingroup$ I added details. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 10, 2020 at 22:38

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