Questions tagged [monoidal-categories]
The monoidal-categories tag has no usage guidance.
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The two ways Feynman diagrams appear in mathematics
I've heard about two ways mathematicians describe Feynman diagrams:
They can be seen as "string diagrams" describing various type of arrows (and/or compositions operations on them) in a monoidal ...
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Enriched Categories: Ideals/Submodules and algebraic geometry
While working through Atiyah/MacDonald for my final exams I realized the following:
The category(poset) of ideals $I(A)$ of a commutative ring A is a closed symmetric monoidal category if endowed ...
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Understanding the definition of the Lefschetz (pure effective) motive
For all those who are unlikely to have answers to my questions, I provide some
Background:
In some sense, pure motives are generalisations of smooth projective varieties. Every Weil cohomology ...
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Tannakian Formalism
The Tannakian formalism says you can recover a complex algebraic group from its category of finite dimensional representations, the tensor structure, and the forgetful functor to Vect. Intuitively, ...
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Resources for graphical languages / Penrose notation / Feynman diagrams / birdtracks?
There is an idea I've recently gotten interested in that doesn't seem to have a good agreed-upon name ("diagrammatic algebra?"). It centers around the use of two-dimensional diagrams of dots, ...
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Can one explain Tannaka-Krein duality for a finite-group to ... a computer ? (How to make input for reconstruction to be finite datum?)
Consider a finite group. Tannaka-Krein duality allows to reconstruct the group from the
category of its representations and additional structures on it (tensor structure + fiber functor). Somehow ...
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Do all 3D TQFTs come from Reshetikhin-Turaev?
The Reshetikhin-Turaev construction take as input a Modular Tensor Category (MTC) and spits out a 3D TQFT. I've been told that the other main construction of 3D TQFTs, the Turaev-Viro State sum ...
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Semiadditivity and dualizability of 2
Short version: Let (C, ⊗, 1) be a locally presentable closed symmetric monoidal category with a zero object, and write 2 = 1 ∐ 1. Suppose the object 2 has a dual. Does it follow that C is a ...
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String diagrams for bimonoidal categories (a.k.a. rig categories)?
I'm having some fun playing around with string diagrams for monoidal categories, expressing familiar constructions from Riemannian geometry and linear algebra in terms of elegant string diagrams.
I'...
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Does projective imply flat?
Let $\mathcal C$ be an abelian category equipped with a closed symmetric monoidal structure. This implies in particular that the monoidal structure $\otimes$ is right exact in each variable. I care ...
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Modular Tensor Categories: Reasoning behind the axioms
(Sorry for the length of the question, I'm trying to communicate what is bothering me as thoroughly as possible)
In the construction of modular tensor categories (MTC) from ground zero, we put ...
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If a $\otimes$-idempotent object has a dual, must it be self-dual?
Let $C$ be a symmetric monoidal category.
Recall that a dual for $X \in C$ is an object $X^\vee$ and maps $\eta: I \to X \otimes X^\vee$ and $\varepsilon: X^\vee \otimes X \to I$ (where $I$ is the ...
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Calculating 6j-symbols (aka Racah-Wigner coefficients) for quantum groups
Which $6j$-symbols for quantised enveloping algebras are known explicitly?
The quantum $6j$-symbols for $sl(2)$ are well-known. The references are
Masbaum and Vogel and
Frenkel and Khovanov.
What ...
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Free symmetric monoidal category on a monoidal category
Consider the $2$-categories
$\mathsf{MonCat}$ of monoidal categories, with strong monoidal functors and monoidal transformations,
$\mathsf{SymMonCat}$ of symmetric monoidal categories, with strong ...
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monoidal (∞,1)-categories from weakly monoidal model categories
In Higher Algebra section 4.1.7, Jacob Lurie proves that the underlying $(\infty,1)$-category of a monoidal model category is a monoidal $(\infty,1)$-category.
Dominic Verity and Yuki Maehara have (...
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Monoidal categories whose tensor has a left adjoint
Is there a name for monoidal categories $(\mathscr V, \otimes, I)$ such that $\otimes$ has a left adjoint $(\ell, r) : \mathscr V \to \mathscr V^2$? Have they been studied anywhere? What are some ...
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What is a tensor category?
A monoidal category is a well-defined categorical object abstracting products to the categorical setting. The term tensor category is also used, and seems to mean a monoidal category with more ...
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Why does Drinfeld Unitarization work?
In Drinfeld's paper "Quasi-Hopf Algebras" he illuminates a process by which you can replace the $R \in A \otimes A$ associated to a quasi-Hopf QUE-algebra $(A, \Delta, \varepsilon, \Phi)$ ...
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What categorical property of monoidal categories picks out the ones with duals?
Recall that a monoidal category $\mathcal C$ is rigid if every object $X\in \mathcal C$ has both left and right duals, i.e. objects $X^l$ and $X^r$ with maps $X^l \otimes X \to \mathbf 1 \to X \otimes ...
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History and motivation for Tannaka, Krein, Grothendieck, Deligne et al. works on Tannaka-Krein theory?
I am trying to wrap my mind around Tannaka-Krein duality and it seems quite mysterious for me, as well, as its history. So let me ask:
Question: What was the motivation and historical context for ...
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What is the monoidal equivalent of a locally cartesian closed category?
If a closed monoidal category is the monoidal equivalent of a Cartesian closed category, is there an analogous equivalent for locally cartesian closed categories? Is there a standard terminology or ...
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How are the Walker-Wang TQFT and the Crane-Yetter TQFT related?
Mathematical physicists in solid state physics and topological insulators talk a lot about Walker-Wang models, which are a family of Hamiltonians defined on a 3d lattice. Unfortunately, the original ...
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Reference for an unbiased definition of a symmetric monoidal category
In the references I know, a symmetric monoidal category is defined as a monoidal category equipped with some additional data, so in particular the monoidal product is a functor
$$
\mathcal{C}\times \...
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Counterexample for associativity of smash product
In Section 1.7 of Parametrized Homotopy Theory by May and Sigurdsson it is stated that the smash product of pointed topological spaces is not associative (which is just another hint that $\mathrm{Top}$...
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Reference for "lax monoidal functors" = "monoids under Day convolution"
Suppose $A$ and $C$ two symmetric monoidal categories. Let's say that $A$ is small and $C$ is locally presentable, and let's assume also that the tensor product on $C$ preserves colimits separately in ...
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Are Lurie's operads special SMCs?
In Higher Operads, Higher Categories, Leinster nicely characterizes operads among monoidal categories (as PROs). Roughly speaking, a monoidal category comes from an operad if its set of objects is ...
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Proof that a Cartesian category is monoidal
If $\mathcal C$ is a category with products and a terminal object, then $\mathcal C$ is monoidal.
This seems obvious, but wherever I look for a proof or a reference it simply states that the proof is &...
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The symmetric monoidal category of finite sets
It is well-known that the (augmented) simplex category is the universal monoidal category with a monoid object. What about a commutative analogue? Consider the category $\mathsf{FinSet}$ of finite ...
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exponential functors on finite dimensional complex vector spaces
Denote by $Vect^{fin}_{\mathbb{C}}$ the category of finite dimensional complex vector spaces. We will call a pair $(F,\tau)$ that consists of a functor $F \colon Vect^{fin}_{\mathbb{C}} \to Vect^{fin}...
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Does every commutative variety of algebras have a cogenerator?
By a commutative variety $\mathcal{V}$ I mean a classical variety of algebras for some $(\Sigma,E)$, such that each pair of operations in $\Sigma$ commutes.
Equivalently (i) every interpretation of ...
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The Chu-construction and the Int-construction
The Chu construction is a way of building a star-autonomous category $\mathrm{Chu}(C,\bot)$ from any closed monoidal category $C$ with pullbacks and a choice of an object $\bot\in C$ to become the ...
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Are there small examples of non-pivotal finite tensor categories?
I'm looking for small concrete examples of non-pivotal finite tensor categories to do some calculations with.
Here a finite tensor category is, according to Etingof-Ostrik, a rigid monoidal category ...
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Specific cases of the tangle hypothesis in terms of "classical" n-categories
As is well known, the tangle hypothesis of Baez and Dolan proposes that, for suitable definitions, the $n$-category of framed $n$-tangles in $n+k$ dimensions is the free $k$-tuply monoidal $n$-...
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Is the category of smooth manifolds equivalent to the opposite category of the category of commutative monoids of some additive symmetric monoidal category?
This is a followup to my previous question, which asked whether
the category of commutative or noncommutative C*-algebras or von Neumann algebras
is equivalent to the category of commutative or ...
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What is known about module categories over general monoidal categories?
All of the literature I have seen on module categories over monoidal categories has been in the rigid $k$-linear semisimple case, more or less in the spirit of Ostrik's paper,
Ostrik, V. Module ...
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Are supervector spaces the representations of a Hopf algebra?
Supervector spaces look a lot like the category of representations of $\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}$ - the even part corresponds to the copies of the trivial representation and the odd part corresponds to ...
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How do I describe a fusion category given a subfactor?
I felt like following up on Kate's question. There were some good motivational answers there.
Given a pair of factors M < N, there is a standard way to construct a 2-category whose objects are M ...
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What structure on a monoidal category would make its 2-category of module categories monoidal and braided?
So, many of us know the answer to "what kind of structure on an algebra would make its category of representations braided monoidal": your algebra should be a quasi-triangular Hopf algebra (maybe if ...
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Monoidal functors $\mathcal C \to [\mathcal D,\mathcal V]$ are monoidal functors $\mathcal C \otimes \mathcal D \to \mathcal V$?
It is well known (e.g., Reference for "lax monoidal functors" = "monoids under Day convolution" ) that if $\mathcal C$ is a monoidal $\mathcal V$-enriched category, then a monoid ...
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What non-monoidal functors on monoidal categories are used "in nature"?
Background
For my PhD dissertation, I've developed a categorical generalization of many different systems of denotational semantics for light linear logic (LLL). I'd like to see if I can use this ...
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Rectifying the definition of a closed category
The definition of a closed category I'm using is here.
Suppose $V$ is a closed category and that for each object $b\in V$, $[b,-]$ has a left adjoint $- \otimes b$. The result is nearly a monoidal ...
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Categorifying the Reals via von Neumann Algebras?
So one way to categorify the natural numbers is to replace them with vector spaces. Then the dimension of the vector space reproduces the natural number. More generally you can categorify integers to ...
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Postnikov invariants of the Brauer 3-group
Given a commutative ring $k$ there is a bicategory with
algebras over $k$ as objects,
bimodules as morphisms,
bimodule homomorphisms as 2-morphisms.
This is a monoidal bicategory, since we can ...
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Recovering a monoidal category from its category of monoids
What kind of additional properties and/or structures one needs to impose on the category
of (commutative or noncommutative) monoids of some monoidal category
so that one can recover the original ...
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Examples of rings in monoidal categories
Ring objects are usually defined on Cartesian monoidal categories, but one can define them more generally on non-Cartesian symmetric monoidal categories as follows:
Let $(\mathcal{C},\otimes,\mathbf{...
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Cartesian envelope of a symmetric monoidal category
Is there a left adjoint to the forgetful functor from cartesian monoidal categories to symmetric monoidal categories? And if so: how can it be described explicitely.
In more detail: Given a symmetric ...
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Definitions of enriched monoidal category
This question is about two definitions of enriched monoidal categories I have:
Let $\mathcal{V}$ be a symmetric monoidal closed category.
The first definition: a $\mathcal{V}$-enriched category $\...
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Understanding the computation of the center of Tambara-Yamagami fusion categories when realized as C* categories
Recall that the Tambara-Yamagami categories are those with fusion ring $\mathbb{Z}[A \cup m]$ where $A$ is an abelian group and $m$ is a non-invertible (simple) object such that $ma = am = m$ for all $...
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Associators, Grothendieck-Teichmüller group and monoidal categories
The standard definition of an associator seems to be that it a a grouplike power series in two variables $x$ and $ y $ satisfying some pentagon and hexagon relations.
In other words, denoting by $ \...
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Model Structure/Homotopy Pushouts in topological monoids?
Let $\mathsf C$ be the category of topological monoids, that is, the category of monoids in $(\textsf{Top}, \times)$.
Can the model category structure on $\textsf{Top}$ (Serre fibrations, ...
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