Related papers: Coherence for weak units
A 2-group is a `categorified' version of a group, in which the underlying set G has been replaced by a category and the multiplication map m: G x G -> G has been replaced by a functor. A number of precise definitions of this notion have…
We explore an alternative definition of unit in a monoidal category originally due to Saavedra: a Saavedra unit is a cancellative idempotent (in a 1-categorical sense). This notion is more economical than the usual notion in terms of…
We propose a definition of double categories whose composition of 1-cells is weak in both directions. Namely, a doubly weak double category is a double computad -- a structure with 2-cells of all possible double-categorical shapes --…
Poly-bicategories generalise planar polycategories in the same way as bicategories generalise monoidal categories. In a poly-bicategory, the existence of enough 2-cells satisfying certain universal properties (representability) induces…
We show that every braided monoidal category arises as $\End(I)$ for a weak unit $I$ in an otherwise completely strict monoidal 2-category. This implies a version of Simpson's weak-unit conjecture in dimension 3, namely that one-object…
The weak units of strict monoidal 1- and 2-categories are already defined. In this paper, we define them for group-like 1- and 2-stacks. We show that they form a contractible Picard 1- and 2-stack, respectively. We give their cohomological…
Given an algebraic theory which can be described by a (possibly symmetric) operad $P$, we propose a definition of the \emph{weakening} (or \emph{categorification}) of the theory, in which equations that hold strictly for $P$-algebras hold…
A 2-group is a "categorified" version of a group, in which the underlying set G has been replaced by a category and the multiplication map has been replaced by a functor. Various versions of this notion have already been explored; our goal…
There is a well-known correspondence between coherent theories (and their interpretations) and coherent categories (resp. functors), hence the (2,1)-category $\mathbf{Coh_{\sim}}$ (of small coherent categories, coherent functors and all…
A concrete computation -- twelve slidings with sixteen tiles -- reveals that certain commutativity phenomena occur in every double semigroup. This can be seen as a sort of Eckmann-Hilton argument, but it does not use units. The result…
We show that diagrammatic sets, a topologically sound alternative to polygraphs and strict $\omega$-categories, admit an internal notion of equivalence in the sense of coinductive weak invertibility. We prove that equivalences have the…
We introduce a tensor product for symmetric monoidal categories with the following properties. Let SMC denote the 2-category with objects small symmetric monoidal categories, arrows symmetric monoidal functors and 2-cells monoidal natural…
We construct the algebra of fractions of a Weak Bialgebra relative to a suitable denominator set of group-like elements that is `almost central', a condition we introduce in the present article which is sufficient in order to guarantee…
A compact closed bicategory is a symmetric monoidal bicategory where every object is equipped with a weak dual. The unit and counit satisfy the usual "zig-zag" identities of a compact closed category only up to natural isomorphism, and the…
There are a dozen definitions of weak higher categories, all of which loosen the notion of composition of arrows. A new approach is presented here, where instead the notion of identity arrow is weakened -- these are tentatively called fair…
We prove that certain triangulated categories are (weakly) approximable in the sense of A. Neeman. We prove that a triangulated $C$ that is compactly generated by a single object $G$ is weakly approximable if $C(G,G[i])=0$ for $i>1$ (we say…
It has long been known that every weak monoidal category A is equivalent via monoidal functors and monoidal natural transformations to a strict monoidal category st(A). We generalise the definition of weak monoidal category to give a…
We define a cohomology for an arbitrary $K$-linear semistrict semigroupal 2-category $(\mathfrak{C},\otimes)$ (called in the paper a Gray semigroup) and show that its first order (unitary) deformations, up to the suitable notion of…
This paper investigates the effective categoricity of ultrahomogeneous structures. It is shown that any computable ultrahomogeneous structure is $\Delta^0_2$ categorical. A structure A is said to be weakly ultrahomogeneous if there is a…
We define strict and weak duality involutions on 2-categories, and prove a coherence theorem that every bicategory with a weak duality involution is biequivalent to a 2-category with a strict duality involution. For this purpose we…