English

A semi-strictly generated closed structure on Gray-Cat

Category Theory 2024-07-03 v2

Abstract

We show that the semi-strictly generated internal homs of Gray\mathbf{Gray}-categories [A,B]ssg[\mathfrak{A}, \mathfrak{B}]_\text{ssg} defined in \cite{Miranda strictifying operational coherences} underlie a closed structure on the category Gray\mathbf{Gray}-Cat\mathbf{Cat} of Gray\mathbf{Gray}-categories and Gray\mathbf{Gray}-functors. The morphisms of [A,B]ssg[\mathfrak{A}, \mathfrak{B}]_\text{ssg} are composites of those trinatural transformations which satisfy the unit and composition conditions for pseudonatural transformations on the nose rather than up to an invertible 33-cell. Such trinatural transformations leverage three-dimensional strictification \cite{Miranda strictifying operational coherences} while overcoming the challenges posed by failure of middle four interchange to hold in Gray\mathbf{Gray}-categories \cite{Bourke Gurski Cocategorical Obstructions to a Tensor Product of Gray Categories}. As a result we obtain a closed structure that is only partially monoidal with respect to \cite{crans tensor of gray categories}. As a corollary we obtain a slight strengthening of strictification results for braided monoidal bicategories \cite{Gurski Loop Spaces}, which will be improved further in a forthcoming paper \cite{Miranda weak interchange 4-categories}.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2311.11403,
  title  = {A semi-strictly generated closed structure on Gray-Cat},
  author = {Adrian Miranda},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.11403},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

43 pages + bibliography. Many large diagrams. Accepted for publication in Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra

R2 v1 2026-06-28T13:25:30.679Z