In type theory, a polynomial functor (or container functor) is a kind of endofunctor of a category of types that is intimately related to the concept of inductive and coinductive types. Specifically, all W-types (resp. M-types) are (isomorphic to) initial algebras (resp. final coalgebras) of such functors.
Polynomial functors have been studied in the more general setting of a pretopos with Σ-types; [1] this article deals only with the applications of this concept inside the category of types of a Martin-Löf style type theory.
Let U be a universe of types, let A : U, and let B : A → U be a family of types indexed by A. The pair (A, B) is sometimes called a signature [2] or a container. [3] The polynomial functor associated to the container (A, B) is defined as follows: [4] [5] [6]
Any functor naturally isomorphic to P is called a container functor. [7] The action of P on functions is defined by
Note that this assignment is only truly functorial in extensional type theories (see #Properties).
In intensional type theories, such functions are not truly functors, because the universe type is not strictly a category (the field of homotopy type theory is dedicated to exploring how the universe type behaves more like a higher category). However, it is functorial up to propositional equalities, that is, the following identity types are inhabited:
for any functions f and g and any type X, where is the identity function on the type X. [8]
In mathematics, specifically category theory, a functor is a mapping between categories. Functors were first considered in algebraic topology, where algebraic objects are associated to topological spaces, and maps between these algebraic objects are associated to continuous maps between spaces. Nowadays, functors are used throughout modern mathematics to relate various categories. Thus, functors are important in all areas within mathematics to which category theory is applied.
In category theory, a branch of mathematics, a natural transformation provides a way of transforming one functor into another while respecting the internal structure of the categories involved. Hence, a natural transformation can be considered to be a "morphism of functors". Informally, the notion of a natural transformation states that a particular map between functors can be done consistently over an entire category.
In mathematics, specifically category theory, adjunction is a relationship that two functors may exhibit, intuitively corresponding to a weak form of equivalence between two related categories. Two functors that stand in this relationship are known as adjoint functors, one being the left adjoint and the other the right adjoint. Pairs of adjoint functors are ubiquitous in mathematics and often arise from constructions of "optimal solutions" to certain problems, such as the construction of a free group on a set in algebra, or the construction of the Stone–Čech compactification of a topological space in topology.
In topology, a branch of mathematics, two continuous functions from one topological space to another are called homotopic if one can be "continuously deformed" into the other, such a deformation being called a homotopy between the two functions. A notable use of homotopy is the definition of homotopy groups and cohomotopy groups, important invariants in algebraic topology.
In category theory, a branch of mathematics, duality is a correspondence between the properties of a category C and the dual properties of the opposite category Cop. Given a statement regarding the category C, by interchanging the source and target of each morphism as well as interchanging the order of composing two morphisms, a corresponding dual statement is obtained regarding the opposite category Cop. Duality, as such, is the assertion that truth is invariant under this operation on statements. In other words, if a statement is true about C, then its dual statement is true about Cop. Also, if a statement is false about C, then its dual has to be false about Cop.
In mathematics, the derived categoryD(A) of an abelian category A is a construction of homological algebra introduced to refine and in a certain sense to simplify the theory of derived functors defined on A. The construction proceeds on the basis that the objects of D(A) should be chain complexes in A, with two such chain complexes considered isomorphic when there is a chain map that induces an isomorphism on the level of homology of the chain complexes. Derived functors can then be defined for chain complexes, refining the concept of hypercohomology. The definitions lead to a significant simplification of formulas otherwise described (not completely faithfully) by complicated spectral sequences.
In the branch of mathematics called homological algebra, a t-structure is a way to axiomatize the properties of an abelian subcategory of a derived category. A t-structure on consists of two subcategories of a triangulated category or stable infinity category which abstract the idea of complexes whose cohomology vanishes in positive, respectively negative, degrees. There can be many distinct t-structures on the same category, and the interplay between these structures has implications for algebra and geometry. The notion of a t-structure arose in the work of Beilinson, Bernstein, Deligne, and Gabber on perverse sheaves.
This is a glossary of properties and concepts in category theory in mathematics.
In mathematics, an operad is a structure that consists of abstract operations, each one having a fixed finite number of inputs (arguments) and one output, as well as a specification of how to compose these operations. Given an operad , one defines an algebra over to be a set together with concrete operations on this set which behave just like the abstract operations of . For instance, there is a Lie operad such that the algebras over are precisely the Lie algebras; in a sense abstractly encodes the operations that are common to all Lie algebras. An operad is to its algebras as a group is to its group representations.
In category theory, monoidal functors are functors between monoidal categories which preserve the monoidal structure. More specifically, a monoidal functor between two monoidal categories consists of a functor between the categories, along with two coherence maps—a natural transformation and a morphism that preserve monoidal multiplication and unit, respectively. Mathematicians require these coherence maps to satisfy additional properties depending on how strictly they want to preserve the monoidal structure; each of these properties gives rise to a slightly different definition of monoidal functors
In category theory, the concept of an element, or a point, generalizes the more usual set theoretic concept of an element of a set to an object of any category. This idea often allows restating of definitions or properties of morphisms given by a universal property in more familiar terms, by stating their relation to elements. Some very general theorems, such as Yoneda's lemma and the Mitchell embedding theorem, are of great utility for this, by allowing one to work in a context where these translations are valid. This approach to category theory – in particular the use of the Yoneda lemma in this way – is due to Grothendieck, and is often called the method of the functor of points.
In mathematics, derivators are a proposed frameworkpg 190-195 for homological algebra giving a foundation for both abelian and non-abelian homological algebra and various generalizations of it. They were introduced to address the deficiencies of derived categories and provide at the same time a language for homotopical algebra.
The Grothendieck construction is a construction used in the mathematical field of category theory. It is a fundamental construction in the theory of descent, in the theory of stacks, and in fibred category theory. In categorical logic, the construction is used to model the relationship between a type theory and a logic over that type theory, and allows for the translation of concepts from indexed category theory into fibred category theory, such as Lawvere's concept of hyperdoctrine.
In mathematics, especially in algebraic topology, an induced homomorphism is a homomorphism derived in a canonical way from another map. For example, a continuous map from a topological space X to a topological space Y induces a group homomorphism from the fundamental group of X to the fundamental group of Y.
In type theory, a discipline within mathematical logic, containers are abstractions which permit various "collection types", such as lists and trees, to be represented in a uniform way. A (unary) container is defined by a type of shapes S and a type family of positions P, indexed by S. The extension of a container is a family of dependent pairs consisting of a shape and a function from positions of that shape to the element type. Containers can be seen as canonical forms for collection types.
In type theory, a system has inductive types if it has facilities for creating a new type from constants and functions that create terms of that type. The feature serves a role similar to data structures in a programming language and allows a type theory to add concepts like numbers, relations, and trees. As the name suggests, inductive types can be self-referential, but usually only in a way that permits structural recursion.
In mathematical logic and computer science, homotopy type theory (HoTT) refers to various lines of development of intuitionistic type theory, based on the interpretation of types as objects to which the intuition of (abstract) homotopy theory applies.
In category theory, a branch of mathematics, an ∞-groupoid is an abstract homotopical model for topological spaces. One model uses Kan complexes which are fibrant objects in the category of simplicial sets. It is an ∞-category generalization of a groupoid, a category in which every morphism is an isomorphism.
Univalent foundations are an approach to the foundations of mathematics in which mathematical structures are built out of objects called types. Types in univalent foundations do not correspond exactly to anything in set-theoretic foundations, but they may be thought of as spaces, with equal types corresponding to homotopy equivalent spaces and with equal elements of a type corresponding to points of a space connected by a path. Univalent foundations are inspired both by the old Platonic ideas of Hermann Grassmann and Georg Cantor and by "categorical" mathematics in the style of Alexander Grothendieck. Univalent foundations depart from the use of classical predicate logic as the underlying formal deduction system, replacing it, at the moment, with a version of Martin-Löf type theory. The development of univalent foundations is closely related to the development of homotopy type theory.
In mathematics, homotopy theory is a systematic study of situations in which maps can come with homotopies between them. It originated as a topic in algebraic topology, but nowadays is learned as an independent discipline.