Given a complete, cocomplete category $\mathcal C$, we investigate the problem of describing those small categories $I$ such that the diagonal functor $Δ:\mathcal C\to {\rm Functors}(I,\mathcal C)$ is a Frobenius functor. This condition can be rephrased by saying that the limits and the colimits of functors $I\to\mathcal C$ are naturally isomorphic. We find necessary conditions on $I$ for a certain class of categories $\mathcal C$, and, as an application, we give both necessary and sufficient conditions in the two special cases $\mathcal C={\bf Set}$ or $_R\mathcal M$, the category of left modules over a ring $R$.
Frobenius monoidal functors preserve duals. We show that conversely, (co)monoidal functors between autonomous categories which preserve duals are Frobenius monoidal. We apply this result to linearly distributive functors between autonomous categories.
We prove that a quasi-bialgebra admits a preantipode if and only if the associated free quasi-Hopf bimodule functor is Frobenius, if and only if the relative (opmonoidal) monad is a Hopf monad. The same results hold in particular for a bialgebra, tightening the connection between Hopf and Frobenius properties.
It is well known that strong monoidal functors preserve duals. In this short note we show that a slightly weaker version of functor, which we call "Frobenius monoidal", is sufficient.
Entwined modules over cowreaths in a monoidal category are introduced. They can be identified to coalgebras in an appropriate monoidal category. It is investigated when such coalgebras are Frobenius (resp. separable), and when the forgetful functor from entwined modules to representations of the underlying algebra is Frobenius (resp. separable). These properties are equivalent when the unit object of the category is a $\otimes$-generator.
Firm Frobenius algebras are firm algebras and counital coalgebras such that the comultiplication is a bimodule map. They are investigated by categorical methods based on a study of adjunctions and lifted functors. Their categories of comodules and of firm modules are shown to be isomorphic if and only if a canonical comparison functor from the category of comodules to the category of non-unital modules factorizes through the category of firm modules. This happens for example if the underlying algebra possesses local units, e.g. the firm Frobenius algebra arises from a co-Frobenius coalgebra ov…
A weak bialgebra is known to be a special case of a bialgebroid. In this paper we study the relationship of this fact with the Tannaka theory of bialgebroids as developed in [4]. We obtain a Tannaka representation theorem with respect to a separable Frobenius fiber functor.
Let $U:\mathcal{C}\rightarrow\mathcal{D}$ be a strong monoidal functor between abelian monoidal categories admitting a right adjoint $R$, such that $R$ is exact, faithful and the adjunction $U\dashv R$ is coHopf. Building on the work of Balan, we show that $R$ is separable (resp., special) Frobenius monoidal if and only if $R(\mathbb{1}_{\mathcal{D}})$ is a separable (resp., special) Frobenius algebra in $\mathcal{C}$. If further, $\mathcal{C},\mathcal{D}$ are pivotal (resp., ribbon) categories and $U$ is a pivotal (resp., braided pivotal) functor, then $R$ is a pivotal (resp., ribbon) functor…
We introduce Nakayama functors for coalgebras and investigate their basic properties. These functors are expressed by certain (co)ends as in the finite case discussed by Fuchs, Schaumann, and Schweigert. This observation allows us to define Nakayama functors for Frobenius tensor categories in an intrinsic way. As applications, we establish the categorical Radford $S^4$-formula for Frobenius tensor categories and obtain some related results. These are generalizations of works of Etingof, Nikshych, and Ostrik on finite tensor categories and some known facts on co-Frobenius Hopf algebras.
We prove that any faithful Frobenius functor between abelian categories preserves the Gorenstein projective dimension of objects. Consequently, it preserves and reflects Gorenstein projective objects. We give conditions on when a Frobenius functor preserves the stable categories of Gorenstein projective objects, the singularity categories and the Gorenstein defect categories, respectively. In the appendix, we give a direct proof of the following known result: for an abelian category with enough projectives and injectives, its global Gorenstein projective dimension coincides with its global Gor…
Separable Frobenius monoidal functors were defined and studied under that name by Szlachanyi and by Day and Pastro, and in a more general context by Cockett and Seely. Our purpose here is to develop their theory in a very precise sense. We determine what kinds of equations in monoidal categories they preserve. For example we show they preserve lax (meaning not necessarily invertible) Yang-Baxter operators, weak Yang-Baxter operators in the sense of Alonso Alvarez et al., and (in the braided case) weak bimonoids in the sense of Pastro and Street. In fact, we characterize which monoidal expressi…
Owing to the difference in $K$-theory, an example by Dugger and Shipley implies that the equivalence of stable categories of Gorenstein projective modules should not be a Quillen equivalence. We give a sufficient and necessary condition for the Frobenius pair of faithful functors between two abelian categories to be a Quillen equivalence, which is also equivalent to that the Frobenius functors induce mutually inverse equivalences between stable categories of Gorenstein projective objects. We show that the category of Gorenstein projective objects is a Waldhausen category, then Gorenstein $K$-g…
We develop a theory of Frobenius functors for symmetric tensor categories (STC) $\mathcal{C}$ over a field $\bf k$ of characteristic $p$, and give its applications to classification of such categories. Namely, we define a twisted-linear symmetric monoidal functor $F: \mathcal{C}\to \mathcal{C}\boxtimes {\rm Ver}_p$, where ${\rm Ver}_p$ is the Verlinde category (the semisimplification of ${\rm Rep}_{\bf k}(\mathbb{Z}/p)$). This generalizes the usual Frobenius twist functor in modular representation theory and also one defined in arXiv:1503.01492, where it is used to show that if $\mathcal{C}$ i…
We define Frobenius-Eilenberg-Moore objects for a dagger Frobenius monad in an arbitrary dagger 2-category, and extend to the dagger context a well-known universal property of the formal theory of monads. We show that the free completion of a 2-category under Eilenberg-Moore objects extends to the dagger context, provided one is willing to work with such dagger Frobenius monads whose endofunctor part suitably commutes with their unit. Finally, we define dagger lax functors and dagger lax-limits of such functors, and show that Frobenius-Eilenberg-Moore objects are examples of such limits.
We introduce the concept of Frobenius theory as a generalisation of Lawvere's functorial semantics approach to categorical universal algebra. Whereas the universe for models of Lawvere theories is the category of sets and functions, or more generally cartesian categories, Frobenius theories take their models in the category of sets and relations, or more generally in cartesian bicategories.
For M and N finite module categories over a finite tensor category C, the category Rex_C(M,N) of right exact module functors is a finite module category over the Drinfeld center Z(C). We study the internal Homs of this module category, which we call internal natural transformations. With the help of certain integration functors that map C-C-bimodule functors to objects of Z(C), we express them as ends over internal Homs and define horizontal and vertical compositions. We show that if M and N are exact C-modules and C is pivotal, then the Z(C)-module Rex_C(M,N) is exact. We compute its relative…
Tannaka Duality describes the relationship between algebraic objects in a given category and their representations; an important case is that of Hopf algebras and their categories of representations; these have strong monoidal forgetful "fibre functors" to the category of vector spaces. We simultaneously generalize the theory of Tannaka duality in two ways: first, we replace Hopf algebras with weak Hopf algebras and strong monoidal functors with separable Frobenius monoidal functors; second, we replace the category of vector spaces with an arbitrary braided monoidal category. To accomplish thi…
Let $U$ be a strong monoidal functor between monoidal categories. If it has both a left adjoint $L$ and a right adjoint $R$, we show that the pair $(R,L)$ is a linearly distributive functor and $(U,U)\dashv (R,L)$ is a linearly distributive adjunction, if and only if $L\dashv U$ is a Hopf adjunction and $U\dashv R$ is a coHopf adjunction. We give sufficient conditions for a strong monoidal $U$ which is part of a (left) Hopf adjunction $L\dashv U$, to have as right adjoint a twisted version of the left adjoint $L$. In particular, the resulting adjunction will be (left) coHopf. One step further,…
Given an exact functor between triangulated categories which admits both adjoints and whose cotwist is either zero or an autoequivalence, we show how to associate a unique full triangulated subcategory of the codomain on which the functor becomes either Frobenius or spherical, respectively. We illustrate our construction with examples coming from projective bundles and smooth blowups. This work generalises results about spherical subcategories obtained by Martin Kalck, David Ploog and the first author.
Let $\Ascr,\Bscr$ be exact categories with $\Ascr$ karoubian and $M$ be an exact functor. Under suitable adjonction hypotheses for $M$, we are able to show that the direct factors of the objects of $\Ascr$ of the form $MY$ with $Y \in \Bscr$ make up a Frobenius category which allow us to define an $M$-stable category for $\Ascr$ only by quotienting. In addition, we propose a construction of an $M$-stable category for $\Ascr,\Bscr$ triangulated categories and $M$ a triangulated functor. We illustrate this notion with a theorem of Keller and Vossieck which links the two notions of $M$-stable cat…
Let $R$, $S$ be two rings, $C$ an $R$-coring and ${}_{R}^C{\mathcal M}$ the category of left $C$-comodules. The category ${\bf Rep}\, ( {}_{R}^C{\mathcal M}, {}_{S}{\mathcal M} )$ of all representable functors ${}_{R}^C{\mathcal M} \to {}_{S}{\mathcal M}$ is shown to be equivalent to the opposite of the category ${}_{R}^C{\mathcal M}_S$. For $U$ an $(S,R)$-bimodule we give necessary and sufficient conditions for the induction functor $U\otimes_R - : {}_{R}^C\mathcal{M} \to {}_{S}\mathcal{M}$ to be: a representable functor, an equivalence of categories, a separable or a Frobenius functor. The l…
Let $k$ be an algebraically closed field of characteristic $p>0$, let $R$ be a commutative ring, and let $\mathbb{F}$ be an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0. We consider the $R$-linear category $\mathcal{F}^Δ_{Rpp_k}$ of diagonal $p$-permutation functors over $R$. We first show that the category $\mathcal{F}^Δ_{\mathbb{F}pp_k}$ is semisimple, and we give a parametrization of its simple objects, together with a description of their evaluations. Next, to any pair $(G,b)$ of a finite group $G$ and a block idempotent $b$ of $kG$, we associate a diagonal $p$-permutation functor $RT^Δ_…
We functorially characterize groupoids as special dagger Frobenius algebras in the category of sets and relations. This is then generalized to a non-unital setting, by establishing an adjunction between H*-algebras in the category of sets and relations, and locally cancellative regular semigroupoids. Finally, we study a universal passage from the former setting to the latter.
Let $k$ be a commutative ring, let $\mathcal{C}$ be a small, $k$-linear, Hom-finite, locally bounded category, and let $\mathcal{B}$ be a $k$-linear abelian category. We construct a Frobenius exact subcategory $\mathcal{GP}(\mathcal{G}_P\operatorname{proj}(\mathcal{B}^{\mathcal{C}}))$ of the functor category $\mathcal{B}^{\mathcal{C}}$, and we show that it is a subcategory of the Gorenstein projective objects $\mathcal{GP}(\mathcal{B}^{\mathcal{C}})$ in $\mathcal{B}^{\mathcal{C}}$. Furthermore, we obtain criteria for when $\mathcal{GP}(\mathcal{G}_P\operatorname{proj}(\mathcal{B}^{\mathcal{C}}…
Given a tensor functor between tensor categories $\mathcal{C}$ and $\mathcal{D}$, we give criteria that, under certain assumptions, the Frobeniusness of $\mathcal{C}$ or $\mathcal{D}$ implies the Frobeniusness of the other one. We also give an affirmative answer to Natale's question asking if the class of Frobenius tensor categories is closed under exact sequences.
For a certain kind of tensor functor $F: \mathcal{C} \to \mathcal{D}$, we define the relative modular object $χ_F \in \mathcal{D}$ as the "difference" between a left adjoint and a right adjoint of $F$. Our main result claims that, if $\mathcal{C}$ and $\mathcal{D}$ are finite tensor categories, then $χ_F$ can be written in terms of a categorical analogue of the modular function on a Hopf algebra. Applying this result to the restriction functor associated to an extension $A/B$ of finite-dimensional Hopf algebras, we recover the result of Fischman, Montgomery and Schneider on the Frobenius type …
A fundamental theorem of P. Deligne (2002) states that a pre-Tannakian category over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero admits a fiber functor to the category of supervector spaces (i.e., is the representation category of an affine proalgebraic supergroup) if and only if it has moderate growth (i.e., the lengths of tensor powers of an object grow at most exponentially). In this paper we prove a characteristic p version of this theorem. Namely we show that a pre-Tannakian category over an algebraically closed field of characteristic p>0 admits a fiber functor into the Verlinde…
Let $k$ be an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic $p$, and $\mathbb{F}$ be an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0. We consider the $\mathbb{F}$-linear category $\mathbb{F} pp_k^Δ$ of finite groups, in which the set of morphisms from $G$ to $H$ is the $\mathbb{F}$-linear extension $\mathbb{F} T^Δ(H,G)$ of the Grothendieck group $T^Δ(H,G)$ of $p$-permutation $(kH,kG)$-bimodules with (twisted) diagonal vertices. The $\mathbb{F}$-linear functors from $\mathbb{F} pp_k^Δ$ to $\mathbb{F}\hbox{-Mod}$ are called {\em diagonal $p$-permutation functors}. They form an abelian …
Consider the obvious functor from the unbounded derived category of all finitely generated modules over a left noetherian ring $R$ to the unbounded derived category of all modules. We answer the natural question whether this functor defines an equivalence onto the full subcategory of complexes with finitely generated cohomology modules in two special cases. If $R$ is a quasi-Frobenius ring of infinite global dimension, then this functor is not full. If $R$ has finite left global dimension, this functor is an equivalence. We also prove variants of the latter assertion for left coherent rings, f…
For a category C we investigate the problem of when the coproduct $\bigoplus$ and the product functor $\prod$ from C^I to C are isomorphic for a fixed set I, or, equivalently, when the two functors are Frobenius functors. We show that for an Ab-category C this happens if and only if the set I is finite. Moreover, this is true even in a much more general case, if there is a morphism in C that is invertible with respect to the addition of morphisms. If C does not have this property we give an example to see that the two functors can be isomorphic for infinite sets $I$. However we show that $\big…
Q-systems are unitary versions of Frobenius algebra objects which appeared in the theory of subfactors. In recent joint work with R. Hernández Palomares and C. Jones, the authors defined a notion of Q-system completion for C*/W* 2-categories, which is a unitary version of a higher idempotent completion in the spirit of Douglas--Reutter and Gaiotto--Johnson-Freyd. In this article, we prove that Q-system completion is a dagger 3-functor on the dagger 3-category of C*/W* 2-categories. We also prove that Q-system completion satisfies a universal property analogous to the universal property satisfi…
We study monoidal comonads on a naturally Frobenius map-monoidale $M$ in a monoidal bicategory $\mathcal M$. We regard them as bimonoids in the duoidal hom-category $\mathcal M(M,M)$, and generalize to that setting various conditions distinguishing classical Hopf algebras among bialgebras; in particular, we define a notion of antipode in that context. Assuming the existence of certain conservative functors and the splitting of idempotent 2-cells in $\mathcal M$, we show all these Hopf-like conditions to be equivalent. Our results imply in particular several equivalent characterizations of Hopf…
Let E be a Frobenius category, let_E_ denote its stable category. The shift functor on_E_ induces a first shift functor on the category of acyclic complexes with entries in_E_ by pointwise application. Shifting a complex by 3 positions yields a second shift functor on this category. Passing to the quotient modulo split acyclic complexes, Heller remarked that these two shift functors become isomorphic, via an isomorphism satisfying still a further compatibility. Moreover, Heller remarked that a choice of such an isomorphism determines a triangulation on_E_, except for the octahedral axiom. We g…
We study unitary pseudonatural transformations (UPTs) between fibre functors Rep(G) -> Hilb, where G is a compact quantum group. For fibre functors F_1, F_2 we show that the category of UPTs F_1 -> F_2 and modifications is isomorphic to the category of finite-dimensional *-representations of the corresponding bi-Hopf-Galois object. We give a constructive classification of fibre functors accessible by a UPT from the canonical fibre functor, as well as UPTs themselves, in terms of Frobenius algebras in the category Rep(A_G), where A_G is the Hopf *-algebra dual to the compact quantum group. As a…
Let $\mathcal C$ be a category with finite colimits, writing its coproduct $+$, and let $(\mathcal D, \otimes)$ be a braided monoidal category. We describe a method of producing a symmetric monoidal category from a lax braided monoidal functor $F: (\mathcal C,+) \to (\mathcal D, \otimes)$, and of producing a strong monoidal functor between such categories from a monoidal natural transformation between such functors. The objects of these categories, our so-called `decorated cospan categories', are simply the objects of $\mathcal C$, while the morphisms are pairs comprising a cospan $X \rightarr…
We study Serre structures on categories enriched in pivotal monoidal categories, and apply this to study Serre structures on two types of graded k-linear categories: categories with group actions and categories with graded hom spaces. We check that Serre structures are preserved by taking orbit categories and skew group categories, and describe the relationship with graded Frobenius algebras. Using a formal version of Auslander-Reiten translations, we show that the derived category of a d-representation finite algebra is fractionally Calabi-Yau if and only if its preprojective algebra has a gr…
In this paper, we introduce the notion of the pivotal cover $\mathcal{C}^{\mathsf{piv}}$ of a left rigid monoidal category $\mathcal{C}$ to develop a theoretical foundation for the theory of Frobenius-Schur (FS) indicators in "non-pivotal" settings. For an object $\mathbf{V} \in \mathcal{C}^{\mathsf{piv}}$, the $(n, r)$-th FS indicator $ν_{n, r}(\mathbf{V})$ is defined by generalizing that of an object of a pivotal monoidal category. This notion gives a categorical viewpoint to some recent results on generalizations of FS indicators. Based on our framework, we also study the FS indicators of t…
We study properties of symmetric fusion categories in characteristic $p$. In particular, we introduce the notion of a super Frobenius-Perron dimension of an object $X$ of such a category, and derive an explicit formula for the Verlinde fiber functor $F(X)$ of $X$ (defined by the second author) in terms of the usual and super Frobenius-Perron dimension of $X$. We also compute the decomposition of symmetric powers of objects of the Verlinde category, generalizing a classical formula of Cayley and Sylvester for invariants of binary forms. Finally, we show that the Verlinde fiber functor is unique…
Compact closed categories have found applications in modeling quantum information protocols by Abramsky-Coecke. They also provide semantics for Lambek's pregroup algebras, applied to formalizing the grammatical structure of natural language, and are implicit in a distributional model of word meaning based on vector spaces. Specifically, in previous work Coecke-Clark-Sadrzadeh used the product category of pregroups with vector spaces and provided a distributional model of meaning for sentences. We recast this theory in terms of strongly monoidal functors and advance it via Frobenius algebras ov…
We introduce a variant on the graphical calculus of Cockett and Seely for monoidal functors and illustrate it with a discussion of Tannaka reconstruction, some of which is known and some of which is new. The new portion is: given a separable Frobenius functor F: A --> B from a monoidal category A to a suitably complete or cocomplete braided autonomous category B, the usual formula for Tannaka reconstruction gives a weak bialgebra in B; if, moreover, A is autonomous, this weak bialgebra is in fact a weak Hopf algebra.
We study the question of the existence of a Waldhausen category on any (relative) abelian category in which the contractible objects are the (relatively) projective objects. The associated $K$-theory groups are "stable algebraic $G$-theory," which in degree zero form a certain stable representation group. We prove both some existence and nonexistence results about such Waldhausen category structures, including the fact that, while it was known that the category of $R$-modules admits a model category structure if $R$ is quasi-Frobenius, that assumption is required even to get a Waldhausen categ…
We develop further the theory of weak factorization systems and algebraic weak factorization systems. In particular, we give a method for constructing (algebraic) weak factorization systems whose right maps can be thought of as (uniform) fibrations and that satisfy the (functorial) Frobenius condition. As applications, we obtain a new proof that the Quillen model structure for Kan complexes is right proper, avoiding entirely the use of topological realization and minimal fibrations, and we solve an open problem in the study of Voevodsky's simplicial model of type theory, proving a constructive…