For a small quantaloid $\mathcal{Q}$, we consider 2-monads on the 2-category $\mathcal{Q}$-$\bf{Cat}$ and their lax extensions to the 2-category $\mathcal{Q}$-$\bf{Dist}$ of small $\mathcal{Q}$-categories and their distributors, in particular those lax extensions that are flat, in the sense that they map identity distributors to identity distributors. In fact, unlike in the discrete case, a 2-monad on $\mathcal{Q}$-$\bf{Cat}$ may admit only one flat lax extension. Every ordinary monad on the comma category $\bf{Set}/{\rm ob}\mathcal{Q}$ with a lax extension to $\mathcal{Q}$-$\bf{Rel}$ gives rise to such a 2-monad on $\mathcal{Q}$-$\bf{Cat}$, and we describe this process globally as a coreflective embedding. The $\mathcal{Q}$-presheaf and the double $\mathcal{Q}$-presheaf monads are important examples of 2-monads on $\mathcal{Q}$-$\bf{Cat}$ allowing flat lax extensions to $\mathcal{Q}$-$\bf{Dist}$, and so are their submonads, obtained by the restriction to conical (co)presheaves and known as the $\mathcal{Q}$-Hausdorff and double $\mathcal{Q}$-Hausdorff monads, which we define here in full generality, thus generalizing some previous work in the case when $\mathcal{Q}$ is a quantale, or just the "metric" quantale $[0,\infty]$. Their discretization leads naturally to various lax extensions of the relevant $\bf{Set}$-monads used in monoidal topology.
In this work, we describe an adjunction between the comma category of SET-based monads under the V-powerset monad and the category of associative lax extensions of SET-based monads to the category of V-relations. In the process, we give a general construction of the Kleisli extension of a monad to the category of V-relations.
Generalized multicategories, also called $T$-monoids, are well known class of mathematical structures, which include diverse set of examples. In this paper we construct a generalization of the adjunction between strict monoidal categories and multicategories, where the latter are replaced by $T$-monoids. To do this we introduce lax monads in a 3-category, and establish their relationship with equipments, which are bicategory like structures appropriate for the generalized multicategory theory.
Generalized operads, also called generalized multicategories and $T$-monoids, are defined as monads within a Kleisli bicategory. With or without emphasizing their monoidal nature, generalized operads have been considered by numerous authors in different contexts, with examples including symmetric multicategories, topological spaces, globular operads and Lawvere theories. In this paper we study functoriality of the Kleisli construction, and correspondingly that of generalized operads. Motivated by this problem we develop a lax version of the formal theory of monads, and study its connection to …
We use the general notion of 2-dimensional adjunction with given coherence equations as introduced by MacDonald-Stone, building on earlier work by Gray, to derive coherence equations for a general 2-monad, which we refer to as a lax-Gray monad. The free lax-Gray 2-monad on one object may be regarded as the suspension of a lax 2-dimensional analogue of the simplicial category Delta. We call this analogue Delta LG for lax-Gray Delta. This is analogous to the way that the free 1-monad Mnd (as presented in Schanuel-Street) is a concrete example of the suspension of the simplicial category Delta, d…
For a quantaloid $\mathcal{Q}$, considered as a bicategory, Walters introduced categories enriched in $\mathcal{Q}$. Here we extend the study of monad-quantale-enriched categories of the past fifteen years by introducing monad-quantaloid-enriched categories. We do so by making lax distributive laws of a monad $\mathbb{T}$ over the discrete presheaf monad of the small quantaloid $\mathcal{Q}$ the primary data of the theory, rather than the lax monad extensions of $\mathbb{T}$ to the category of $\mathcal{Q}$-relations that they equivalently describe. The central piece of the paper establishes a…
We give a 3-categorical, purely formal argument explaining why on the category of Kleisli algebras for a lax monoidal monad, and dually on the category of Eilenberg-Moore algebras for an oplax monoidal monad, we always have a natural monoidal structures. The key observation is that the 2-category of lax monoidal monads in any 2-category D with finite products is isomorphic to the 2-category of monoidal objects with oplax morphisms in the 2-category of monads with lax morphisms in D. As we explain at the end of the paper a similar phenomenon occurs in many other situations.
Monads are well known to be equivalent to lax functors out of the terminal category. Morita contexts are here shown to be lax functors out of the chaotic category with two objects. This allows various aspects in the theory of Morita contexts to be seen as special cases of general results about lax functors. The account we give of this could serve as an introduction to lax functors for those familiar with the theory of monads. We also prove some very general results along these lines relative to a given 2-comonad, with the classical case of ordinary monad theory amounting to the case of the ide…
We use the basic expected properties of the Gray tensor product of $(\infty,2)$-categories to study (co)lax natural transformations. Using results of Riehl-Verity and Zaganidis we identify lax transformations between adjunctions and monads with commutative squares of (monadic) right adjoints. We also identify the colax transformations whose components are equivalences (generalizing the "icons" of Lack) with the 2-morphisms that arise from viewing $(\infty,2)$-categories as simplicial $\infty$-categories. Using this characterization we identify the $\infty$-category of monads on a fixed object …
For a small quantaloid $\mathcal{Q}$ we consider four fundamental 2-monads $\mathbb{T}$ on $\mathcal{Q}\text{-}{\bf Cat}$, given by the presheaf 2-monad $\mathbb{P}$ and the copresheaf 2-monad $\mathbb{P}^{\dagger}$, as well as by their two composite 2-monads, and establish that they all laxly distribute over $\mathbb{P}$. These four 2-monads therefore admit lax extensions to the category $\mathcal{Q}\text{-}{\bf Dist}$ of $\mathcal{Q}$-categories and their distributors. We characterize the corresponding $(\mathbb{T},\mathcal{Q})$-categories in each of the four cases, leading us to both known …
We give a definition of weak morphism of $T$-algebras, for a $2$-monad $T$, with respect to an arbitrary family $Ω$ of $2$-cells of the base $2$-category. By considering particular choices of $Ω$, we recover the concepts of lax, pseudo and strict morphisms of $T$-algebras. We give a general notion of weak limit, and define what it means for such a limit to be compatible with another family of $2$-cells. These concepts allow us to prove a limit lifting theorem which unifies and generalizes three different previously known results of $2$-dimensional monad theory. Explicitly, by considering the t…
We introduce the notion of a lax monoidal fibration and we show how it can be conveniently used to deal with various algebraic structures that play an important role in some definitions of the opetopic sets (Baez-Dolan, Hermida-Makkai-Power). We present the 'standard' such structures, the exponential fibrations of basic fibrations and three areas of applications. First area is related to the T-categories of A. Burroni. The monoids in the Burroni lax monoidal fibrations form the fibration of T-categories. The construction of the relative Burroni fibrations and free T-categories in this context,…
This paper introduces lax orthogonal algebraic weak factorisation systems on 2-categories and describes a method of constructing them. This method rests in the notion of simple 2-monad, that is a generalisation of the simple reflections studied by Cassidy, Hébert and Kelly. Each simple 2-monad on a finitely complete 2-category gives rise to a lax orthogonal algebraic weak factorisation system, and an example of a simple 2-monad is given by completion under a class of colimits. The notions of KZ lifting operation, lax natural lifting operation and lax orthogonality between morphisms are studied…
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.
Using the language of double categories we generalise a classical result on finite-product-preserving left Kan extensions, by Adámek and Rosický, to one on left Kan extensions that preserve algebraic structures defined by `suitable' colax-idempotent 2-monads, as well as obtain two related results. To be precise, by `suitable' 2-monads here we mean ones that extend to normal lax double monads. In an appendix we consider induced algebra structures on presheaf objects.
We prove an equivalence between cocomplete Yoneda structures and certain proarrow equipments on a 2-category $\mathcal K$. In order to do this, we recognize the presheaf construction of a cocomplete Yoneda structure as a relative, lax idempotent monad sending each admissible 1-cell $f :A \to B$ to an adjunction $\boldsymbol{P}_!f\dashv\boldsymbol{P}^*f$. Each cocomplete Yoneda structure on $\mathcal K$ arises in this way from a relative lax idempotent monad "with enough adjoint 1-cells", whose domain generates the ideal of admissibles, and the Kleisli category of such a monad equips its domain…
In this mainly expository note, we state a criterion for when a left Kan extension of a lax monoidal functor along a strong monoidal functor can itself be equipped with a lax monoidal structure, in a way that results in a left Kan extension in MonCat. This belongs to the general theory of algebraic Kan extensions, as developed by Melliès-Tabareau, Koudenburg and Weber, and is very close to an instance of a theorem of Koudenburg. We find this special case particularly important due to its connections with the theory of graded monads.
The fundamental construction underlying descent theory, the lax descent category, comes with a functor that forgets the descent data. We prove that, in any $2$-category $\mathfrak{A} $ with lax descent objects, the forgetful morphisms create all Kan extensions that are preserved by certain morphisms. As a consequence, in the case $\mathfrak{A} = \mathsf{Cat} $, we get a monadicity theorem which says that a right adjoint functor is monadic if and only if it is, up to the composition with an equivalence, (naturally isomorphic to) a functor that forgets descent data. In particular, within the cla…
Given a 2-category $\twocat{K}$ admitting a calculus of bimodules, and a 2-monad T on it compatible with such calculus, we construct a 2-category $\twocat{L}$ with a 2-monad S on it such that: (1)S has the adjoint-pseudo-algebra property. (2)The 2-categories of pseudo-algebras of S and T are equivalent. Thus, coherent structures (pseudo-T-algebras) are transformed into universally characterised ones (adjoint-pseudo-S-algebras). The 2-category $\twocat{L}$ consists of lax algebras for the pseudo-monad induced by T on the bicategory of bimodules of $\twocat{K}$. We give an intrinsic characterisa…
We study limits in 2-categories whose objects are categories with extra structure and whose morphisms are functors preserving the structure only up to a coherent comparison map, which may or may not be required to be invertible. This is done using the framework of 2-monads. In order to characterize the limits which exist in this context, we need to consider also the functors which do strictly preserve the extra structure. We show how such a 2-category of weak morphisms which is "enhanced", by specifying which of these weak morphisms are actually strict, can be thought of as category enriched o…
Monads are a useful tool for structuring effectful features of computation such as state, non-determinism, and continuations. In the last decade, several generalisations of monads have been suggested which provide a more fine-grained model of effects by replacing the single type constructor of a monad with an indexed family of constructors. Most notably, graded monads (indexed by a monoid) model effect systems and parameterised monads (indexed by pairs of pre- and post-conditions) model program logics. This paper studies the relationship between these two generalisations of monads via a third …
Lax monoidal powerset-enriched monads yield a monoidal structure on the category of monoids in the Kleisli category of a monad. Exponentiable objects in this category are identified as those Kleisli monoids with algebraic structure. This result generalizes the classical identification of exponentiable topological spaces as those whose lattice of open subsets forms a continuous lattice.
By the biadjoint triangle theorem, given a pseudomonad $\mathcal{T} $ on a $2$-category $\mathfrak{B} $, if a right biadjoint $\mathfrak{A}\to\mathfrak{B} $ has a lifting to the pseudoalgebras $\mathfrak{A}\to\mathsf{Ps}\textrm{-}\mathcal{T}\textrm{-}\mathsf{Alg} $ then this lifting is also right biadjoint provided that $\mathfrak{A} $ has codescent objects. In this paper, we give general results on lifting of biadjoints. As a consequence, we get a \textit{biadjoint triangle theorem} which, in particular, allows us to study triangles involving the $2$-category of lax algebras, proving analogue…
We determine the existential completion of a primary doctrine, and we prove that the 2-monad obtained from it is lax-idempotent, and that the 2-category of existential doctrines is isomorphic to the 2-category of algebras for this 2-monad. We also show that the existential completion of an elementary doctrine is again elementary. Finally we extend the notion of exact completion of an elementary existential doctrine to an arbitrary elementary doctrine.
We define and study a probability monad on the category of complete metric spaces and short maps. It assigns to each space the space of Radon probability measures on it with finite first moment, equipped with the Kantorovich-Wasserstein distance. This monad is analogous to the Giry monad on the category of Polish spaces, and it extends a construction due to van Breugel for compact and for 1-bounded complete metric spaces. We prove that this Kantorovich monad arises from a colimit construction on finite power-like constructions, which formalizes the intuition that probability measures are limit…
Fix a monoidal category C. The 2-category of monads in the 2-category of C-actegories, colax C-equivarant functors, and C-equivariant natural transformations of colax functors, may be recast in terms of pairs consisting of a usual monad and a distributive law between the monad and the action of C, morphisms of monads respecting the distributive law, and transformations of monads satisfying some compatibility with the actions and distributive laws involved. The monads in this picture may be generalized to actions of monoidal categories, and actions of PRO-s in particular. If C is a PRO as well,…
We give a framework for combining $n$ monads on the same category via distributive laws satisfying Yang-Baxter equations, extending the classical result of Barr and Wells which combines two monads via one distributive law. We show that this corresponds to iterating $n$-times the process of taking the 2-category of monads in a 2-category, extending the result of Street characterising distributive laws. We show that this framework can be used to construct the free strict $n$-category monad on $n$-dimensional globular sets; we first construct for each $i$ a monad for composition along bounding $i…
We study Kan extensions in three weakenings of the Eilenberg-Moore double category associated to a double monad, that was introduced by Grandis and Paré. To be precise, given a normal oplax double monad $T$ on a double category $\mathcal K$, we consider the double categories consisting of pseudo $T$-algebras, `weak' vertical $T$-morphisms, horizontal $T$-morphisms and $T$-cells, where `weak' means either `lax', `colax' or `pseudo'. Denoting these double categories by $\mathsf{Alg}_w T$, where w = l, c or ps accordingly, our main result gives, in each of these cases, conditions ensuring that (p…
In this article, the author analyses distributive and mixed distributive laws and some of their equivalences through the use of 2-adjunctions of the type $\Adj$-$\Mnd$. As far as the distributive laws are concerned, the equivalence between this structures and monads objects in the 2-category $\Adj_{\R}(Cat)$ is analysed, where these monad objects will correspond to liftings to the category of algebras of Eilenberg-Moore. Second, the equivalence between these structures and a pair consisting of a Eilenberg-Moore lifting and a Kleisli extension is analysed too, according to E. Manes and P. Mulry…
In this article we extend the theory of lax monoidal structures, also known as multitensors, and the monads on categories of enriched graphs that they give rise to. Our first principal result -- the lifting theorem for multitensors -- enables us to see the Gray tensor product of 2-categories and the Crans tensor product of Gray categories as part of this framework. We define weak n-categories with strict units by means of a notion of reduced higher operad, using the theory of algebraic weak factorisation systems. Our second principal result is to establish a lax tensor product on the category …
We introduce Hopf polyads in order to unify Hopf monads and group actions on monoidal categories. A polyad is a lax functor from a small category (its source) to the bicategory of categories, and a Hopf polyad is a comonoidal polyad whose fusion operators are invertible. The main result states that the lift of a Hopf polyad is a strong (co)monoidal action-type polyad (or strong monoidal pseudofunctor). The lift of a polyad is a new polyad having simpler structure but the same category of modules. We show that, under certain assumptions, a Hopf polyad can be `wrapped up' into a Hopf monad. This…
We associate, in a functorial way, a monoidal bicategory $\mathsf{Span}| \mathcal V$ to any monoidal bicategory $\mathcal V$. Two examples of this construction are of particular interest: Hopf polyads (due to Bruguières) can be seen as Hopf monads in $\mathsf{Span}| \mathsf{Cat}$ while Hopf group monoids in a braided monoidal category $V$ (in the spirit of Turaev and Zunino), and Hopf categories over $V$ (by Batista, Caenepeel and Vercruysse) both turn out to be Hopf monads in $\mathsf{Span}| V$. Hopf group monoids and Hopf categories are Hopf monads on a distinguished type of monoidales fitti…
The Vietoris monad on the category of compact Hausdorff spaces is a topological analogue of the power-set monad on the category of sets. Exploiting Manes' characterisation of the compact Hausdorff spaces as algebras for the ultrafilter monad on sets, we give precise form to the above analogy by exhibiting the Vietoris monad as induced by a weak distributive law, in the sense of Böhm, of the power-set monad over the ultrafilter monad.
This paper focus on the presheaf monad and its submonads on the realm of $V$-categories, for a quantale $V$. First we present two characterisations of presheaf submonads, both using $V$-distributors: one based on admissible classes of $V$-distributors, and other using Beck-Chevalley conditions on $V$-distributors. Then we focus on the study of the corresponding Eilenberg-Moore categories of algebras, having as main examples the formal ball monad and the so-called Lawvere monad.
We give a general categorical construction that yields several monads of measures and distributions as special cases, alongside several monads of filters. The construction takes place within a categorical setting for generalized functional analysis, called a $\textit{functional-analytic context}$, formulated in terms of a given monad or algebraic theory $\mathcal{T}$ enriched in a closed category $\mathcal{V}$. By employing the notion of $\textit{commutant}$ for enriched algebraic theories and monads, we define the $\textit{functional distribution monad}$ associated to a given functional-analy…
