We introduce the notion of a monoidal category enriched in a braided monoidal category $\mathcal V$. We set up the basic theory, and prove a classification result in terms of braided oplax monoidal functors to the Drinfeld center of some monoidal category $\mathcal T$.
Even the basic theory is interesting; it shares many characteristics with the theory of monoidal categories enriched in a symmetric monoidal category, but lacks some features. Of particular note, there is no cartesian product of braided-enriched categories, and the natural transformations do not form a 2-category, but rather satisfy a braided interchange relation.
Strikingly, our classification is slightly more general than what one might have anticipated in terms of strong monoidal functors $\mathcal V \to Z(\mathcal T)$. We would like to understand this further; in a future paper we show that the functor is strong if and only if the enriched category is `complete' in a certain sense. Nevertheless it remains to understand what non-complete enriched categories may look like.
One should think of our construction as a generalization of de-equivariantization, which takes a strong monoidal functor $\mathsf{Rep}(G) \to Z(\mathcal T)$ for some finite group $G$ and a monoidal category $\mathcal T$, and produces a new monoidal category $\mathcal T // G$. In our setting, given any braided oplax monoidal functor $\mathcal V \to Z(\mathcal T)$, for any braided $\mathcal V$, we produce $\mathcal T // \mathcal V$: this is not usually an `honest' monoidal category, but is instead $\mathcal V$-enriched. If $\mathcal V$ has a braided lax monoidal functor to $\mathsf{Vec}$, we can use this to reduce the enrichment to $\mathsf{Vec}$, and this recovers de-equivariantization as a special case.
Multiplier bimonoids (or bialgebras) in arbitrary braided monoidal categories are defined. They are shown to possess monoidal categories of comodules and modules. These facts are explained by the structures carried by their induced functors.
We construct an equivalence between the 2-categories VMonCat of rigid V-monoidal categories for a braided monoidal category V and VModTens of oplax braided functors from V into the Drinfeld centers of ordinary rigid monoidal categories. The 1-cells in each are the respective lax monoidal functors, and the 2-cells are the respective monoidal natural transformations. Our proof also gives an equivalence in the case that we consider only strong monoidal 1-cells on both sides. The 2-categories VMonCat and VModTens have G-graded analogues. We also get an equivalence of 2-categories between G-extensi…
Braided-enriched monoidal categories were introduced in work of Morrison-Penneys, where they were characterized using braided central functors. Recent work of Kong-Yuan-Zhang-Zheng and Dell extended this characterization to an equivalence of 2-categories. Since their introduction, braided-enriched fusion categories have been used to describe certain phenomena in topologically ordered systems in theoretical condensed matter physics. While these systems are unitary, there was previously no general notion of unitarity for enriched categories in the literature. We supply the notion of unitarity fo…
We develop the theory of weak bimonoids in braided monoidal categories and show them to be quantum categories in a certain sense. Weak Hopf monoids are shown to be quantum groupoids. Each separable Frobenius monoid R leads to a weak Hopf monoid R \otimes R.
Monoidal categories enriched in a braided monoidal category $\mathcal{V}$ are classified by braided oplax monoidal functors from $\mathcal{V}$ to the Drinfeld centers of ordinary monoidal categories. In this article, we prove that this classifying functor is strongly monoidal if and only if the original $\mathcal{V}$-monoidal category is tensored over $\mathcal{V}$. We then define a completion operation which produces a tensored $\mathcal{V}$-monoidal category $\overline{\mathcal{C}}$ from an arbitrary $\mathcal{V}$-monoidal category $\mathcal{C}$, and we determine many equivalent conditions w…
In this paper we introduce the notion of weak operator and the theory of Yetter-Drinfeld modules over a weak braided Hopf algebra with invertible antipode in a strict monoidal category. We prove that the class of such objects constitutes a non strict monoidal category. It is also shown that this category is not trivial, that is to say that it admits objects generated by the adjoint action (coaction) associated to the weak braided Hopf algebra.
We prove a coherence theorem for braided monoidal bicategories and relate it to the coherence theorem for monoidal bicategories. We show how coherence for these structures can be interpretted topologically using up-to-homotopy operad actions and the algebraic classification of surface braids.
We describe a class of examples of braided monoidal categories which are built from Hopf algebras in symmetric categories. The construction is motivated by a calculation in two-dimensional conformal field theory and is tailored to contain the braided monoidal categories occurring in the study of the Ising model, their generalisation to Tamabara-Yamagami categories, and categories occurring for symplectic fermions.
We start from any small strict monoidal braided Ab-category and extend it to a monoidal nonstrict braided Ab-category which contains braided bialgebras. The objects of the original category turn out to be modules for these bialgebras
We show that the word problem for braided monoidal categories is at least as hard as the unknotting problem. As a corollary, so is the word problem for Gray categories. We conjecture that the word problem for Gray categories is decidable.
In this paper, we state and prove precise theorems on the classification of the category of (braided) categorical groups and their (braided) monoidal functors, and some applications obtained from the basic studies on monoidal functors between categorical groups.
The centre of a monoidal category is a braided monoidal category. Monoidal categories are monoidal objects (or pseudomonoids) in the monoidal bicategory of categories. This paper provides a universal construction in a braided monoidal bicategory that produces a braided monoidal object from any monoidal object. Some properties and sufficient conditions for existence of the construction are examined.
Thomason's Homotopy Colimit Theorem has been extended to bicategories and this extension can be adapted, through the delooping principle, to a corresponding theorem for diagrams of monoidal categories. In this version, we show that the homotopy type of the diagram can be also represented by a genuine simplicial set nerve associated with it. This suggests the study of a homotopy colimit theorem, for diagrams $\b$ of braided monoidal categories, by means of a simplicial set {\em nerve of the diagram}. We prove that it is weak homotopy equivalent to the homotopy colimit of the diagram, of simplic…
Braided bialgebras of type one in abelian braided monoidal categories are characterized as braided graded bialgebras which are strongly $\mathbb{N}$-graded both as an algebra and as a coalgebra.
We show that the homotopy colimit construction for diagrams of categories with an operad action, recently introduced by Fiedorowicz, Stelzer and Vogt, has the desired homotopy type for diagrams of weak braided monoidal categories. This provides a more flexible way to realize E-2 spaces categorically.
We give an alternative presentation of braided monoidal categories. Instead of the usual associativity and braiding we have just one constraint (the b-structure). In the unital case, the coherence conditions for a b-structure are shown to be equivalent to the usual associativity, unit and braiding axioms. We also discuss the next dimensional version, that is, b-structures on bicategories. As an application, we show how special b-categories result in the Yang-Baxter equation, and how special b-bicategories produce Zamolodchikov's tetrahedron equation. Finally, we define a cohomology theory (the…
Based on the novel notion of `weakly counital fusion morphism', regular weak multiplier bimonoids in braided monoidal categories are introduced. They generalize weak multiplier bialgebras over fields and multiplier bimonoids in braided monoidal categories. Under some assumptions the so-called base object of a regular weak multiplier bimonoid is shown to carry a coseparable comonoid structure; hence to possess a monoidal category of bicomodules. In this case, appropriately defined modules over a regular weak multiplier bimonoid are proven to constitute a monoidal category with a strict monoidal…
We study semi-strict tricategories in which the only weakness is in vertical composition. We construct these as categories enriched in the category of bicategories with strict functors, with respect to the cartesian monoidal structure. As these are a form of tricategory it follows that doubly-degenerate ones are braided monoidal categories. We show that this form of semi-strict tricategory is weak enough to produce all braided monoidal categories. That is, given any braided monoidal category $B$ there is a doubly-degenerate ``vertically weak'' semi-strict tricategory whose associated braided m…
We develop the Witt group for certain braided monoidal categories with duality. In case of a braided fusion category over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero, we explicitly describe this structure. We then use this description to prove that this tool provides an invariant for finite isocategorical groups. As an application, we show that all groups of order less than 64 are categorically rigid.
We introduce the notion of a braiding on a skew monoidal category, whose curious feature is that the defining isomorphisms involve three objects rather than two. These braidings are shown to arise from, and classify, cobraidings (also known as coquasitriangular structures) on bialgebras. Using a multicategorical approach we also describe examples of braidings on skew monoidal categories arising from 2-category theory.
We provide explicit and unified formulae for the normalized 3-cocycles on arbitrary finite abelian groups. As an application, we compute all the braided monoidal structures on linear Gr-categories.
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…
The chiral conformal field theory of free super-bosons is generated by weight one currents whose mode algebra is the affinisation of an abelian Lie super-algebra h with non-degenerate super-symmetric pairing. The mode algebras of a single free boson and of a single pair of symplectic fermions arise for even|odd dimension 1|0 and 0|2 of h, respectively. In this paper, the representations of the untwisted mode algebra of free super-bosons are equipped with a tensor product, a braiding, and an associator. In the symplectic fermion case, i.e. if h is purely odd, the braided monoidal structure is e…
We define a notion of category enriched over an oplax monoidal category $V$, extending the usual definition of category enriched over a monoidal category. Even though oplax monoidal structures involve infinitely many functors $V^n\to V$, defining categories enriched over $V$ only requires the lower arity maps $(n \leq 3)$, similarly to the monoidal case. The focal point of the enrichment theory shifts, in the oplax case, from the notion of $V$-category (given by collections of objects and hom-objects together with composition and unit maps) to the one of categories enriched over $V$ (genuine c…
For a braided fusion category $\mathcal{V}$, a $\mathcal{V}$-fusion category is a fusion category $\mathcal{C}$ equipped with a braided monoidal functor $\mathcal{F}:\mathcal{V} \to Z(\mathcal{C})$. Given a fixed $\mathcal{V}$-fusion category $(\mathcal{C}, \mathcal{F})$ and a fixed $G$-graded extension $\mathcal{C}\subseteq \mathcal{D}$ as an ordinary fusion category, we characterize the enrichments $\widetilde{\mathcal{F}}:\mathcal{V} \to Z(\mathcal{D})$ of $\mathcal{D}$ which are compatible with the enrichment of $\mathcal{C}$. We show that G-crossed extensions of a braided fusion category …
We show that, under some mild conditions, a bialgebra in an abelian and coabelian braided monoidal category has a weak projection onto a formally smooth (as a coalgebra) sub-bialgebra with antipode; see Theorem 1.12. In the second part of the paper we prove that bialgebras with weak projections are cross product bialgebras; see Theorem 2.12. In the particular case when the bialgebra $A$ is cocommutative and a certain cocycle associated to the weak projection is trivial we prove that $A$ is a double cross product, or biproduct in Madjid's terminology. The last result is based on a universal pro…
Given a category with a bifunctor and natural isomorphisms for associativity, commutativity and left and right identity we do not assume that extra constraining diagrams hold. We introduce groupoids of coupling trees to describe a version of coherence that is weaker than the usual notion of monoidal coherence.
We classify various types of graded extensions of a finite braided tensor category $\cal B$ in terms of its $2$-categorical Picard groups. In particular, we prove that braided extensions of $\cal B$ by a finite group $A$ correspond to braided monoidal $2$-functors from $A$ to the braided $2$-categorical Picard group of $\cal B$ (consisting of invertible central $\cal B$-module categories). Such functors can be expressed in terms of the Eilnberg-Mac~Lane cohomology. We describe in detail braided $2$-categorical Picard groups of symmetric fusion categories and of pointed braided fusion categorie…
Joyal and Street note in their paper on braided monoidal categories [Braided tensor categories, Advances in Math. 102(1993) 20-78] that the 2-category V-Cat of categories enriched over a braided monoidal category V is not itself braided in any way that is based upon the braiding of V. The exception that they mention is the case in which V is symmetric, which leads to V-Cat being symmetric as well. The symmetry in V-Cat is based upon the symmetry of V. The motivation behind this paper is in part to describe how these facts relating V and V-Cat are in turn related to a categorical analogue of to…
In this paper we investigate the categories of braided objects, algebras and bialgebras in a given monoidal category, some pairs of adjoint functors between them and their relations. In particular we construct a braided primitive functor and its left adjoint, the braided tensor bialgebra functor, from the category of braided objects to the one of braided bialgebras. The latter is obtained by a specific elaborated construction introducing a braided tensor algebra functor as a left adjoint of the forgetful functor from the category of braided algebras to the one of braided objects. The behaviour…
This work contributes to clarifying several relationships between certain higher categorical structures and the homotopy type of their classifying spaces. Bicategories (in particular monoidal categories) have well understood simple geometric realizations, and we here deal with homotopy types represented by lax diagrams of bicategories, that is, lax functors to the tricategory of bicategories. In this paper, it is proven that, when a certain bicategorical Grothendieck construction is performed on a lax diagram of bicategories, then the classifying space of the resulting bicategory can be though…
For a monoidal $\infty$-category $\mathcal{M}$ with colimits, we study colimits of $\mathcal{M}$-functors $\mathcal{A}\to\mathcal{B}$ where $\mathcal{B}$ is left-tensored over $\mathcal{M}$ and $\mathcal{A}$ is an $\mathcal{M}$-enriched category. We prove that the enriched Yoneda embedding $Y:\mathcal{A}\to P_{\mathcal{M}}(\mathcal{A})$ yields a universal $\mathcal{M}$-functor and, in the case when $\mathcal{A}$ has a certain monoidal structure, the category of enriched presheaves $P_{\mathcal{M}}(\mathcal{A})$ inherits the same monoidal structure.
We define the Drinfeld center of a monoidal category enriched over a braided monoidal category, and show that every modular tensor category can be realized in a canonical way as the Drinfeld center of a self-enriched monoidal category. We also give a generalization of this result for important applications in physics.
We introduce and study Hopf monads on autonomous categories (i.e., monoidal categories with duals). Hopf monads generalize Hopf algebras to a non-braided (and non-linear) setting. Indeed, any monoidal adjunction between autonomous categories gives rise to a Hopf monad. We extend many fundamental results of the theory of Hopf algebras (such as the decomposition of Hopf modules, the existence of integrals, Maschke's criterium of semisimplicity, etc...) to Hopf monads. We also introduce and study quasitriangular and ribbon Hopf monads (again defined in a non-braided setting).
We study integrals of Hopf monoids in duoidal endohom categories of naturally Frobenius map monoidales in monoidal bicategories. We prove two Maschke type theorems, relating the separability of the underlying monoid and comonoid, respectively, to the existence of normalized integrals. It covers the examples provided by Hopf monoids in braided monoidal categories, weak Hopf algebras, Hopf algebroids over central base algebras, Hopf monads on autonomous monoidal categories and Hopf categories.
We introduce, for a symmetric fusion category $\mathcal{A}$ with Drinfeld centre $\mathcal{Z}(\mathcal{A})$, the notion of $\mathcal{Z}(\mathcal{A})$-crossed braided tensor category. These are categories that are enriched over $\mathcal{Z}(\mathcal{A})$ equipped with a symmetric tensor product, while being braided monoidal with respect to the usual tensor product on $\mathcal{Z}(\mathcal{A})$. In the Tannakian case where $\mathcal{A}=\mathbf{Rep}(G)$ for a finite group $G$, the 2-category of $\mathcal{Z}(\mathcal{A})$-crossed braided categories is shown to be equivalent to the 2-category of $G…
We offer two proofs that categories weakly enriched over symmetric monoidal categories can be strictified to categories enriched in permutative categories. This is a "many 0-cells" version of the strictification of bimonoidal categories to strict ones.
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 define notions of pivotal and ribbon objects in a monoidal category. These constructions give pivotal or ribbon monoidal categories from a monoidal category which is not necessarily with duals. We apply this construction to the braided monoidal category of Yetter--Drinfeld modules over a Hopf algebra. This gives rise to the notion of ribbon Yetter--Drinfeld modules over a Hopf algebra, which form ribbon categories. This gives an invariant of tangles.
We describe (braided-)commutative algebras with non-degenerate multiplicative form in certain braided monoidal categories, corresponding to abelian metric Lie algebras (so-called Drinfeld categories). We also describe local modules over these algebras and classify commutative algebras with finite number of simple local modules.
The 2-category V-Cat of categories enriched over a braided monoidal category V is not itself braided in any way that is based upon the braiding of V. The exception is the case in which V is symmetric, which leads to V-Cat being symmetric as well. This paper describes how these facts are related to a categorical analogue of topological delooping. It seems that the analogy of loop spaces is a good guide for how to define the concept of enrichment over various types of monoidal objects, including k-fold monoidal categories and their higher dimensional counterparts. The main result is that for V a…
Usually a name of the category is inherited from the name of objects. However more relevant for a category of objects and morphisms is an algebra of morphisms. Therefore we prefer to say a category of graphs if every morphism is a graph. In a monoidal category every morphism can be seen as a graph, and a partial algebra of morphisms possesses a structure of an operad, operad of graphs. We consider a monoidal category of operad of graphs with underlying graphical calculus. If, in particular, there is a single generating objects, then each morphism is a bi-arity graph. The graphical calculus, mu…
Let $A$ be an algebra over a commutative ring $k$. It is known that the categories of non-commutative descent data, of comodules over the Sweedler canonical coring, of right $A$-modules with a flat connection are isomorphic as braided monoidal categories to the center of the category of $A$-bimodules. We prove that the braiding on these categories is unique if there exists a $k$-linear unitary map $E : A \to Z(A)$. This condition is satisfied if $k$ is a field or $A$ is a commutative or a separable algebra.
We introduce the notion of an oplax Hopf monoid in any braided monoidal bicategory, generalizing that of a Hopf monoid in a braided monoidal category in an appropriate way. We show that Hopf V-categories introduced in [BCV16] are a particular type of oplax Hopf monoids in the monoidal bicategory Span|V described in [Böh17]. Finally, we introduce Frobenius V-categories as the Frobenius objects in the same monoidal bicategory.
