The purpose of this dissertation is to set up a theory of generalized operads and multicategories, and to use it as a language in which to propose a definition of weak n-category. Included is a full explanation of why the proposed definition of n-category is a reasonable one, and of what happens when n=2. Generalized operads and multicategories play other parts in higher-dimensional algebra too, some of which are outlined here: for instance, they can be used to simplify the opetopic approach to n-categories expounded by Baez, Dolan and others, and are a natural language in which to discuss enrichment of categorical structures.
We prove, under mild assumptions, that a Quillen equivalence between symmetric monoidal model categories gives rise to a Quillen equivalence between their model categories of (non-symmetric) operads, and also between model categories of algebras over operads. We also show left properness results on model categories of operads and algebras over operads. As an application, we prove homotopy invariance for (unital) associative operads.
We introduce a category of locally constant $n$-operads which can be considered as the category of higher braided operads. For $n=1,2,\infty$ the homotopy category of locally constant $n$-operads is equivalent to the homotopy category of classical nonsymmetric, braided and symmetric operads correspondingly.
I describe a generalization of the notion of operadic category due to Batanin and Markl. For each such operadic category I describe a skew monoidal category of collections, such that a monoid in this skew monoidal category is precisely an operad over the operadic category. In fact I describe two skew monoidal categories with this property. The first has the feature that the operadic category can be recovered from the skew monoidal category of collections; the second has the feature that the right unit constraint is invertible. In the case of the operadic category S of finite sets and functions…
We present a general construction of the derived category of an algebra over an operad and establish its invariance properties. A central role is played by the enveloping operad of an algebra over an operad.
We present a homotopy theory for a weak version of modular operads whose compositions and contractions are only defined up to homotopy. This homotopy theory takes the form of a Quillen model structure on the collection of simplicial presheaves for a certain category of undirected graphs. This new category of undirected graphs, denoted $\mathbf{U}$, plays a similar role for modular operads that the dendroidal category $Ω$ plays for operads. We carefully study properties of $\mathbf{U}$, including the existence of certain factorization systems. Related structures, such as cyclic operads and stab…
We introduce twisted arrow categories of operads and of algebras over operads. Up to equivalence of categories, the simplex category $Δ$, Segal's category $Γ$, Connes cyclic category $Λ$, Moerdijk-Weiss dendroidal category $Ω$, and categories similar to graphical categories of Hackney-Robertson-Yau are twisted arrow categories of symmetric or cyclic operads. Twisted arrow categories of operads admit Segal presheaves and 2-Segal presheaves, or decomposition spaces. Twisted arrow category of an operad $P$ is the $(\infty, 1)$-localization of the corresponding category $Ω/P$ by the boundary prese…
We show that every action operad gives rise to a notion of monoidal category via the categorical version of the Borel construction, embedding action operads into the category of 2-monads on $\mathbf{Cat}$. We characterize those 2-monads in the image of this embedding, and as an example show that the theory of coboundary categories corresponds precisely to the operad of $n$-fruit cactus groups. We finally define $\mathbfΛ$-multicategories for an action operad $\mathbfΛ$, and show that they arise as monads in a Kleisli bicategory.
Batanin defines a weak $ω$-category as an algebra for a certain operad. Leinster refines this idea and defines the weak $ω$-category operad as the initial object of a category of "operads with contraction". We demonstrate how a higher category structure arises from this definition by explicitly constructing various composites, associativity and coherence laws, and an Eckmann-Hilton braiding.
We establish a Quillen equivalence relating the homotopy theory of Segal operads and the homotopy theory of simplicial operads, from which we deduce that the homotopy coherent nerve functor is a right Quillen equivalence from the model category of simplicial operads to the model category structure for infinity-operads on the category of dendroidal sets. By slicing over the monoidal unit, this also gives the Quillen equivalence between Segal categories and simplicial categories proved by J. Bergner, as well as the Quillen equivalence between quasi-categories and simplicial categories proved by …
We establish, by elementary means, the existence of a cofibrantly generated monoidal model structure on the category of operads. By slicing over a suitable operad the classical Rezk model structure on the category of small categories is recovered.
We decribe the correspondence between normalised $ω$-operads and certain lax monoidal structures on the category of globular sets. As with ordinary monoidal categories, one has a notion of category enriched in a lax monoidal category. Within the aforementioned correspondence, we provide also an equivalence between the algebras of a given normalised $ω$-operad, and categories enriched in globular sets for the induced lax monoidal structure.
We establish a highly flexible condition that guarantees that all colored symmetric operads in a symmetric monoidal model category are admissible, i.e., the category of algebras over any operad admits a model structure transferred from the original model category. We also give a necessary and sufficient criterion that ensures that a given weak equivalence of admissible operads admits rectification, i.e., the corresponding Quillen adjunction between the categories of algebras is a Quillen equivalence. In addition, we show that Quillen equivalences of underlying symmetric monoidal model categori…
We study a certain type of action of categories on categories and on operads. Using the structure of the categories Δ and Ω governing category and operad structures, respectively, we define categories which instead encode the structure of a category acting on a category, or a category acting on an operad. We prove that the former has the structure of an elegant Reedy category, whereas the latter has the structure of a generalized Reedy category. In particular, this approach gives a new way to regard group actions on categories and on operads.
A moment category is endowed with a distinguished set of split idempotents, called moments, which can be transported along morphisms. Equivalently, a moment category is a category with an active/inert factorisation system fulfilling two simple axioms. These axioms imply that the moments of a fixed object form a monoid, actually a left regular band. Each locally finite unital moment category defines a specific type of operad which records the combinatorics of partitioning moments into elementary ones. In this way the notions of symmetric, non-symmetric and $n$-operad correspond to unital moment…
The purpose of this paper is to study the derived category of simplicial multicategories with arbitrary sets of objects (also known as, colored operads in simplicial sets). Our main result is a derived Morita theory for operads-where we describe the derived mapping spaces between two multicategories P and Q in terms of the nerve of a certain category of P-Q-bimodules. As an application, we show that the derived category possesses internal Hom-objects.
We describe a category of undirected graphs which comes equipped with a faithful functor into the category of (colored) modular operads. The associated singular functor from modular operads to presheaves is fully faithful, and its essential image can be classified by a Segal condition. This theorem can be used to recover a related statement, due to André Joyal and Joachim Kock, concerning a larger category of undirected graphs whose functor to modular operads is not just faithful but also full.
We consider colored operads and their actions on categories. As a special example we construct a cobordism category with a colored operad action arising from oriented planar arc diagrams. This is used to construct an invariant of oriented tangle diagrams with values in the homotopy category attached to the cobordism category. Motivated by Bar-Natan's categorification of the Jones polynomial, it categorifies the quantum $sl_n$ quantum invariants and is adapted to the categorification of the $sl_n$ quantum invariants by Khovanov and Rozansky using matrix factorizations. We conjecture to exist th…
We extend the theory of d-categories, by providing an explicit description of the right mapping spaces of the d-homotopy category of an $\infty$-category. Using this description, we deduce an invariant $\infty$-categorical characterization of the d-homotopy category. We then proceed to develop an analogous theory of d-operads, which model $\infty$-operads with (d -1)-truncated multi-mapping spaces, and prove analogous results for them.
The goal of the present paper is to compare, in a precise way, two notions of operads up to homotopy which appear in the literature. Namely, we construct a functor from the category of strict unital homotopy colored operads to the category of infinity-operads. The former notion, that we make precise, is the operadic generalization of the notion of A-infinity-categories and the latter notion was defined by Moerdijk--Weiss in order to generalize the simplicial notion of infinity-category of Joyal--Lurie. This functor extends in two directions the simplicial nerve of Faonte--Lurie for A-infinity-…
We construct for every $\infty$-operad $\mathcal{O}^\otimes$ with certain finite limits new $\infty$-operads of spectrum objects and of commutative group objects in $\mathcal{O}$. We show that these are the universal stable resp. additive $\infty$-operads obtained from $\mathcal{O}^\otimes$. We deduce that for a stably (resp. additively) symmetric monoidal $\infty$-category $\mathcal{C}$ the Yoneda embedding factors through the $\infty$-category of exact, contravariant functors from $\mathcal{C}$ to the $\infty$-category of spectra (resp. connective spectra) and admits a certain multiplicative…
We prove that, under certain conditions, the model structure on a monoidal model category $\mathcal{V}$ can be transferred to a model structure on the category of $\mathcal{V}$-enriched coloured (symmetric) operads. As a particular case we recover the known model structure on simplicial operads.
We study the (\infty, 1)-category of autoequivalences of \infty-operads. Using techniques introduced by Toën, Lurie, and Barwick and Schommer-Pries, we prove that this (\infty, 1)-category is a contractible \infty-groupoid. Our calculation is based on the model of complete dendroidal Segal spaces introduced by Cisinski and Moerdijk. Similarly, we prove that the (\infty, 1)-category of autoequivalences of non-symmetric \infty-operads is the discrete monoidal category associated to Z/2Z. We also include a computation of the (\infty, 1)-category of autoequivalences of (\infty, n)-categories based…
Operads were originally defined as V-operads, that is, enriched in a symmetric or braided monoidal category V. The symmetry or braiding in V is required in order to describe the associativity axiom the operads must obey, as well as the associativity that must be a property of the action of an operad on any of its algebras. After a review of the role of operads in loop space theory and higher categories we go over definitions of iterated monoidal categories and introduce a large family of simple examples. Then we generalize the definition of operad by defining n-fold operads and their algebras …
We exhibit the simplex category $Δ$ and Segal's category $Γ$ as $\infty$-categorical localizations of the dendroidal categories $Ω_π$ and $Ω$ introduced by Moerdijk and Weiss. As an application we obtain an equivalence of $\infty$-categories between invertible $\infty$-operads and the $2$-Segal spaces of Dyckerhoff and Kapranov. Finally, we describe a cyclic version of the dendroidal category and explain how it $\infty$-localizes to Connes's cyclic category $Λ$.
The homotopy theory of infinity-operads is defined by extending Joyal's homotopy theory of infinity-categories to the category of dendroidal sets. We prove that the category of dendroidal sets is endowed with a model category structure whose fibrant objects are the infinity-operads (i.e. dendroidal inner Kan complexes). This extends the theory of infinity-categories in the sense that the Joyal model category structure on simplicial sets whose fibrant objects are the infinity-categories is recovered from the model category structure on dendroidal sets by simply slicing over the point.
In this paper we introduce the notion of an operator category and two different models for homotopy theory of $\infty$-operads over an operator category -- one of which extends Lurie's theory of $\infty$-operads, the other of which is completely new, even in the commutative setting. We define perfect operator categories, and we describe a category $Λ(Φ)$ attached to a perfect operator category $Φ$ that provides Segal maps. We define a wreath product of operator categories and a form of the Boardman--Vogt tensor product that lies over it. We then give examples of operator categories that provid…
We show that a profinite completion functor for (simplicial or topological) operads with good homotopical properties can be constructed as a left Quillen functor from an appropriate model category of infinity-operads to a certain model category of profinite infinity-operads. The construction is based on a notion of lean infinity-operad, and we characterize those infinity-operads weakly equivalent to lean ones in terms of homotopical finiteness properties. Several variants of the construction are also discussed, such as the cases of unital (or closed) infinity-operads and of infinity-categories…
In this paper we study a category of trees TI and prove that it is a Koszul category. Consequences are the interpretation of the reduced bar construction of operads of Ginzburg and Kapranov as the Koszul complex of this category, and the interpretation of operads up to homotopy as a functor from the minimal resolution of TI to the category of graded vector spaces. We compare also three different bar constructions of operads. Two of them have already been compared by Shnider-Von Osdol and Fresse.
This paper gives a systematic study of matching dialgebras corresponding to the operad $As^{(2)}$ in \cite{Zi} as the only Koszul self dual operad there other than the operads of associative algebras and Poisson algebras. The close relationship of matching dialgebras with semi-homomorphisms and matched pairs of associative algebras are established. By anti-symmetrizing, matching dialgerbas are also shown to give compatible Lie algebras, pre-Lie algebras and PostLie algebras. By the rewriting method, the operad of matching dialgebras is shown to be Koszul and the free objects are constructed in…
Let M be a bicomplete, closed symmetric monoidal category. Let P be an operad in M, i.e., a monoid in the category of symmetric sequences of objects in M, with its composition monoidal structure. Let R be a P-co-ring, i.e., a comonoid in the category of P-bimodules. The co-ring R induces a natural ``fattening'' of the category of P-(co)algebras, expanding the morphism sets while leaving the objects fixed. Co-rings over operads are thus ``relative operads,'' parametrizing morphisms as operads parametrize (co)algebras. Let A denote the associative operad in the category of chain complexes. We de…
An operad (this paper deals with non-symmetric operads)may be conceived as a partial algebra with a family of insertion operations, Gerstenhaber's circle-i products, which satisfy two kinds of associativity, one of them involving commutativity. A Cat-operad is an operad enriched over the category Cat of small categories, as a 2-category with small hom-categories is a category enriched over Cat. The notion of weak Cat-operad is to the notion of Cat-operad what the notion of bicategory is to the notion of 2-category. The equations of operads like associativity of insertions are replaced by isomo…
We propose a new model for multicategories with symmetries with respect to Zhang's group operads. The fully faithful embedding of the category of group operads into that of crossed interval groups is made use of, and it is shown that every multicategory gives rise to a fibration, in a sense, over a quotient of the total category of group operads. The symmetric structures can be presented as structures of internal presheaves over a category internal to the category of small categories, in other words a double category.
It is well known that the forgetful functor from symmetric operads to nonsymmetric operads has a left adjoint $Sym_1$ given by product with the symmetric group operad. It is also well known that this functor does not affect the category of algebras of the operad. From the point of view of the author's theory of higher operads, the nonsymmmetric operads are 1-operads and $Sym_1$ is the first term of the infinite series of left adjoint functors $Sym_n,$ called symmetrisation functors, from $n$-operads to symmetric operads with the property that the category of one object, one arrow, . . ., one $…
We introduce a convenient definition for weak cyclic operads, which is based on unrooted trees and Segal conditions. More specifically, we introduce a category $Ξ$ of trees, which carries a tight relationship to the Moerdijk-Weiss category of rooted trees $Ω$. We prove a nerve theorem exhibiting colored cyclic operads as presheaves on $Ξ$ which satisfy a Segal condition. Finally, we produce a Quillen model category whose fibrant objects satisfy a weak Segal condition, and we consider these objects as an up-to-homotopy generalization of the concept of cyclic operad.
The category of $\mathfrak{C}$-colored symmetric operads admits a cofibrantly generated model category structure. In this paper, we show that this model structure satisfies a relative left properness condition, i.e., that the class of weak equivalences between $Σ$-cofibrant operads is closed under cobase change along cofibrations. We also provide an example of Dwyer which shows that the model structure on $\mathfrak{C}$-colored symmetric operads is not left proper.
This paper describes a consequence of the more general results of a previous paper which is of independent interest. We construct a functor from the category of dendroidal sets, which models the theory of infinity-operads, into the category of E-infinity-spaces. Applying May's infinite loop space machine for E-infinity-spaces then gives an infinite loop space machine for infinity-operads. We show that our machine exhibits the homotopy theory of E-infinity-spaces as a localization of the homotopy theory of infinity-operads.
The category of (colored) props is an enhancement of the category of colored operads, and thus of the category of small categories. The titular category has nice formal properties: it is bicomplete and is a symmetric monoidal category, with monoidal product closely related to the Boardman-Vogt tensor product of operads. Tools developed in this article, which is the first part of a larger work, include a generalized version of multilinearity of functors, a free prop construction defined on certain "generalized graphs", and the relationship between the category of props and the categories of per…
We present a definition of homotopy algebra for an operad, and explore its consequences. The paper should be accessible to topologists, category theorists, and anyone acquainted with operads. After a review of operads and monoidal categories, the definition of homotopy algebra is given. Specifically, suppose that M is a monoidal category in which it makes sense to talk about algebras for some operad P. Then our definition says what a homotopy P-algebra in M is, provided only that some of the morphisms in M have been marked out as `homotopy equivalences'. The bulk of the paper consists of examp…
We construct a localization for operads with respect to one-ary operations based on the Dwyer-Kan hammock localization. For an operad O and a sub-monoid of one-ary operations W we associate an operad LO and a canonical map O to LO which takes elements in W to homotopy invertible operations. Furthermore, we give a functor from the category of O-algebras to the category of LO-algebras satisfying an appropriate universal property.
The purpose of this foundational paper is to introduce various notions and constructions in order to develop the homotopy theory for differential graded operads over any ring. The main new idea is to consider the action of the symmetric groups as part of the defining structure of an operad and not as the underlying category. We introduce a new dual category of higher cooperads, a new higher bar-cobar adjunction with the category of operads, and a new higher notion of homotopy operads, for which we establish the relevant homotopy properties. For instance, the higher bar-cobar construction provi…
The classical Eckmann-Hilton argument shows that two monoid structures on a set, such that one is a homomorphism for the other, coincide and, moreover, the resulting monoid is commutative. This argument immediately gives a proof of the commutativity of the higher homotopy groups. A reformulation of this argument in the language of higher categories is: suppose we have a one object, one arrow 2-category, then its $Hom$-set is a commutative monoid. A similar argument due to A.Joyal and R.Street shows that a one object, one arrow tricategory is `the same' as a braided monoidal category. In this p…
We develop a notion of an algebra over an infinity-operad with values in infinity-categories which is completely intrinsic to the formalism of dendroidal sets. Its definition involves the notion of a coCartesian fibration of dendroidal sets and extends Lurie's definition of a coCartesian fibration of simplicial sets. We show how, for a dendroidal set X, the coCartesian fibrations over X fit together to form an infinity-category coCart(X). Using a generalization of the Grothendieck construction, we prove that coCart(X) is equivalent to the infinity-category of algebras in infinity-categories ov…
One of the open problems in higher category theory is the systematic construction of the higher dimensional analogues of the Gray tensor product of 2-categories. In this paper we continue the developments of [3] and [2] by understanding the natural generalisations of Gray's little brother, the funny tensor product of categories. In fact we exhibit for any higher categorical structure definable by an n-operad in the sense of Batanin [1], an analogous tensor product which forms a symmetric monoidal closed structure on the category of algebras of the operad.
In this work we provide a definition of a coloured operad as a monoid in some monoidal category, and develop the machinery of Gröbner bases for coloured operads. Among the examples for which we show the existance of a quadratic Gröbner basis we consider the seminal Lie-Rinehart operad whose algebras include pairs (functions, vector fields).
Generalizing the approach to pseudo monoidal DG-categories as certain colored non-symmetric DG-operads, we introduce a certain relaxed notion of a category enriched in DG-categories. We construct model structures on the category of colored non-symmetric DG-operads and on the category of DGCat-enriched categories with a fixed set of objects. This allows us to talk about strong homotopy maps in both settings. We discuss the notion of a strong homotopy monad in a DG-category and a notion of strong homotopy adjunction data for two DG-functors.
We describe a model structure for coloured operads with values in the category of symmetric spectra (with the positive model structure), in which fibrations and weak equivalences are defined at the level of the underlying collections. This allows us to treat R-module spectra (where R is a cofibrant ring spectrum) as algebras over a cofibrant spectrum-valued operad with R as its first term. Using this model structure, we give suficient conditions for homotopical localizations in the category of symmetric spectra to preserve module structures.
Notions of `operad' and `multicategory' abound. This work provides a single framework in which many of these various notions can be expressed. Explicitly: given a monad * on a category S, we define the term `(S,*)-multicategory', subject to certain conditions on S and *. Different choices of S and * give some of the existing notions of operad and multicategory. We then describe the `algebras' for an (S,*)-multicategory and, finally, present a tentative selection of further developments. Our approach makes possible concise descriptions of Baez and Dolan's opetopes and Batanin's operads; both of…
The goal of the paper is to establish and to investigate a fully faithful embedding of the category of group operads into that of crossed interval groups. For this, we introduce a monoidal structure on the slice of the category of operads over the operad of symmetric groups. Comparing with the monoidal structure on the category of interval sets discussed in the author's previous work, we obtain a monoidal functor connecting these two categories. It will be shown that this actually induces a fully faithful functor on monoid objects and does not change the underlying sets, so we obtain a require…
We give a framework for comparing on the one hand theories of n-categories that are weakly enriched operadically, and on the other hand n-categories given as algebras for a contractible globular operad. Examples of the former are the definition by Trimble and variants (Cheng-Gurski) and examples of the latter are the definition by Batanin and variants (Leinster). We will show how to take a theory of n-categories of the former kind and produce a globular operad whose algebras are the n-categories we started with. We first provide a generalisation of Trimble's original theory that allows for the…
