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1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions .cspell.json
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"Kerodon",
"Kolmogorov",
"Kunen",
"Kuratowski",
"Lawvere",
"libsql",
"Lindelöf",
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157 changes: 157 additions & 0 deletions content/free-cocompletion.md
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---
title: The free cocompletion of a locally small category
description: We investigate the properties of the free cocompletion of a locally small category.
---

## The free cocompletion of a locally small category

Let $\C$ be a locally small category. All results here can easily be adapted to the case that $\C$ is locally essentially small, and we do not assume that $\C$ is small. Then $\widehat{\C}$ denotes its _free cocompletion_ (often called $P\C$ in the literature when $\C$ is not assumed to be small), which is the full subcategory of $[\C^{\op},\Set]$ consisting presheaves
$$F : \C^{\op} \to \Set$$
that are _small_. This condition can be described in many equivalent ways:

1. $F$ is a small colimit of representable functors.
2. There is a small category $\I$ such that $F$ is the left Kan extension of a presheaf on $\I$ along a functor $\I \to \C$.
3. There is small subcategory $\I \subseteq \C$ such that $F$ is the left Kan extension of its restriction to $\I$.
4. The category of elements $\int F$ is [finally small](https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/finally+small).

Here, the objects of $\int F$ are pairs $(X,a)$, where $X \in \C$ and $a \in F(X)$, and a morphism $(X,a) \to (Y,b)$ is a morphism $f : X \to Y$ with $F(f)(b) = a$. The equivalence of the conditions (1), (2), (3) is proven as Proposition 4.83 in Kelly's book [Basic Concepts of Enriched Category Theory](http://www.tac.mta.ca/tac/reprints/articles/10/tr10.html). The implication (1) $\implies$ (4) is proven as Proposition 3.7 in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10485-021-09671-9">Kan Extensions are Partial Colimits</a> by Perrone-Tholen (but there must be earlier references). The implication (4) $\implies$ (1) follows from the [co-Yoneda Lemma](https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/co-Yoneda+lemma)
$$F \cong \colim_{(X,a) \in \int F} \Hom(-,X)$$
and the fact that final functors do not "change" colimits; see Proposition 2.5.2 in <a href="https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Categories+and+Sheaves" target="_blank">Kashiwara-Schapira</a>.

In contrast to the full presheaf category $[\C^{\op},\Set]$, its subcategory $\widehat{\C}$ of small presheaves is always locally essentially small:

::: Lemma 1
If $\C$ is a locally small category, then $\widehat{\C}$ is locally essentially small.
:::

::: Proof
Let $F : \C^{\op} \to \Set$ be a small presheaf, so that $F \cong \colim_i \Hom(-,X_i)$ for a small diagram $X : \I \to \C$. For every other (small) presheaf $G : \C^{\op} \to \Set$ we compute, using the Yoneda Lemma,
$$\textstyle \Hom(F,G) \cong \lim_i \Hom(\Hom(-,X_i),G) \cong \lim_i G(X_i),$$
and the latter is a set.
:::

But it is usually not locally small:

::: Lemma 2
If $\widehat{\C}$ is locally small, then $\C$ is small.
:::

Disclaimer: This result and its proof are not relevant for category theory and are also depending on implementation details of set theory. That $\widehat{\C}$ is locally essentially small is only what matters.

::: Proof
If $\C$ is empty, there is nothing to prove. Otherwise, choose an object $X \in \C$. Consider the collection of morphisms $\Hom(-,X) \to \Hom(-,X)$, which is surely isomorphic to the set $\Hom(X,X)$. By assumption, it actually _is_ a set. It follows that $\{\id_{\Hom(-,X)}\}$ is a set, and therefore also that $\id_{\Hom(-,X)}$ is a set. This natural transformation is a map that associates to every object $Y \in \Ob(\C)$ the map $\id_{\Hom(Y,X)}$. If we model a map as a set of ordered pairs and ordered pairs as Kuratowski pairs, we get

$$
\begin{align*}
\id_{\Hom(-,X)} & = \bigl\{(Y,\id_{\Hom(Y,X)}) : Y \in \Ob(\C)\bigr\} \\
& = \bigl\{\{\{Y\},\{Y,\id_{\Hom(Y,X)}\}\} : Y \in \Ob(\C)\bigr\}
\end{align*}
$$

This construction shows $\Ob(\C) \subseteq \bigcup \bigcup \id_{\Hom(-,X)}$, so that $\Ob(\C)$ is indeed a set.
:::

::: Lemma 3
If $\C$ is a locally small category, then $\widehat{\C}$ is cocomplete. Colimits can be constructed object-wise.
:::

::: Proof
This follows from cocompleteness of $[\C^{\op},\Set]$ with object-wise constructed colimits and the third characterization of small presheaves above. Details can be found as Proposition 5.34 in Kelly's book.
:::

The existence of limits in $\widehat{\C}$ is a much more complicated issue, see the paper [_Limits of small functors_](https://arxiv.org/pdf/math/0610439) by Day-Lack. The following result is useful in this regard. Namely, it shows that $\widehat{\C}$ has limits of a given type if and only if small functors are closed under these limits taken in the category of all presheaves.

::: Lemma 4
For every $X \in \C$ the evaluation functor $\ev_X : \widehat{\C} \to \Set$, $F \mapsto F(X)$ is continuous. In particular, the inclusion functor $\widehat{\C} \hookrightarrow [\C^{\op},\Set]$ is continuous, and every limit that exists in $\widehat{\C}$ is an object-wise limit.
:::

::: Proof
By the Yoneda Lemma, the evaluation functor is represented by $\Hom(-,X)$. Thus, it is continuous.
:::

::: Lemma 5
A morphism $\alpha : F \to G$ in $\widehat{\C}$ is a monomorphism (resp. epimorphism) if and only if for every $X \in \C$ the map $\alpha(X) : F(X) \to G(X)$ injective (resp. surjective).
:::

::: Proof
The direction $\impliedby$ is trivial in each case. For the direction $\implies$, the evaluation functor $\ev_X : \widehat{\C} \to \Set$ is continuous by Lemma 4 and therefore preserves monomorphisms. Furthermore, it is also cocontinuous by Lemma 3 and therefore preserves epimorphisms.
:::

::: Lemma 6
If $\C$ is a locally small category, then $\widehat{\C}$ is mono-regular. Actually, every monomorphism is an effective monomorphism. Moreover, monomorphisms are stable under filtered colimits.
:::

::: Proof
The first statement is a formal consequence of the fact that every monomorphism in $\Set$ is effective and the already established facts that monomorphisms and pushouts can be understood object-wise. For similar reasons, the second statement is a formal consequence of the corresponding fact for $\Set$.
:::

::: Lemma 7
If $\C$ is a locally small category, then $\widehat{\C}$ is infinitary extensive.
:::

::: Proof
We need to prove that for a family of small presheaves $(P_i)_{i \in I}$ the coproduct functor
$$\textstyle \prod_{i \in I} \widehat{\C} / P_i \to \widehat{\C}/\coprod_{i \in I} P_i$$
is an equivalence of categories. Since $\Set$ is infinitary extensive, also $[\C^{\op},\Set]$ is infinitary extensive, so that the coproduct functor
$$\textstyle \prod_{i \in I} [\C^{\op},\Set] / P_i \to [\C^{\op},\Set]/\coprod_{i \in I} P_i$$
is an equivalence of categories. Since $\widehat{\C}$ is a full subcategory of $[\C^{\op},\Set]$ that is closed under coproducts, it remains to prove that if a coproduct of presheaves $\coprod_{i \in I} F_i$ is small, then each $F_i$ is small. For this, it suffices to prove for two presheaves $F,G$ for which $F+G$ is small, that $F$ is small. The category of elements $\int (F+G)$ identifies with $\int F + \int G$. Thus, the claim follows from the next lemma.
:::

::: Lemma 8
Let $\C,\D$ be two categories. Assume that the coproduct $\C + \D$ is finally small. Then $\C$ is finally small.
:::

::: Proof
Assume that $\I \to \C + \D$ is a final functor, where $\I$ is small. Since $\Cat$ is extensive, we get a decomposition $\I = \I_\C + \I_\D$ with two functors $\I_\C \to \C$ and $\I_\D \to \D$. For every $X \in \C$ the comma category $X \downarrow I_\C$ identifies with the comma category $X \downarrow I$, which is connected. Therefore, $I_\C \to \C$ is final.
:::

::: Lemma 9
Let $\C$ be a locally small category. Then $\widehat{\C}$ is co-Malcev.
:::

::: Proof
This follows since $\Set$ is co-Malcev and since finite colimits are object-wise.
:::

::: Proposition 10
Let $\C$ be a locally small category. Then $\widehat{\C}$ is epi-regular.
:::

Notice that this would be easy if $\widehat{\C}$ has pullbacks. In that case, every epimorphism would even be effective since this is the case for $\Set$. But in general, $\widehat{\C}$ may fail to have pullbacks. This is why the proof is more complicated.

::: Proof
First, notice that the Yoneda Lemma and the description of epimorphisms (see Lemma 5) implies that representable functors are [projective objects](https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/projective+object). Therefore, also coproducts of representable functors are projective.

Now let $\eta : F \to G$ be an epimorphism of small presheaves. Since $F$ is small, there is an epimorphism
$$F_0 \xrightarrow{~ \pi ~} F,$$
where $F_0$ is a coproduct of representable functors. Since $G$ is small, there is a coequalizer diagram

$$
G_1
\begin{array}{c}
\xrightarrow{~ \alpha ~ }\\[-1.25ex] \xrightarrow[~ \beta ~ ]{}
\end{array}
G_0 \xrightarrow{~ \psi ~} G,
$$

where $G_0$ and $G_1$ are coproducts of representable functors. Since $G_0$ is projective, there is a morphism $\lambda : G_0 \to F$ such that $\eta \circ \lambda = \psi$. Since $F_0$ is projective, there is a morphism $\mu : F_0 \to G_0$ such that $\psi \circ \mu = \eta \circ \pi$. We get the following diagram, where the outer square and the lower triangle commutes, but not necessarily the upper triangle.

$$
\begin{CD}
F_0 @>{\pi}>> F \\
@V{\mu}VV \, \, \nearrow{\scriptsize \, \lambda} @VV{\eta}V \\
G_0 @>>{\psi}> G
\end{CD}
$$

Define the morphisms $\gamma,\delta : G_1 \sqcup F_0 \rightrightarrows F$ by
$$\gamma|_{G_1} = \lambda \circ \alpha, \quad \delta|_{G_1} = \lambda \circ \beta,$$
$$\gamma|_{F_0} = \lambda \circ \mu, \quad \delta|_{F_0} = \pi.$$
We will prove that $\eta : F \to G$ is a coequalizer of $\gamma$ and $\delta$. First, $\eta$ coequalizes these because
$$\eta \circ \gamma|_{G_1} = \eta \circ \lambda \circ \alpha = \psi \circ \alpha = \psi \circ \beta = \eta \circ \lambda \circ \beta = \eta \circ \delta|_{G_1}$$
and
$$\eta \circ \gamma|_{F_0} = \eta \circ \lambda \circ \mu = \psi \circ \mu = \eta \circ \pi = \eta \circ \delta|_{F_0}.$$
Conversely, suppose that $\vartheta : F \to H$ is a morphism that coequalizes these morphisms, meaning that $\vartheta \circ \lambda \circ \alpha = \vartheta \circ \lambda \circ \beta$ and $\vartheta \circ \lambda \circ \mu = \vartheta \circ \pi$. The first equation means that there is a morphism $\vartheta' : G \to H$ such that $\vartheta' \circ \psi = \vartheta \circ \lambda$. The second equation then becomes
$$\vartheta \circ \pi = \vartheta' \circ \psi \circ \mu = \vartheta' \circ \eta \circ \pi,$$
which is equivalent to $\vartheta = \vartheta' \circ \eta$. We have thus shown that every morphism that coequalizes $\alpha$ and $\beta$ factors through $\eta$, and uniqueness is clear since $\eta$ is an epimorphism.
:::
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion database/data/categories/Sp.yaml
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proof: If $1$ denotes the terminal species, there are infinitely many morphisms $1 \to 1 \sqcup 1$ since they correspond to functions $\IN \to \{1,2\}$.

- property: locally small
proof: 'Disclaimer: This result and its proof are not relevant for category theory and are also depending on the concrete model of set theory. That this category is locally essentially small is only what matters. Now, consider the terminal species $F=G=1$. Then $\Hom(F,G)$ has just a single element, namely the natural transformation $\alpha$ that sends every finite set $X$ to the unique map $\alpha_X : 1 \to 1$. Formally, $\alpha$ is a map, modelled as a set of ordered pairs $(X,\id_1)$, where $X$ is a finite set. Hence, $\alpha$ is not a set (since finite sets do not form a set), and therefore $\Hom(F,G) = \{\alpha\}$ is also not a set.'
proof: Since $\FinSet$ is not small, this follows exactly like Lemma 2 <a href="/content/free-cocompletion">here</a>; but this result is not really relevant and what only matters is that $\Sp$ is locally essentially small.

- property: essentially countable
proof: 'Any function $f : \IN \to \IN$ can be regarded as a combinatorial species with trivial actions, and distinct functions yield non-isomorphic species.'
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