open import Cat.Instances.Functor
open import Cat.Instances.Product
open import Cat.Bi.Base
open import Cat.Prelude

import Cat.Functor.Bifunctor as Bifunctor
import Cat.Reasoning as Cr

module Cat.Monoidal.Base where


Monoidal categories🔗

record Monoidal-category {o ℓ} (C : Precategory o ℓ) : Type (o ⊔ ℓ) where
no-eta-equality
open Cr C


A monoidal category is a vertical categorification of the concept of monoid: We replace the identities in a monoid by isomorphisms. For this to make sense, a monoidal category must have an underlying precategory, rather than an underlying set; Similarly, the multiplication operation must be a multiplication functor, and we have to throw on some coherence data on top, to make sure everything works out.

We start with a category $\mathcal{C}$ together with a chosen functor, the tensor product, $\otimes : \mathcal{C} \times \mathcal{C} \to \mathcal{C}$, and a distinguished object $I : \mathcal{C}$, the tensor unit. These take the place of the multiplication operation and identity element, respectively.

  field
-⊗-  : Functor (C ×ᶜ C) C
Unit : Ob


We replace the associativity and unit laws by associativity and unitor morphisms, which are natural isomorphisms (in components)

\begin{align*} &\alpha_{X,Y,Z} : X \otimes (Y \otimes Z) {\xrightarrow{\sim}} (X \otimes Y) \otimes Z \\ &\rho_{X} : X \otimes 1 {\xrightarrow{\sim}} X \\ &\lambda_{X} : 1 \otimes X {\xrightarrow{\sim}} X\text{,} \end{align*}

The morphism $\alpha$ is called the associator, and $\rho$ (resp. $\lambda$) are the right unitor (resp. left unitor).

  field
unitor-l : Cr._≅_ Cat[ C , C ] Id (-⊗-.Right Unit)
unitor-r : Cr._≅_ Cat[ C , C ] Id (-⊗-.Left Unit)

associator : Cr._≅_ Cat[ C ×ᶜ C ×ᶜ C , C ]
(compose-assocˡ {O = ⊤} {H = λ _ _ → C} -⊗-)
(compose-assocʳ {O = ⊤} {H = λ _ _ → C} -⊗-)


The final data we need are coherences relating the left and right unitors (the triangle identity; despite the name, nothing to do with adjunctions), and one for reducing sequences of associators, the pentagon identity. As for where the name “pentagon” comes from, the path pentagon witnesses commutativity of the diagram

which we have drawn less like a regular pentagon and more like a children’s drawing of a house, so that it fits on the page horizontally.

  field
triangle : ∀ {A B} → (ρ← ◀ B) ∘ α← A Unit B ≡ A ▶ λ←

pentagon
: ∀ {A B C D}
→ (α← A B C ◀ D) ∘ α← A (B ⊗ C) D ∘ (A ▶ α← B C D)
≡ α← (A ⊗ B) C D ∘ α← A B (C ⊗ D)


Deloopings🔗

Just as a monoid can be promoted to a 1-object category, with the underlying set of the monoid becoming the single ${\mathbf{Hom}}$-set, we can deloop a monoidal category into a bicategory with a single object, where the sole ${\mathbf{Hom}}$-category is given by the monoidal category.

Deloop
: ∀ {o ℓ} {C : Precategory o ℓ} → Monoidal-category C → Prebicategory lzero o ℓ
Deloop {C = C} mon = bi where
open Prebicategory
module M = Monoidal-category mon
bi : Prebicategory _ _ _
bi .Ob = ⊤
bi .Hom _ _ = C
bi .id = M.Unit
bi .compose = M.-⊗-
bi .unitor-l = M.unitor-l
bi .unitor-r = M.unitor-r
bi .associator = M.associator
bi .triangle _ _ = M.triangle
bi .pentagon _ _ _ _ = M.pentagon


This makes the idea that a monoidal category is “just” the categorified version of a monoid precisely, and it’s generally called the delooping hypothesis: A monoidal $n$-category is the same as an $(n+1)$-category with a single object.

Endomorphism categories🔗

In the same way that, if you have a category $\mathcal{C}$, making a choice of object $a : \mathcal{C}$ canonically gives you a monoid ${\mathrm{Endo}}_\mathcal{C}(a)$ of endomorphisms $a \to a$, having a bicategory ${\mathbf{B}}$ and choosing an object $a : {\mathbf{B}}$ canonically gives you a choice of monoidal category, ${\mathrm{Endo}}_{\mathbf{B}}(a)$.

Endomorphisms
: ∀ {o ℓ ℓ′} (B : Prebicategory o ℓ ℓ′)
→ (a : Prebicategory.Ob B)
→ Monoidal-category (Prebicategory.Hom B a a)
Endomorphisms B a = mon where
open Monoidal-category
module B = Prebicategory B
mon : Monoidal-category (B.Hom a a)
mon .-⊗- = B.compose
mon .Unit = B.id
mon .unitor-l = B.unitor-l
mon .unitor-r = B.unitor-r
mon .associator = to-natural-iso $ni where open make-natural-iso open Cr ni : make-natural-iso _ _ ni .eta _ = B.α→ _ _ _ ni .inv _ = B.α← _ _ _ ni .eta∘inv _ = Cr.invl _ B.associator ηₚ _ ni .inv∘eta _ = Cr.invr _ B.associator ηₚ _ ni .natural x y f = sym$ Cr.to B.associator .is-natural _ _ _
mon .triangle = B.triangle _ _
mon .pentagon = B.pentagon _ _ _ _