Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/iii/paper-20/4/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 20 4 ii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Choose for each a categorical limit of , with projections . For , the morphisms form a categorical cone over , since the two actions of the product functor commute. Define by the equationsExistence and uniqueness follow from the universal property. The identity morphism of satisfies the equations for , and satisfies those for , so uniqueness gives and . Hence is a functor.
If with projections are other choices, there is a unique isomorphism carrying every projection to the corresponding projection. The same equations show , because their composites with all agree. Thus the choices give a unique natural isomorphism compatible with the chosen categorical limit categorical cones. Without the compatibility condition, uniqueness of an arbitrary natural isomorphism is not asserted.
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