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A Cartesian theory uses a many-sorted first-order signature and sequents between Cartesian formulas. The fragment contains equality, atomic relations, truth, finite conjunction and existential quantification with provably unique witnesses. It has a Cartesian syntactic category with finite limits, whose finite-limit-preserving functors classify its internal models. Arbitrary existential quantification, disjunction and falsity are not added as finite-limit constructors.

A Cartesian theory has a many-sorted first-order signature, with finite arities, and axioms expressed as sequents between Cartesian formulas. Those formulas use atomic relations and equality, truth and finite logical conjunctions. They also admit existential quantification when the quantified witness is provably unique: to form $\exists y\varphi (x,y)$, require $\varphi (x,y)\wedge \varphi (x,y^{\prime })⊢y=y^{\prime }$ relative to the theory. One can quantify a finite tuple in the same way. Arbitrary existential quantifiers, disjunction, negation and universal quantifiers are not formula constructors in this fragment. In particular falsity is not included as an additional finite-limit constructor. The universal force of a sequent comes from its free-variable context. This is the fragment whose categorical semantics requires exactly finite limits.

The Cartesian syntactic category ${\mathcal{C}}_{\mathbb{T}}$ has objects $\{\vec{x}\mid \varphi \}$, identifying harmless renamings and provably equivalent formulas-in-context. An arrow from $\{\vec{x}\mid \varphi \}$ to $\{\vec{y}\mid \psi \}$ is represented by a provably functional Cartesian relation $\theta (\vec{x},\vec{y})$: it entails $\varphi \wedge \psi$, is total on $\varphi$, and has a unique output tuple. Provable equivalence identifies arrows. Equality supplies identity arrows; composition quantifies the uniquely determined intermediate tuple in a conjunction. Totality and uniqueness prove that the composite is again functional.

The empty truth context is terminal. Products concatenate disjoint contexts and conjoin their formulas. A pullback of two functional relations adds the condition that their outputs agree; the common output is unique, so the existential quantification used to express it is Cartesian. This gives all finite limits and makes the usual equality diagrams into equalizers.

An internal model $M$ in a finite-limit category $\mathcal{E}$ interprets each sort by an object, functions by arrows and relations by subobjects. Equality is a diagonal and conjunction is a pullback intersection. A uniquely witnessed relation projects monomorphically onto the context, so its existential interpretation needs no general image operation: it is that mono. Evaluating formulas and functional relations yields a finite-limit-preserving functor $F_M:{\mathcal{C}}_{\mathbb{T}}\to \mathcal{E}$.

Conversely, the canonical syntactic model uses the single-sort truth contexts, term graphs and atomic subobjects. Its interpretation of a formula is the formula-in-context object itself. Applying any finite-limit-preserving functor supplies a model and preserves its axioms. These constructions are inverse up to the natural interpretation isomorphisms; model homomorphisms correspond to natural transformations. Therefore

For completeness, let a sequent in context be represented by subobjects $i:A\hookrightarrow C$ and $j:B\hookrightarrow C$ for its antecedent and consequent. Derivability is exactly the existence of a factorization $i=jv$ in the syntactic category. Consider the covariant representable functor ${\mathcal{C}}_{\mathbb{T}}(A,-)$, which preserves all existing limits, and hence corresponds to a set-valued model. In that model the element $i\in {\mathcal{C}}_{\mathbb{T}}(A,C)$ belongs to the antecedent, because it is the image of $1_A$. If the sequent holds, it also belongs to the consequent, so $i=jv$ for some $v:A\to B$. That is precisely a derivation of the sequent. Thus validity in all set-valued models implies Cartesian derivability. More concretely, every underivable sequent is refuted by this representable model. No assumption that every sort is inhabited is needed: some hom-sets may be empty.