A form of Beck's monadicity theorem compatible with equivalence-based monadic adjunctions is this. A functor is monadic exactly when it has a left adjoint, is a conservative functor, and has coequalizers of all pairs whose images under admit a split coequalizer, with preserving these coequalizers. In the strict lifting formulation, one states creation of these coequalizers. Such a pair is a functor-split coequalizer pair; the splitting is required in the base category, not necessarily upstairs.
A split coequalizer fork has maps and such that
Every functor preserves this coequalizer: if , then , and is split epic, so the factor through is unique. The same equations remain true after applying any functor.
For necessity, let be the monad algebra forgetful functor. It has the free-algebra left adjoint. It reflects isomorphisms, because if an algebra map is invertible in , the equation rearranges to .
If two algebra maps have an underlying split coequalizer , then and are also coequalizers. Since equalizes , there is a unique satisfying
After composing with the epimorphism , the equation reduces to the unit law for . After composing with the epimorphism , the equation reduces to . Thus is an algebra and an algebra map. If an algebra map equalizes , its unique underlying factor satisfies : this follows by precomposing with the epimorphism . Therefore this is a coequalizer upstairs as well. This proves that the monad algebra forgetful functor creates split coequalizers. The same properties transport through the comparison equivalence of categories, with the object-lifting convention distinguished in Question 9.
For sufficiency, suppose the three conditions hold, choose , and let with comparison . For each algebra , consider the pair
Its image has coequalizer . It is split: take , , , and . The monad and algebra laws give
By hypothesis the pair has a coequalizer and is also a coequalizer. Identify with using the unique coequalizer isomorphism, so . Since is carried by to an algebra map from the free algebra, the transported action satisfies
But is a split epimorphism, with right inverse , so . Hence : the comparison is essentially surjective.
Next, for every , put . The counit of an adjunction coequalizes
This follows from naturality of the counit. The image pair has the split coequalizer , as above. If is the hypothesized preserved coequalizer, the induced map has invertible because both and coequalize the same pair. Conservativity makes invertible. Therefore itself is a coequalizer.
Let be an algebra map, so . Set . Under the adjunction transpose bijection, the two composites of with the displayed presentation pair correspond respectively to and . They are equal, so factors uniquely through , giving with . Applying yields
Since is split epic, . Thus is full. If , the transposes of and are equal, so those composites agree. The counit is epic, hence ; thus is faithful.
The comparison is full, faithful and essentially surjective, so it is an equivalence of categories. This proves monadicity. The argument also explains the role of each hypothesis: split base presentations construct all algebras, and reflection of isomorphisms turns the counit presentations into actual coequalizers upstairs.
Define maps between the hom-sets by
Using naturality of the proposed counit of an adjunction and then the first triangle identity for an adjunction,
Using naturality of the proposed unit of an adjunction and then the other triangle identity for an adjunction,
Hence and are inverse bijections. They are natural in both variables: for and , the unit of an adjunction identity gives
This constructs an adjunction . Taking and recovers the prescribed unit of an adjunction and counit of an adjunction. Conversely, part (i) shows that any adjunction with those components must have exactly these transpose formulas. The adjunction exists and is unique with the prescribed unit and counit.
Write the adjunction as the natural bijection
The unit of an adjunction and counit of an adjunction are the natural transformations whose components are
Naturality of the hom-set bijections gives, for and ,
For example, postcomposition by in the first hom-set corresponds to postcomposition by in the second, giving the first formula; naturality in gives the second. The same naturality says that, for and ,
Thus these components do define the asserted natural transformations and .
For the presheaf category, define the exponential in a presheaf category by
For , its restriction sends to . Composition of these restriction maps follows from composition of the , so this is a categorical presheaf. Define evaluation map of an exponential object by
For , naturality of gives
Thus is a natural transformation.
Given a natural transformation , define its currying by
Naturality of proves that is a natural transformation . For , the same formula proves that is natural. Evaluating at gives .
Conversely, if and , then
by naturality of . Hence the two constructions are inverse and natural in . Products are available pointwise, including the terminal singleton presheaf, so the presheaf category is Cartesian closed. The exponential uses natural transformations out of ; simply exponentiating the individual values generally does not give this object.
For with unit of an adjunction and counit of an adjunction , put
The triangle identities for an adjunction give
For associativity, naturality of at says
Apply to obtain . Thus this is the monad induced by an adjunction.
Conversely, start with a monad . The free algebra functor sends to and to . The monad laws ensure that these are algebras for a monad and morphisms of algebras for a monad. For an algebra , there are inverse bijections
The inverse really is an algebra map because
For a free-algebra map , its algebra equation and the monad unit law give
For a base map , naturality and the algebra unit law give . The formulas are natural, establishing the free-forgetful Eilenberg-Moore adjunction . Its unit is , and its counit at is . Hence its induced multiplication is , and every monad arises from an adjunction.