Equaliser

The equalizer of parallel arrows $f,g:A\rightrightarrows B$ is a universal arrow $e:E\to A$ satisfying $fe=ge$.

A split equalizer consists of $e:E\to X$ and $f,g:X\rightrightarrows Y$ with $fe=ge$, together with maps $r:X\to E$, $s:Y\to X$ satisfying $re=1_E$, $sf=er$, and $sg=1_X$. If $fh=gh$, these identities give $h=erh$, so $rh$ is its unique factorization through $e$. Thus it is an equalizer, and every functor preserves it: all the defining identities survive application of the functor. Interchanging $f,g$ gives the other orientation of the same convention.

For a monad $(T,\eta ,\mu )$, the map ${\eta }_{TA}:TA\to TTA$ is a split equalizer of ${\eta }_{TTA},T{\eta }_{TA}$ with retraction ${\mu }_A$ and splitting $T{\mu }_A$. The map $T{\eta }_A:TA\to TTA$ is a split equalizer of $TT{\eta }_A,T{\eta }_{TA}$ with retraction ${\mu }_A$ and splitting ${\mu }_{TA}$. Each assertion follows from the two unit laws and naturality of the unit or multiplication. No assumption that $T$ preserves arbitrary equalizers is needed.