Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 119 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The terminal object is an exponentiable object because has the identity as a right adjoint. If and are exponentiable objects, compose the two adjunctions to getConsequently exponentiable objects are closed under finite products in a category, including the empty product, and
Under the additional hypotheses, a coseparator detects unequal parallel arrows by postcomposition: for there is with . Local smallness makes a set, and completeness forms the product in a category . The evaluation arrowis a monomorphism, because forces for every , and the coseparator then forces .
By hypothesis this monomorphism is a regular monomorphism, so it is an equalizer of some . Apply the same evaluation construction to : is a set and is monic. Cancelling shows that equalizing is equivalent to equalizing . We have therefore proved the equalizer presentation by powers of a coseparator:The notation here means a product indexed by a set, so its existence does not presuppose categorical exponentiation.
If is an exponentiable object, is a representable functor. Conversely, suppose a representing object and a natural isomorphismare given. For any set , the product in a category property givesThus maps into all powers of have representations. For an equalizer presentation with arrows , postcomposition induces natural transformations between these represented functors. The Yoneda lemma identifies them with arrows . Form their equalizer . ThenThese bijections are natural in . For a morphism , postcomposition and the Yoneda lemma give the unique arrow respecting them; uniqueness proves functoriality. Hence is a right adjoint to . This proves the exponentiability test using a coseparator:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 122 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
An opmonoidal functor consists of a functor, a natural transformationand a morphism . These maps need not be invertible. If are the respective associators and unitors, its axioms areThe first equation has domain and codomain , which fixes the direction of every arrow. This is also called a colax monoidal functor.
An opmonoidal natural transformation between opmonoidal functors is a natural transformation satisfyingIt respects both the tensor and unit comparison maps. These are commutative diagrams and a unit commutative diagram; the arrow directions are opposite to those for a lax monoidal functor.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 122 5 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
A useful comodule natural transformation formula determines from a single linear functional. Defineusing the regular right comodule . For any vector space , the cofree right comodule has coaction . Naturality with respect to all maps givesThe coaction is itself a morphism of right comodules. Its naturality equation, followed by , therefore givesThis derivation works for all comodules, not merely finite-dimensional ones.
The monoidal equation , evaluated on the two regular comodules and followed by their counits, impliesThe unit equation gives . Thus is a unital algebra homomorphism over a field . In addition, the -colinearity of gives the useful intertwining relationThis fixes the orientation of relative to .
For the convolution product for coalgebra maps, define . Multiplicativity of and the two antipode identities showConsequentlyCoassociativity and the two convolution identities verify both composites directly. Since was a -comodule morphism, its linear inverse is also a -comodule morphism. Inverting the naturality and monoidal equations shows that the inverses form a monoidal natural transformation . Every such monoidal transformation is therefore invertible, without requiring a bijective antipode.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 122 6 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use right comodules with coaction . Fix the convention that is induced by and by . We classify lax monoidal structures first; the strong case is identified at the end.
Every natural transformation of the indicated tensor bifunctors is determined by a linear functional , and its components have the comodule tensor transformation formulaTo prove the assertion, set . On the cofree comodules , naturality with respect to forces the component to act as on the two factors. Apply naturality to the pair of coactions , , then apply their counits. This yields the formula. Conversely the formula is plainly natural with respect to comodule morphisms, and recovers from the regular comodules.
It remains to impose exactly three kinds of equations. First, the component must be -colinear from the tensor with product to the tensor with product . Expanding its two coactions gives (C), the multiplication compatibility for a comodule tensor transformationNecessity follows by taking and applying the two counits; sufficiency follows by substituting the identity into the coaction formula for arbitrary .
Second, the two unit triangles in the preceding part are exactly (U):Here is the common algebra unit. These identities are forced by the regular comodule and sufficient by the counit law.
Third, expand the associativity diagram on three right comodules. The two scalar factors, after their counits are removed, are (A):The product in this expression is , because the intermediate arguments and are source-tensor objects. Necessity follows from the three regular comodules; sufficiency is the same substitution for arbitrary coactions. Using (C), the same condition can equivalently be written with the target product :This is the normalized bialgebra scalar cocycle equation for that convention.
Thus the required structures correspond bijectively to all linear maps satisfying (C), (U) and (A). No convolution invertibility has been imposed for a lax monoidal functor structure. If “monoidal” is required to mean strong, add precisely that is invertible under the convolution product for coalgebra maps on . Its convolution inverse supplies the inverse component by the same displayed formula; conversely natural inverse components recover a convolution inverse by the regular-comodule argument. In that case (C) is the explicit bialgebra cocycle twist relationThis also records which multiplication lies on each side of the twist. Interchanging the names of interchanges the two tensor conventions, rather than silently changing the equation.
For a concrete lax example, take the two-dimensional bialgebra with basis , product , and , . Set and , . Normalization and (C) hold, and (A) follows by checking the eight basis triples: triples involving reduce to normalization, and the triple has both sides zero. But the tensor component is zero, so this lax monoidal functor is not strong.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 119 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
An equivalence of categories consists of functors and together with invertible natural transformations and . A strict isomorphism of categories instead requires a functor with an inverse whose composites are literally identity functors.
First suppose belongs to an equivalence of categories. The isomorphisms give essential surjectivity. If , apply and conjugate by to obtain , so is a faithful functor. Similarly is a faithful functor. Writing , any has a preimageIndeed naturality of gives , and faithfulness of gives . Thus is a full and faithful functor.
Conversely, assume is a full and faithful functor and has essential surjectivity. Using the axiom of choice, for each choose an object and an isomorphism . Define on a morphism by the unique liftThe full and faithful functor property makes preserve identities and composition, and makes a natural transformation. For , lift uniquely to . Lifting its inverse shows that is invertible. The naturality of and faithfulness of imply the naturality of . This provesFor large categories, this choice argument is understood in a fixed universe, or with the corresponding class-choice convention; ordinary set-sized axiom of choice suffices for small categories.
For the category of partial functions, let , with a tagged new element as basepoint. Send a partial function to the basepoint-preserving total functionUndefined composition is sent to the basepoint, so this is a functor . Restriction away from the basepoint recovers each partial function uniquely; hence it is a full and faithful functor. Every pointed set is isomorphic to , so there is an equivalence of categories. This particular equivalence can also be constructed explicitly, without choice, by deleting and adjoining the basepoint.
These actual categories are equivalent but not isomorphic. In the empty set is the only zero object: if is nonempty, its identity differs from its nowhere-defined endomorphism, so it cannot be initial or terminal. In every singleton pointed set is a zero object, and distinct singleton underlying sets give distinct objects. An isomorphism of categories is a bijection on objects preserving zero objects; it cannot take one such object onto several. This uses the categories of all actual sets, as in the paper, rather than chosen skeletal categories of representatives.
A skeletal category has no distinct isomorphic objects. If an equivalence joins two skeletal categories, essential surjectivity becomes surjectivity on objects. If , lift the identity of that object and its inverse using full and faithful to obtain , so . Thus is bijective on objects and on every hom-set. Its inverse on objects and morphisms is a strictly inverse functor, proving that it is an isomorphism of categories.
Under the axiom of choice, choose one object from each isomorphism class of a small category. The full subcategory on those objects is a skeleton of a category, and its inclusion is a full and faithful functor with essential surjectivity, hence an equivalence of categories.
For the converse, form the small category which is a groupoid with objects for , and exactly one morphism when , with no morphisms when . Suppose it is equivalent to a skeletal category , with quasi-inverse functors and . For each , the objects for are isomorphic, hence all equal to a uniquely determined . The isomorphism ensures that for some . The rule is a choice function. In particular, no representative in had to be chosen to define , since it is unique. Consequently
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 119 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
A diagram in a category of shape is a functor . A categorical cone with vertex is a family satisfying for every . A morphism between categorical cones from to is a morphism with for all . A categorical limit is a terminal object in this category of cones: each cone has a unique such morphism to the limiting cone.
For a finite , form the products in a categoryDefine with -coordinates and . The equalizer imposes exactly the cone equations. Therefore gives a categorical limit of , since maps into encode families of legs and factoring through encodes their compatibility. The empty product in a category is the terminal object, covering the empty diagram. This is the construction of small limits from products and equalizers, restricted to finite shapes.
Now take an initial functor and a categorical cone over . For each and each object of the comma category , consider . A morphism there satisfies , soSince is a nonempty connected category, this common value is independent of the object. Define it to be . This does not require choosing representatives: the value is uniquely determined.
For , replacing by proves . Taking proves . Conversely, extending a restricted cone recovers its original legs, since . A vertex morphism commuting with every also commutes with each , and the converse follows by restriction. Thus extension and restriction are strictly inverse functors, not merely an equivalence of categories. This proves cone restriction along an initial functor.
If has all categorical limits of shape , transport a terminal object in the cone category of across this isomorphism to obtain a categorical limit of . Uniqueness of the induced comparison, and its compatibility with natural transformations of diagrams, givesFor the converse use the representable test for initial functors. For , the representable presheaf is equivalently a diagram in a category . Its categorical limit in the opposite category is the colimit of in sets. Elements of that colimit are connected components of the category of elements, equivalently of the opposite category of the slice . This slice has terminal object , so that colimit is a singleton.
For the restricted presheaf , the same description identifies its colimit with the connected-component set of . Indeed a relation identifying with is exactly a generating edge of the zigzag relation in this comma category. The assumed isomorphism of limit functors forces this set to be a singleton. Therefore is nonempty and connected for every , proving
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 119 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
A monad on is an endofunctor with natural transformations and satisfyingAn algebra for a monad is with and . A morphism of algebras for a monad satisfies . These form the Eilenberg-Moore category . Its free algebra functor is , and its adjunction to the forgetful functor has the explicit bijection
Write , , and let be the coproduct in a category injections. SetHere is an algebra morphism, with underlying multiplication . For an algebra , an algebra morphism corresponds to , and the transposes of are respectivelyFor the second formula, by naturality of and the monad unit law. Thus exactly when, writing ,These say precisely that and are morphisms of algebras for a monad. Consequently any coequalizer of represents pairs of algebra morphisms out of and , proving the coproduct presentation for monad algebras:Its two algebra injections have underlying morphisms and ; the equivalence just proved verifies both the algebra equations and their universal property.
The displayed pair is a reflexive pair, with common sectionIndeed by the algebra unit laws, whileNow suppose has all finite colimits and preserves reflexive coequalizers. The permitted creation theorem gives reflexive coequalizers in : the underlying pair is reflexive and its coequalizer exists and is preserved by . The preceding construction therefore gives binary algebra coproducts in a category. The initial object is , since the free algebra functor is a left adjoint and is initial in .
For any algebra pair , the augmented pairis a reflexive pair, with common section the injection of , and has exactly the same coequalizing morphisms as . Hence all coequalizers exist in . The construction of finite colimits from coproducts and reflexive coequalizers now gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 119 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Write . The covariant Yoneda lemma gives the natural bijectionwhose inverse sends to the natural transformation with component . This also identifies the two variables' naturality.
To prove that is a projective object in a category, let be an epimorphism in the functor category and . By pointwise epimorphism in a functor category, lift through the surjective function . The Yoneda lemma turns this lift into with .
For a small category, the set of pairs with indexes the canonical mapIt is natural, and every is the image of . Thus it is an epimorphism, establishing the projective cover of a set-valued functor by representables construction. Here cover means a projective presentation; no minimality is asserted.
For the equivalence's first step, if is a monomorphism, then , the map , is injective for every . Hence every representable functor is a monofunctor. Conversely, injectivity of every is exactly left cancellation against every , so it implies that is a monomorphism. Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 119 1 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Assume (c), and take an epimorphism with a monofunctor. Since is a projective object in a category, there is a natural transformation with . A retract in a category of a monofunctor is a monofunctor: if , then naturality of gives , injectivity of gives , and applying gives . Thus (c) implies (b), completing
The stronger assertion that every set-valued functor is a monofunctor holds exactly when is a groupoid. Sufficiency follows because a functor preserves inverses, so sends every arrow to a bijection.
For necessity, fix , and form the pointwise pushout in a categoryusing twice the natural transformation given by precomposition with . At an object , consists of two copies of , with the two copies of identified for every . No different underlying elements are identified: each generating relation simply joins the two copies of one element. In , the two copies of coincide, since . Hence sends the two copies of in to the same element. If is a monofunctor, those copies of coincide. The description of the pushout implies for some . Thus every morphism is a split monomorphism.
Apply the same conclusion to : there is with . Then , and so as well. Every arrow is invertible, proving
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 119 4 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use , as required by the formula at zero, and composition of functions as multiplication in . The displayed preserves identities, and for ,both sides send zero to zero. Thus is a functor on the one-object category.
For the shift monad on order-preserving maps of natural numbers, setThese are order-preserving functions. The equations and hold pointwise, giving the required natural transformations. For the second equation, both sides are zero at , and are for . The two unit laws are . Associativity is checked byConsequently these maps define a monad. It is not an idempotent monad, since , so cannot be invertible.
An algebra for a monad is a map with and . The first equation forces ; monotonicity then forces . Thus , which satisfies the second equation by the monad associativity law. The Eilenberg-Moore category therefore has exactly one object. Its endomorphisms satisfy , and this equation holds precisely when : evaluate at zero for necessity, and at both sides equal .
The Kleisli comparison functor takes its only object to this only algebra and sends toIt is a bijection from the Kleisli arrows to the algebra endomorphisms, with inverse . It preserves identities and composition by the comparison construction; directly, and . Bijectivity on objects and arrows makes it an isomorphism of categories:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 119 4 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
A monad is an endofunctor with natural transformations and satisfyingIts Kleisli category has the same objects as , with , identity , and compositeThe unit laws follow from naturality of and the two monad unit laws. For , the two triple composites reduce, using naturality of , tothey agree by the monad associativity law. Thus this is a category.
Define the free functor into a Kleisli category and the right-hand functor byThe identity and composition formulas for areFor , , andwhere the last step is naturality of . Hence both mappings are functors. The hom-set identity gives the adjunction . Its unit is , and its counit at is the Kleisli arrow represented by . Applying to that counit gives , so the induced monad is the specified one.
For any inducing this same monad, with counit , define the Kleisli comparison functorThe triangular identities give , and naturality of the counit together with gives . Explicitly, naturality moves past , then moves the resulting counit past , reducing the composite to . Thus is a functor, with and , and it sends the Kleisli counit to .
An adjunction morphism here is required to commute with the left and right adjoints and preserve their adjunction structure. Such a morphism must have the above object map; every Kleisli arrow factors as its counit after , so its arrow map is forced as well. This proves initiality of the Kleisli adjunction:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 119 5 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Fix , and let be the functor obtained from the chosen binary coproduct in a category construction. Its arrow map is . For , the binary coproduct property gives . The Yoneda lemma and part (i) therefore give, naturally in ,Thus exponentiation by is precomposition .
This precomposition has a right adjoint given by Right Kan extension. Explicitly, for putThe comma category is small, so this categorical limit exists in the Category of sets. A map gives by taking a compatible family indexed by and selecting its entries at for the indices .
A natural transformation determines by sending to the family indexed by . Conversely, a map determines by projecting to the index . Naturality and the limit's compatibility relations make these constructions inverse. Hence , proving the tiny covariant representable functor on a category with binary coproducts result:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 119 5 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
A Cartesian closed category has finite products in a category and, for every , an exponential object characterized naturally byIn , finite products and the terminal functor are computed pointwise. With , defineThis is a set because is a small category. For , precomposition induces by precomposition of natural transformations, making a covariant functor.
Given , define its curry byFor , naturality of gives , proving that this is a natural transformation . The same formula with precomposed proves naturality of in .
Conversely, from defineNaturality of and its values proves naturality of . Currying this result recovers , since ; uncurrying a curry recovers by setting . These mutually inverse constructions are natural in , giving the adjunction required for an exponential object. Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 119 3 Solution 2026-10-03
An adjunction is equivalently specified by a unit and counit of an adjunctionsatisfying the triangle identities
Let have units and counits . The mate correspondence sends toConversely, givesNaturality and the triangle identities show that the two constructions are inverse, yielding the required bijection of natural transformations.
Now let the endofunctor carry a monad and let . Taking right mates turnsinto a counit and comultiplication . Since mates reverse composition, the monad unit and associativity laws become the comonad counit and coassociativity laws. Moreover, a map corresponds under the adjunction to a map , and the algebra axioms correspond exactly to the coalgebra axioms. This is the monad on a left adjoint induces a comonad on its right adjoint construction and gives an isomorphism of the two structure categories.
For a monoid , the free--set functor is , and its algebras are precisely left -sets, the objects of . Its right adjoint is . The preceding isomorphism identifies with the Eilenberg-Moore category of coalgebras for the induced comonad on sets, compatibly with the forgetful functor. Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 119 1 Solution 2026-09-28
For a locally small category , an object , and a functor , the covariant Yoneda lemma is the natural bijectionIts inverse sends to the natural transformation whose component at maps to .
Suppose now that is a small category. For , form the coproduct in a categoryThe Yoneda lemma associates to every summand the natural transformation determined by , and these transformations combine to a map . At an object , the element is the image of in the summand indexed by , so is a pointwise epimorphism in a functor category. Each representable functor is a projective object in a category, sinceand evaluation preserves pointwise epimorphisms. A coproduct of projectives is projective, so is the required projective object. This is the projective cover of a set-valued functor by representables.
We next prove the three equivalent conditions. If every morphism of is a monomorphism, then for and every , postcompositionis injective. Thus every covariant representable functor is a monofunctor. Conversely, taking shows that injectivity for every representable implies that forces , so every is monic.
If all representables are monofunctors, the object above is a monofunctor because a coproduct of injective functions is injective. Hence every is an epimorphic image of a monofunctor. Conversely, suppose every functor is an epimorphic image of a monofunctor and apply this to a representable . Choose an epimorphism with a monofunctor. Since is projective, lifts to with . Thus is a retract in a category of . Every retract of a monofunctor is a monofunctor: if , then injectivity of applied to and gives , and applying gives . This completes the equivalence.
Finally, every functor is a monofunctor exactly when every morphism of is a split monomorphism. The forward implication is immediate because every functor preserves a left inverse. For the converse, fix and form a quotient of by identifying the distinguished point with every arrow of the form , where . In the resulting functor , the two elements and of have equal images under because . If every functor is a monofunctor, is injective, so . By construction this means for some . Thus is split monic. Equivalently, every morphism of must be an absolute monomorphism.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 119 1 Solution 2026-09-28
For a locally small category , a representation of a functor is an object and an element such thatis a bijection for every , naturally in . Equivalently, is a natural isomorphism.
Suppose and are two representations. Universality gives unique mapssuch that and . Then , and uniqueness applied to the element gives . Similarly . Thus the representing objects are uniquely isomorphic in a way carrying one universal element of a set-valued functor to the other.
For and , the comma category has objects with . A morphism is a map satisfyingThe universal arrow from an object to a functor criterion says that has a left adjoint exactly when has an initial object for every . Indeed, an initial represents the functor , and uniqueness makes functorial.
When and is a singleton, an arrow is just an element . Hence is the category of elements, and its initial objects are exactly the representations of . This proves
If has a left adjoint, the universal-arrow criterion immediately makes it representable. Conversely, suppose is cocomplete and . For a set , form the copowerThe coproduct in a category universal property gives natural bijectionsso .
Cocompleteness cannot be omitted. Let be the category of ordinals in reverse order: there is one arrow exactly when in the ordinary ordering. This large poset is locally small and complete. For a set-indexed family , its product in the reversed order is the ordinary supremum , and equalizers in a poset are automatic. But has no initial object, since that would be a largest ordinal. Any representable functor is therefore the requested example: if it had a left adjoint , thenwould be a singleton for every , making initial, a contradiction.