Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / iii / Paper 18 / 1

Use the covariant Yoneda embedding $Y(A)=\mathcal{C}(A,-)$. An arrow $f:B\to A$, viewed as an arrow $A\to B$ in the opposite category, induces precomposition $h\mapsto hf$. Identities and composition are preserved because composition in $\mathcal{C}$ is associative.

The covariant Yoneda lemma is the bijectionIts inverse sends $x\in F(A)$ to ${\alpha }_B(h)=F(h)(x)$. This is a natural transformation: for $k:B\to C$, functoriality gives $F(k){\alpha }_B(h)=F(kh)(x)={\alpha }_C(kh)$. Conversely, naturality of an arbitrary $\alpha$ at $h:A\to B$ gives ${\alpha }_B(h)=F(h){\alpha }_A(1_A)$. Evaluation at the identity morphism therefore makes the two constructions inverse. Their formulas also prove naturality in $F$ and, contravariantly, in $A$.

Taking $F=Y(B)$ identifies natural transformations $Y(A)\to Y(B)$ with $\mathcal{C}(B,A)$. Thus $Y$ is full and faithful, and reflects isomorphisms; two image objects are isomorphic exactly when the original objects are isomorphic. It also carries existing colimits in $\mathcal{C}$ to categorical limits of covariant representable functors: maps out of a colimit are exactly compatible families of maps out of its diagram. Equivalently, this embedding preserves existing categorical limits in ${\mathcal{C}}^{\mathrm{op}}$. The direction matters: the paper uses covariant representables, rather than the more usual contravariant Yoneda embedding.

A representation of a functor $F$ is $(A,x)$ with $x\in F(A)$ such that $h\mapsto F(h)(x)$ is a bijection $\mathcal{C}(A,B)\to F(B)$ for every $B$. These bijections are natural by functoriality. The element $x$ is its universal element.

If $(B,y)$ is another representation, universality gives unique arrows $f:A\to B$ and $g:B\to A$ satisfying $F(f)x=y$ and $F(g)y=x$. Consequently $F(gf)x=x=F(1_A)x$, so $gf=1_A$ by injectivity of the representing bijection. Similarly $fg=1_B$. Therefore $f$ is the unique compatible isomorphism. This proves uniqueness of functor representations; uniqueness refers to an isomorphism carrying the specified universal elements to one another, rather than to every isomorphism between the underlying objects.