Alphabeta Math
TheoremStatement: Literature-sourcedProof: AI-generatedprecheck passjudge pass (gpt-5.6-terra)audited 2026-08-28
How statement and proof provenance work

The first chip identifies the source of the statement or construction; the second identifies the source of its local proof or verification.

  • Literature-sourced: the exact statement appears in a cited source; only wording and notation differ.
  • AI-adapted: a semantically identical restatement of literature-sourced material, modulo indexing, notation, and boundary cases adopted by the library.
  • AI-generated: a genuinely novel statement formulated by AI, with no source for the claim itself.

These labels describe origin, not correctness: citations and verification chips remain separate evidence.

A generator detects comparison of subobjects

Statement

Let G be a generator of an abelian category, and let B,C≤A be subobjects. Then

B≤C⟺every morphism G→A factoring through B also factors through C.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: A generator G and subobjects B,C≤A, represented by monomorphisms b:B↣A and c:C↣A.

[L1]

A generator separates distinct morphisms by precomposition (Generator and cogenerator of a category).

[L2]

The meet B∧C is represented by the pullback of b and c (The meet of two subobjects is their pullback).

[L3]

In an abelian category, a morphism that is both monic and epic is an isomorphism (An abelian category is balanced).

[L4]

In a preadditive category with a zero object, a morphism is epic exactly when its cokernel is zero (In a preadditive category with a zero object, a morphism is epic exactly when its cokernel is zero).

[L5]

Abelian categories have cokernels (Abelian category).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1givenalgebra

If B≤C, then any map G→A factoring through B also factors through C by composition.

1.2L2L3contrapositive-reduce

To prove the converse, assume B≰C. By [L2], let p:P↣B be the pullback subobject of b and c. If p were epic, then [L3] would make it an isomorphism, forcing b to factor through c. So p is not epic.

2.1L4L5step 1.2

Let q:B→Q be a cokernel of p, which exists by [L5]. Since p is not epic, [L4] implies q≠0.

3.1L1L2step 2.1construct

The morphisms q and 0B,Q are therefore distinct, so [L1] gives some u:G→B with qu≠0. If bu factored through c, the pullback property in [L2] would force u to factor through p, hence qu=0, impossible. Thus bu:G→A factors through B but not through C.

4.1step 1.1step 1.2step 2.1step 3.1discharge-contrapositive: reverse implication∎

Step 1.1 proves the forward implication, and steps 1.2, 2.1, and 3.1 prove the contrapositive of the reverse implication. Therefore B≤C exactly when every morphism G→A factoring through B also factors through C.

Depends on

Used by

Dependency tree · two levels

15 results within two dependency steps of this one, each drawn at its shortest distance from it. An arrow runs from a result to what uses it, so the chart reads left to right and ends at this result, which carries a heavier outline. Every node is a link to that result. Click elsewhere on the chart to enlarge it.

Sources