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TheoremStatement: Literature-sourcedProof: AI-generatedPipeline-generatedprecheck passjudge pass (gpt-5.6-terra)audited 2026-08-27
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A splitting of an idempotent is simultaneously an equalizer and a coequalizer and is unique up to unique isomorphism

Statement

Let e:AA be an idempotent and let

ApBiA

be a splitting of e, so ip=e and pi=1B. Then i is an equalizer of e and 1A, p is a coequalizer of e and 1A, and any two splittings of e are joined by a unique isomorphism commuting with both legs.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: An idempotent e:AA and a splitting ApBiA.

[L1]

A split idempotent satisfies ip=e and pi=1B (Idempotent and split idempotent).

[L2]

Equalizers and coequalizers have their universal properties (Equalizers and coequalizers as limits and colimits of a parallel pair).

[L3]

An isomorphism is a morphism with a two-sided inverse (Isomorphism, groupoid, and connected category).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1

Since e2=e and ip=e, one has ei=ipi=i=1Ai. If h:XA also satisfies eh=h, then i(ph)=iph=eh=h. If iu=h too, then u=piu=ph. So i is the equalizer of e and 1A.

L1L2
1.2

Dually, pe=pip=p, so p coequalizes e and 1A. If h:AX satisfies he=h, then (hi)p=hip=he=h, and uniqueness follows because any u:BX with up=h must satisfy u=upi=hi. Thus p is the coequalizer.

L1L2
2.1

Let ApBiA be another splitting of e. Put u:=pi:BB and v:=pi:BB. Then iu=ipi=ei=i and vp=pip=pe=p, so these are the unique morphisms commuting with the legs. Moreover vu=pipi=pei=pi=1B and uv=pipi=pei=pi=1B. Hence u is the unique isomorphism between the two splittings by [L3].

L1L3step 1.1step 1.2

Depends on

Used by

Dependency tree · two levels

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Sources