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The co-Yoneda isomorphisms: a set-valued functor is a coend against a representable

Statement

Let C be locally small (Small, locally small, and large categories) and let a be an object of C. A set-valued functor is a coend against a representable (The end and the coend of a functor Cop×CD, The Yoneda assignment and the small-source Yoneda functor, traditionally called the Yoneda embedding):

Covariant coend form. For F:CSet, let T(c1,c2):=C(c1,a)×F(c2) (The covariant and contravariant hom-assignments and the hom-bifunctor of a locally small category, The Cartesian product A×B:={zP(P(AB)):aA bB z=(a,b)}, Sets and functions form the large locally small category Set), a functor Cop×CSet. Then T has a coend and

cC(c,a)×F(c)    F(a),

the initial cowedge being ρc(g,y)=F(g)(y) for g:ca and yF(c).

Contravariant coend form. For a presheaf P:CopSet (Opposite category Cop), let T(c1,c2):=C(a,c2)×P(c1). Then T has a coend and

cC(a,c)×P(c)    P(a),

the initial cowedge being ρc(g,y)=P(g)(y) for g:ac and yP(c).

End forms. If in addition C is small, the two dual formulas cSet(C(a,c),Fc)F(a) and cSet(C(c,a),Pc)P(a) hold; these are The end of the function-set functor on a representable is evaluation and are not reproved here.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: A locally small category C, an object a, a functor F:CSet and a presheaf P:CopSet.

[F6]

A category is locally small when every C(A,B) is a set (Small, locally small, and large categories).

[F5]

Sets as objects and functions as morphisms form a large locally small category Set (Sets and functions form the large locally small category Set).

[F4]

The elements of A×B are exactly the ordered pairs (a,b) with aA and bB: Thus zA×B holds if and only if z=(a,b) for some aA and some bB. (The Cartesian product A×B:={zP(P(AB)):aA bB z=(a,b)}).

[F1]

The covariant hom-assignment C(a,) sends u:bc to u:C(a,b)C(a,c),fuf, and the contravariant hom-assignment C(,a) sends u:bc to u:C(c,a)C(b,a), ggu (The covariant and contravariant hom-assignments and the hom-bifunctor of a locally small category).

[F7]

A functor satisfies F(1A)=1FA,F(gf)=FgFf; a contravariant functor is a functor on the opposite category, so it reverses composites (Covariant functor, identity functor, composite functor, and contravariant functor).

[F2]

A cowedge from T to d is a dinatural transformation from T to a constant functor: a family ρc:T(c,c)d with ρcT(f,1c)=ρcT(1c,f) for every f:cc (Wedges and cowedges, and the categories they form).

[F3]

An end of T is a terminal object of the category of wedges over T and a coend an initial object of the category of cowedges under T; in short, an end is a terminal wedge and a coend an initial cowedge, so a coend is a cowedge through which every cowedge factors by exactly one morphism (The end and the coend of a functor Cop×CD).

[L1]

For small C, the end of the function-set functor on a representable is evaluation: cSet(C(a,c),Fc)F(a) and cSet(C(c,a),Pc)P(a) (The end of the function-set functor on a representable is evaluation).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1

Both integrands are functors on Cop×C with values in Set, local smallness making each hom-collection a set. In T the slot c1 is contravariant because C(,a) is, and c2 is covariant because F is; explicitly T(f,1c)(g,y)=(gf,y) and T(1c,f)(g,y)=(g,F(f)(y)) for f:cc, gC(c,a) and yF(c). In T the slot c1 is contravariant because P is and c2 is covariant because C(a,) is; explicitly T(f,1c)(g,y)=(g,P(f)(y)) and T(1c,f)(g,y)=(fg,y) for gC(a,c) and yP(c).

F1F4F5F6F7
2.1

The family ρc(g,y)=F(g)(y) is a cowedge from T to F(a): on an element (g,y) of T(c,c)=C(c,a)×F(c) the left side gives ρc(gf,y)=F(gf)(y) and the right side gives ρc(g,F(f)y)=F(g)(F(f)(y)), and these agree by functoriality of F.

F2F4F7step 1.1
2.2

The family ρc(g,y)=P(g)(y) is a cowedge from T to P(a): on an element (g,y) of T(c,c)=C(a,c)×P(c) the left side gives ρc(g,P(f)y)=P(g)(P(f)(y)) and the right side gives ρc(fg,y)=P(fg)(y), and these agree because P reverses composites.

F2F4F7step 1.1
3.1

The cowedge of step 2.1 is initial. Let λc:C(c,a)×F(c)X be any cowedge and put u(z):=λa(1a,z) for zF(a). Applying the cowedge equation of λ at the morphism g:ca to the element (1a,y) of T(a,c)=C(a,a)×F(c) gives λc(1ag,y)=λa(1a,F(g)(y)), that is λc(g,y)=u(F(g)(y))=u(ρc(g,y)), so uρc=λc for every c. Any u with uρc=λc satisfies u(z)=u(ρa(1a,z))=λa(1a,z)=u(z), so u is unique.

F2F3F4step 2.1
3.2

The cowedge of step 2.2 is initial by the same computation in the other variance. Let λc:C(a,c)×P(c)X be a cowedge and put u(z):=λa(1a,z) for zP(a). The cowedge equation of λ at g:ac applied to (1a,y) in T(c,a)=C(a,a)×P(c) gives λa(1a,P(g)(y))=λc(g1a,y), that is λc(g,y)=u(ρc(g,y)); and u(z)=u(ρa(1a,z))=λa(1a,z) forces uniqueness.

F2F3F4step 2.2
4.1

By [F3] an initial cowedge is a coend, so steps 3.1 and 3.2 give the two displayed coend isomorphisms, with the stated initial cowedges. The two end forms are [L1] and are quoted, not reproved; they carry the extra hypothesis that C be small, which the coend forms do not need.

F3L1step 3.1step 3.2

Remarks

Every class in the coend has a representative in the summand at a with first coordinate 1a: the cowedge equation applied to (1a,y) moves (g,y) to (1a,F(g)y), which is why the counit at a suffices to define the inverse morphism in steps 3.1 and 3.2. That is the content of the formula, and it is what makes the coend collapse to a single value.

The coend forms need only local smallness, since they are proved from the universal property of a coend directly and never form a product or a quotient over the objects of C. The end forms need C small, because they pass through the set of natural transformations.

Depends on

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