In
category theory, a branch of
mathematics, a section is a
right inverse of some
morphism.
Dually, a retraction is a
left inverse of some
morphism.
In other words, if
and
are morphisms whose composition
is the
identity morphism
In mathematics, particularly in category theory, a morphism is a structure-preserving map from one mathematical structure to another one of the same type. The notion of morphism recurs in much of contemporary mathematics. In set theory, morphisms ...
on
, then
is a section of
, and
is a retraction of
.
Every section is a
monomorphism
In the context of abstract algebra or universal algebra, a monomorphism is an injective homomorphism. A monomorphism from to is often denoted with the notation X\hookrightarrow Y.
In the more general setting of category theory, a monomorphism ...
(every morphism with a left inverse is
left-cancellative
In mathematics, the notion of cancellative is a generalization of the notion of invertible.
An element ''a'' in a magma has the left cancellation property (or is left-cancellative) if for all ''b'' and ''c'' in ''M'', always implies that .
A ...
), and every retraction is an
epimorphism
In category theory, an epimorphism (also called an epic morphism or, colloquially, an epi) is a morphism ''f'' : ''X'' → ''Y'' that is right-cancellative in the sense that, for all objects ''Z'' and all morphisms ,
: g_1 \circ f = g_2 \circ f ...
(every morphism with a right inverse is
right-cancellative
In mathematics, the notion of cancellative is a generalization of the notion of invertible.
An element ''a'' in a magma has the left cancellation property (or is left-cancellative) if for all ''b'' and ''c'' in ''M'', always implies that .
An ...
).
In
algebra
Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics.
Elementary ...
, sections are also called split monomorphisms and retractions are also called split epimorphisms. In an
abelian category
In mathematics, an abelian category is a category in which morphisms and objects can be added and in which kernels and cokernels exist and have desirable properties. The motivating prototypical example of an abelian category is the category of ...
, if
is a split epimorphism with split monomorphism
, then
is
isomorphic to the
direct sum of
and the
kernel
Kernel may refer to:
Computing
* Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems
* Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution
* Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming
* Kernel method, in machine learn ...
of
. The synonym coretraction for section is sometimes seen in the literature, although rarely in recent work.
Properties
* A section that is also an
epimorphism
In category theory, an epimorphism (also called an epic morphism or, colloquially, an epi) is a morphism ''f'' : ''X'' → ''Y'' that is right-cancellative in the sense that, for all objects ''Z'' and all morphisms ,
: g_1 \circ f = g_2 \circ f ...
is an
isomorphism
In mathematics, an isomorphism is a structure-preserving mapping between two structures of the same type that can be reversed by an inverse mapping. Two mathematical structures are isomorphic if an isomorphism exists between them. The word i ...
. Dually a retraction that is also a
monomorphism
In the context of abstract algebra or universal algebra, a monomorphism is an injective homomorphism. A monomorphism from to is often denoted with the notation X\hookrightarrow Y.
In the more general setting of category theory, a monomorphism ...
is an isomorphism.
Terminology
The concept of a retraction in category theory comes from the essentially similar notion of a
retraction in
topology
In mathematics, topology (from the Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing ...
:
where
is a subspace of
is a retraction in the topological sense, if it's a retraction of the inclusion map
in the category theory sense. The concept in topology was defined by
Karol Borsuk
Karol Borsuk (May 8, 1905 – January 24, 1982) was a Polish mathematician.
His main interest was topology, while he obtained significant results also in functional analysis.
Borsuk introduced the theory of '' absolute retracts'' (ARs) and ''abs ...
in 1931.
Borsuk's student,
Samuel Eilenberg
Samuel Eilenberg (September 30, 1913 – January 30, 1998) was a Polish-American mathematician who co-founded category theory (with Saunders Mac Lane) and homological algebra.
Early life and education
He was born in Warsaw, Kingdom of Poland to ...
, was with
Saunders Mac Lane
Saunders Mac Lane (4 August 1909 – 14 April 2005) was an American mathematician who co-founded category theory with Samuel Eilenberg.
Early life and education
Mac Lane was born in Norwich, Connecticut, near where his family lived in Taftville ...
the founder of category theory, and (as the earliest publications on category theory concerned various topological spaces) one might have expected this term to have initially be used. In fact, their earlier publications, up to, e.g., Mac Lane (1963)'s ''Homology'', used the term right inverse. It was not until 1965 when Eilenberg and
John Coleman Moore
John Coleman Moore (May 27, 1923 – January 1, 2016) was an American mathematician. The Borel−Moore homology and Eilenberg–Moore spectral sequence are named after him.
Early life and education
Moore was born in 1923 in Staten Island, New ...
coined the dual term 'coretraction' that Borsuk's term was lifted to category theory in general. The term coretraction gave way to the term section by the end of the 1960s.
Both use of left/right inverse and section/retraction are commonly seen in the literature: the former use has the advantage that it is familiar from the theory of
semigroup
In mathematics, a semigroup is an algebraic structure consisting of a set together with an associative internal binary operation on it.
The binary operation of a semigroup is most often denoted multiplicatively: ''x''·''y'', or simply ''xy'', ...
s and
monoid
In abstract algebra, a branch of mathematics, a monoid is a set equipped with an associative binary operation and an identity element. For example, the nonnegative integers with addition form a monoid, the identity element being 0.
Monoid ...
s; the latter is considered less confusing by some because one does not have to think about 'which way around' composition goes, an issue that has become greater with the increasing popularity of the synonym ''f;g'' for ''g∘f''.
[Cf. e.g., https://blog.juliosong.com/linguistics/mathematics/category-theory-notes-9/]
Examples
In the
category of sets
In the mathematical field of category theory, the category of sets, denoted as Set, is the category whose objects are sets. The arrows or morphisms between sets ''A'' and ''B'' are the total functions from ''A'' to ''B'', and the composition o ...
, every monomorphism (
injective function
Function or functionality may refer to:
Computing
* Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards
* Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system
* Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-oriente ...
) with a
non-empty
In mathematics, the empty set is the unique set having no elements; its size or cardinality (count of elements in a set) is zero. Some axiomatic set theories ensure that the empty set exists by including an axiom of empty set, while in other t ...
domain is a section, and every epimorphism (
surjective function
In mathematics, a surjective function (also known as surjection, or onto function) is a function that every element can be mapped from element so that . In other words, every element of the function's codomain is the image of one element of ...
) is a retraction; the latter statement is equivalent to the
axiom of choice
In mathematics, the axiom of choice, or AC, is an axiom of set theory equivalent to the statement that ''a Cartesian product of a collection of non-empty sets is non-empty''. Informally put, the axiom of choice says that given any collection ...
.
In the
category of vector spaces
In algebra, given a ring ''R'', the category of left modules over ''R'' is the category whose objects are all left modules over ''R'' and whose morphisms are all module homomorphisms between left ''R''-modules. For example, when ''R'' is the ring ...
over a
field
Field may refer to:
Expanses of open ground
* Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes
* Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport
* Battlefield
* Lawn, an area of mowed grass
* Meadow, a grass ...
''K'', every monomorphism and every epimorphism splits; this follows from the fact that
linear map
In mathematics, and more specifically in linear algebra, a linear map (also called a linear mapping, linear transformation, vector space homomorphism, or in some contexts linear function) is a mapping V \to W between two vector spaces that pr ...
s can be uniquely defined by specifying their values on a
basis
Basis may refer to:
Finance and accounting
* Adjusted basis, the net cost of an asset after adjusting for various tax-related items
*Basis point, 0.01%, often used in the context of interest rates
* Basis trading, a trading strategy consisting ...
.
In the
category of abelian groups, the epimorphism Z → Z/2Z which sends every
integer
An integer is the number zero (), a positive natural number (, , , etc.) or a negative integer with a minus sign ( −1, −2, −3, etc.). The negative numbers are the additive inverses of the corresponding positive numbers. In the languag ...
to its remainder
modulo 2 does not split; in fact the only morphism Z/2Z → Z is the
zero map
0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...
. Similarly, the natural monomorphism Z/2Z → Z/4Z doesn't split even though there is a non-trivial morphism Z/4Z → Z/2Z.
The categorical concept of a section is important in
homological algebra, and is also closely related to the notion of a
section
Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea
* Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents
** Section sig ...
of a
fiber bundle in
topology
In mathematics, topology (from the Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing ...
: in the latter case, a section of a fiber bundle is a section of the bundle projection map of the fiber bundle.
Given a
quotient space with quotient map
, a section of
is called a
transversal.
Bibliography
*
*
See also
*
Splitting lemma
In mathematics, and more specifically in homological algebra, the splitting lemma states that in any abelian category, the following statements are equivalent for a short exact sequence
: 0 \longrightarrow A \mathrel B \mathrel C \longrightarro ...
*
Inverse function#Left and right inverses
*
Transversal (combinatorics)
In mathematics, particularly in combinatorics, given a family of sets, here called a collection ''C'', a transversal (also called a cross-section) is a set containing exactly one element from each member of the collection. When the sets of the co ...
Notes
{{Reflist
Category theory
Homological algebra