Higher Category Theory
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Higher Category Theory
In mathematics, higher category theory is the part of category theory at a ''higher order'', which means that some equalities are replaced by explicit morphism, arrows in order to be able to explicitly study the structure behind those equalities. Higher category theory is often applied in algebraic topology (especially in homotopy theory), where one studies algebraic Invariant (mathematics), invariants of topological space, spaces, such as the Fundamental groupoid, fundamental . In higher category theory, the concept of higher categorical structures, such as (), allows for a more robust treatment of homotopy theory, enabling one to capture finer homotopical distinctions, such as differentiating two topological spaces that have the same fundamental group but differ in their higher homotopy groups. This approach is particularly valuable when dealing with spaces with intricate topological features, such as the Eilenberg-MacLane space. Strict higher categories An ordinary category (m ...
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Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include number theory (the study of numbers), algebra (the study of formulas and related structures), geometry (the study of shapes and spaces that contain them), Mathematical analysis, analysis (the study of continuous changes), and set theory (presently used as a foundation for all mathematics). Mathematics involves the description and manipulation of mathematical object, abstract objects that consist of either abstraction (mathematics), abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicspurely abstract entities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. Mathematics uses pure reason to proof (mathematics), prove properties of objects, a ''proof'' consisting of a succession of applications of in ...
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Natural Transformation
In category theory, a branch of mathematics, a natural transformation provides a way of transforming one functor into another while respecting the internal structure (i.e., the composition of morphisms) of the categories involved. Hence, a natural transformation can be considered to be a "morphism of functors". Informally, the notion of a natural transformation states that a particular map between functors can be done consistently over an entire category. Indeed, this intuition can be formalized to define so-called functor categories. Natural transformations are, after categories and functors, one of the most fundamental notions of category theory and consequently appear in the majority of its applications. Definition If F and G are functors between the categories C and D (both from C to D), then a natural transformation \eta from F to G is a family of morphisms that satisfies two requirements. # The natural transformation must associate, to every object X in C, a ...
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Homotopy
In topology, two continuous functions from one topological space to another are called homotopic (from and ) if one can be "continuously deformed" into the other, such a deformation being called a homotopy ( ; ) between the two functions. A notable use of homotopy is the definition of homotopy groups and cohomotopy groups, important invariants in algebraic topology. In practice, there are technical difficulties in using homotopies with certain spaces. Algebraic topologists work with compactly generated spaces, CW complexes, or spectra. Formal definition Formally, a homotopy between two continuous functions ''f'' and ''g'' from a topological space ''X'' to a topological space ''Y'' is defined to be a continuous function H: X \times ,1\to Y from the product of the space ''X'' with the unit interval , 1to ''Y'' such that H(x,0) = f(x) and H(x,1) = g(x) for all x \in X. If we think of the second parameter of ''H'' as time then ''H'' describes a ''continu ...
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Reparameterization
In mathematics, and more specifically in geometry, parametrization (or parameterization; also parameterisation, parametrisation) is the process of finding parametric equations of a curve, a surface, or, more generally, a manifold or a variety, defined by an implicit equation. The inverse process is called implicitization. "To parameterize" by itself means "to express in terms of parameters". Parametrization is a mathematical process consisting of expressing the state of a system, process or model as a function of some independent quantities called parameters. The state of the system is generally determined by a finite set of coordinates, and the parametrization thus consists of one function of several real variables for each coordinate. The number of parameters is the number of degrees of freedom of the system. For example, the position of a point that moves on a curve in three-dimensional space is determined by the time needed to reach the point when starting from a fixe ...
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Path (topology)
In mathematics, a path in a topological space X is a continuous function from a closed interval into X. Paths play an important role in the fields of topology and mathematical analysis. For example, a topological space for which there exists a path connecting any two points is said to be path-connected. Any space may be broken up into path-connected components. The set of path-connected components of a space X is often denoted \pi_0(X). One can also define paths and loops in pointed spaces, which are important in homotopy theory. If X is a topological space with basepoint x_0, then a path in X is one whose initial point is x_0. Likewise, a loop in X is one that is based at x_0. Definition A ''curve'' in a topological space X is a continuous function f : J \to X from a non-empty and non-degenerate interval J \subseteq \R. A in X is a curve f : , b\to X whose domain , b/math> is a compact non-degenerate interval (meaning a is homeomorphic to , 1 which is why a ...
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Topology
Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformations, such as Stretch factor, stretching, Torsion (mechanics), twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing holes, opening holes, tearing, gluing, or passing through itself. A topological space is a Set (mathematics), set endowed with a structure, called a ''Topology (structure), topology'', which allows defining continuous deformation of subspaces, and, more generally, all kinds of List of continuity-related mathematical topics, continuity. Euclidean spaces, and, more generally, metric spaces are examples of topological spaces, as any distance or metric defines a topology. The deformations that are considered in topology are homeomorphisms and Homotopy, homotopies. A property that is invariant under such deformations is a to ...
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Nonabelian Algebraic Topology
In mathematics, nonabelian algebraic topology studies an aspect of algebraic topology that involves (inevitably noncommutative) higher-dimensional algebras. Many of the higher-dimensional algebraic structures are noncommutative and, therefore, their study is a very significant part of nonabelian category theory, and also of Nonabelian Algebraic Topology (NAAT), which generalises to higher dimensions ideas coming from the fundamental group. Such algebraic structures in dimensions greater than 1 develop the nonabelian character of the fundamental group, and they are in a precise sense ''‘more nonabelian than the groups. These noncommutative, or more specifically, nonabelian structures reflect more accurately the geometrical complications of higher dimensions than the known homology and homotopy groups commonly encountered in classical algebraic topology. An important part of nonabelian algebraic topology is concerned with the properties and applications of homotopy groupoids and ...
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Homology Theory
In mathematics, the term homology, originally introduced in algebraic topology, has three primary, closely-related usages. The most direct usage of the term is to take the ''homology of a chain complex'', resulting in a sequence of abelian groups called ''homology groups.'' This operation, in turn, allows one to associate various named ''homologies'' or ''homology theories'' to various other types of mathematical objects. Lastly, since there are many homology theories for topological spaces that produce the same answer, one also often speaks of the ''homology of a topological space''. (This latter notion of homology admits more intuitive descriptions for 1- or 2-dimensional topological spaces, and is sometimes referenced in popular mathematics.) There is also a related notion of the cohomology of a cochain complex, giving rise to various cohomology theories, in addition to the notion of the cohomology of a topological space. Homology of chain complexes To take the homology o ...
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Product (category Theory)
In category theory, the product of two (or more) object (category theory), objects in a category (mathematics), category is a notion designed to capture the essence behind constructions in other areas of mathematics such as the Cartesian product of set (mathematics), sets, the direct product of group (mathematics), groups or ring (mathematics), rings, and the product topology, product of topological spaces. Essentially, the product of a indexed family, family of objects is the "most general" object which admits a morphism to each of the given objects. Definition Product of two objects Fix a category C. Let X_1 and X_2 be objects of C. A product of X_1 and X_2 is an object X, typically denoted X_1 \times X_2, equipped with a pair of morphisms \pi_1 : X \to X_1, \pi_2 : X \to X_2 satisfying the following universal property: * For every object Y and every pair of morphisms f_1 : Y \to X_1, f_2 : Y \to X_2, there exists a unique morphism f : Y \to X_1 \times X_2 such that the follo ...
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Singleton Set
In mathematics, a singleton (also known as a unit set or one-point set) is a set with exactly one element. For example, the set \ is a singleton whose single element is 0. Properties Within the framework of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, the axiom of regularity guarantees that no set is an element of itself. This implies that a singleton is necessarily distinct from the element it contains, thus 1 and \ are not the same thing, and the empty set is distinct from the set containing only the empty set. A set such as \ is a singleton as it contains a single element (which itself is a set, but not a singleton). A set is a singleton if and only if its cardinality is . In von Neumann's set-theoretic construction of the natural numbers, the number 1 is ''defined'' as the singleton \. In axiomatic set theory, the existence of singletons is a consequence of the axiom of pairing: for any set ''A'', the axiom applied to ''A'' and ''A'' asserts the existence of \, which is the same as the ...
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Cartesian Product
In mathematics, specifically set theory, the Cartesian product of two sets and , denoted , is the set of all ordered pairs where is an element of and is an element of . In terms of set-builder notation, that is A\times B = \. A table can be created by taking the Cartesian product of a set of rows and a set of columns. If the Cartesian product is taken, the cells of the table contain ordered pairs of the form . One can similarly define the Cartesian product of sets, also known as an -fold Cartesian product, which can be represented by an -dimensional array, where each element is an -tuple. An ordered pair is a 2-tuple or couple. More generally still, one can define the Cartesian product of an indexed family of sets. The Cartesian product is named after René Descartes, whose formulation of analytic geometry gave rise to the concept, which is further generalized in terms of direct product. Set-theoretic definition A rigorous definition of the Cartesian product re ...
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Monoidal Category
In mathematics, a monoidal category (or tensor category) is a category (mathematics), category \mathbf C equipped with a bifunctor :\otimes : \mathbf \times \mathbf \to \mathbf that is associative up to a natural isomorphism, and an Object (category theory), object ''I'' that is both a left identity, left and right identity for ⊗, again up to a natural isomorphism. The associated natural isomorphisms are subject to certain coherence conditions, which ensure that all the relevant diagram (category theory), diagrams commutative diagram, commute. The ordinary tensor product makes vector spaces, abelian groups, module (mathematics), ''R''-modules, or algebra (ring theory), ''R''-algebras into monoidal categories. Monoidal categories can be seen as a generalization of these and other examples. Every (small category, small) monoidal category may also be viewed as a "categorification" of an underlying monoid, namely the monoid whose elements are the isomorphism classes of the category ...
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