On the categorical behaviour of \(V\)-groups (Q2207260)

The paper studies categories enriched in a quantale following the approach of [\textit{F. W. Lawvere}, Repr. Theory Appl. Categ. 1, 1--37 (2002; Zbl 1078.18501], where some well-known mathematical structures (like, for example, metric spaces) are considered as categories enriched in a certain quantale, thus allowing, e.g., to see preordered sets as categories enriched in the lattice \(\textbf{2}=\{\bot,\top\}\) with \(\bot<\top\). In the first step, the authors enrich the standard category \textbf{Rel} of sets and relations in a commutative unital quantale \(V=(V,\otimes, k)\), where \(\otimes\) is the tensor product and \(k\) is the unit of the quantale. They get the category \(V\)-\textbf{Rel} with sets as objects and \textit{\(V\)-relations} \(r: X\nrightarrow Y\) (maps \(r:X\times Y\rightarrow V\)) as morphisms. Composition of relations \(r:X\nrightarrow Y\) and \(s:Y\nrightarrow Z\) is given by \((s\cdot r)(x,z)=\bigvee_{y\in Y}r(x,y)\otimes s(y,z)\), and the identity morphism \(1_X:X\nrightarrow X\) is defined by \(1_X(x,x^{\prime})= k\) if \(x=x^{\prime}\); and \(1_X(x,x^{\prime})=\bot\) otherwise. Every map \(f:X\rightarrow Y\) can be considered as a \(V\)-relation given by \(f(x,y)=k\) if \(y=f(x)\); and \(f(x,y)=\bot\) otherwise. Finally, every \(V\)-relation \(r:X\nrightarrow Y\) has the opposite relation \(r^{\circ}:Y\nrightarrow X\) defined by \(r^{\circ}(y,x)=r(x,y)\). In the second step, the authors consider a framework of enriching some standard categories in \(V\). They thus consider the category \(V\)-\textbf{Cat} of \textit{\(V\)-categories} \((X,a)\), where \(X\) is a set and \(a:X\nrightarrow X\) is a \(V\)-relation on \(X\) satisfying two properties: \(1_X\leqslant a\) (reflexivity: \(k\leqslant a(x,x)\) for every \(x\in X\)) and \(a\cdot a\leqslant a\) (transitivity: \(a(x,x^{\prime})\otimes a(x^{\prime},x^{\prime\prime})\leqslant a(x,x^{\prime\prime})\) for every \(x,x^{\prime},x^{\prime\prime}\in X\)); and \textit{\(V\)-functors} \(f:(X,a)\rightarrow(Y, b)\), where \(f:X\rightarrow Y\) is a map such that \(f\cdot a\leqslant b\cdot f\) (structure preservation: \(a(x,x^{\prime})\leqslant b(f(x),f(x^{\prime}))\) for every \(x,x^{\prime}\in X\)). For example, \(\textbf{ 2}\)-\textbf{Cat} is the category \textbf{Ord} of preordered sets and monotone maps. The category \(V\)-\textbf{Cat} is monoidal closed, the monoidal structure in question defined by \((X,a)\otimes(Y,b)=(X\times Y, a\otimes b)\), where \(a\otimes b((x,y),(x^{\prime},y^{\prime}))=a(x,x^{\prime})\otimes b(y,y^{\prime})\); and \(f\otimes g=f\times g\). A thorough introduction into the theory of \(V\)-categories and \(V\)-functors (including the category \(V\)-\textbf{Rel}) is provided in [\textit{D. Hofmann} (ed.) et al., Monoidal topology. A categorical approach to order, metric, and topology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2014; Zbl 1297.18001)]. In the last step, the authors enrich the category \textbf{Grp} of groups and group homomorphisms in \(V\). More precisely, they define the category \(V\)-\textbf{Grp} of \textit{\(V\)-groups} \((X,a)\), where \((X,a)\) is a \(V\)-category, and \(X=(X,+,0)\) is a group (with the group operation \(+\) and its respective unit \(0\)) such that \(+:(X,a)\otimes(X,a)\rightarrow(X,a)\) is a \(V\)-functor; and \textit{\(V\)-homomorphisms} \(f:(X,a)\rightarrow(Y,b)\) which are both \(V\)-functors and group homomorphisms. For example, \(\textbf{2}\)-\textbf{Grp} is the category \(\textbf{OrdGrp}\) of preordered groups and monotone group homomorphisms investigated by the authors in [\textit{M. M. Clementino} et al., J. Pure Appl. Algebra 223, No. 10, 4226--4245 (2019; Zbl 1468.18012)]. The study of the category \(V\)-\textbf{Grp} is the main purpose of the present paper, including adaptation of some of the results of the above-mentioned article to the new setting of \(V\)-groups. The authors show that the category \(V\)-\textbf{Grp} is topological (resp. monadic) over \textbf{Grp} (resp. \(V\)-\textbf{Cat}) with the obvious forgetful functor, and then consider topological and algebraic properties of \(V\)-groups. The paper also considers split extensions in the category \(V\)-\textbf{Grp} and shows that all the compatible \(V\)-category structures on the semidirect product of two \(V\)-groups lie between the structure given by the quantale tensor and a lexicographic structure, which is a generalization of the lexicographic order on a product. The paper ends with the result that the category of \textit{symmetric} \(V\)-groups (\(V\)-groups \((X,a)\) such that \(a^{\circ}=a\)) is algebraically coherent in the sense of \textit{A. S. Cigoli} et al. [Theory Appl. Categ. 30, 1864--1905 (2015; Zbl 1366.18005)]. The paper is well written, contains most of its required preliminaries (but requires from the reader a certain categorical background), and will be of interest to all those researchers, who study categorical topology or categorical algebra.