Operads within monoidal pseudo algebras (Q2432567)

This article gives a general notion of operad which includes as special cases classical operads (both symmetric and non-symmetric) and Batanin's higher operads [\textit{M. A. Batanin}, Adv. Math. 136, No.1, 39--103 (1998; Zbl 0912.18006)]. The author also introduces braided and symmetric versions of these higher operads. The starting point is a \(2\)-monad \(T\) on a \(2\)-category with finite products \(\mathcal{K}\). This encodes the indexing category and the structure where the corresponding operads live. The next step is to take a (normal) pseudo algebra for \(T\), that is an object \(A\) of \(\mathcal{K}\) with a \(T\)-algebra structure relaxed in the sense that equalities in the usual diagrams are replaced by invertible \(2\)-morphisms. Then we require \(A\) to also have a compatible pseudo monoid structure, where again this means a monoid structure relaxed by invertible \(2\)-morphisms. Such an \(A\) is called a monoidal pseudo algebra. Relevant background material on \(2\)-monads and pseudo algebras is recalled in the article. Given such a \(2\)-monad \(T\) and monoidal pseudo algebra \(A\), a \(T\)-operad in \(A\) is defined to be a \(1\)-morphism \(p:T(*)\to A\) with suitably compatible unit and multiplication defined by \(2\)-morphisms. The category of such operads and the category of algebras for such an operad are defined in a straightforward manner. The classical notion of (non-symmetric) operad is retrieved by taking \(\mathcal{K}\) to be the \(2\)-category of categories and \(T\) to be the extension of the monad of monoids. A monoidal pseudo algebra for \(T\) amounts to a braided monoidal category \({\mathcal A}\) (a statement which can be stated precisely as a \(2\)-equivalence). Then \(T(*)={\mathbb{N}}\), so that a \(1\)-morphism \(p:T(*)\to A\) gives a sequence of objects of the braided monoidal category \({\mathcal A}\). The unit and multiplication translate into the usual structural data of an operad and the compatibility conditions translate into the usual unit and associativity laws for substitution. The higher operads of Batanin are retrieved by taking \(\mathcal{K}\) to be the \(2\)-category of globular categories and \(T\) to be an extension of the monad of strict \(\omega\)-categories studied by Batanin. A monoidal pseudo algebra for \(T\) amounts to an augmented monoidal globular category in the sense of Batanin. To explain the higher operad material the article provides a useful summary of the globular approach to higher category theory. The final section is devoted to defining the braided and symmetric versions of Batanin's higher operads, exploiting work of \textit{C. Berger} [Adv. Math. 169, No. 1, 118--175 (2002; Zbl 1024.18004)]. The construction involves new \(2\)-monads on globular categories by combining Batanin's \(2\)-monad with, for example, the braided monoidal \(2\)-category \(2\)-monad.