Hochschild homology, lax codescent, and duplicial structure (Q2404189)

In this brilliant paper, duplicial objects in the sense of [\textit{W. G. Dwyer} and \textit{D. M. Kan}, Comment. Math. Helv. 60, 582--600 (1985; Zbl 0593.18010)] are studied in a 2-categorical framework. The main achievements can be grouped as follows. First, a construction of duplicial objects in [\textit{G. Böhm} and \textit{D. Ştefan}, Commun. Math. Phys. 282, No. 1, 239--286 (2008; Zbl 1153.18004)] is interpreted as the action of a cleverly designed functor built on a 2-categorical generalization of Hochschild homology. This gives a moral analogue of (and relies on) the construction of simplicial objects via bar resolution with respect to a comonad. As a byproduct, duplicial structures on simplicial objects are described as compatible natural transformations between the right and left decalage comonads. Second, it is analyzed what additional structure is needed on a bicategory (so by instance on a monoidal category or a mere category) in order for the simplicial nerve to inherit a duplicial structure. For example, paracyclic structures (i.e. duplicial structures with invertible structure morphisms) on the nerve of a monoidal category \(\mathsf M\) are proven to correspond to \(\ast\)-autonomous structures; and cyclic structures (i.e. paracyclic structures where the structure morphism has order \(n+1\) at each grade \(n\)) to \(\ast\)-autonomous structures with cyclic dualizing object.