Homotopy coherent category theory and \(A_\infty\)-structures in monoidal categories (Q1380029)

As was pointed out by \textit{R. M. Vogt} [Math. Z. 134, 11-52 (1973; Zbl 0276.55006)], the natural notion of homotopy coherent map between homotopy coherent diagrams, is a homotopy coherent diagram of type a cylinder on the original indexing category. Even with a rich structure on the receiving category as is found with \(\mathcal T op\) or \(\mathcal K an\), composition of such maps requires some choices and is even then not associative. It is however, associative up to (specified) homotopy and so the ``caterory'' of homotopy coherent diagrams of given type and these maps between them is not a category. Usually the receiving category is assumed to be, for instance, simplicially enriched and then the result ends up being simplicially and on taking \(\pi_0\) of each ``hom'' it yields a category [cf. \textit{J.-M. Cordier} and \textit{T. Porter}, Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 100, 65-90 (1986; Zbl 0603.55017) or \textit{M. A. Batanin}, Cah. Topologie Géom. Différ. Catégoriques 34, No. 4, 279-304 (1993; Zbl 0793.18005)]. Such a passage to the quotient category hinders the development of adequate analogues of categorical methods (here motivated by homotopy coherent categorical versions of strong shape theory, but also of importance when considering homotopy coherent algebras over operads, monads, etc.). To handle the homotopy coherent analogue of the category of diagrams, the author develops the notion of simplicial \(A_\infty\)-graph. This requires the setting-up of considerable technical machinery on \(A_\infty\)-structures in general. One of the main results then is that the `category' of homotopy coherent diagrams of type a given simplically enriched category in a locally Kan simplicial category is itself a locally Kan simplicial \(A_\infty\)-graph. This impressive technical result includes a large number of special cases that should be of great significance in a wide variety if applications.