Relative pseudomonads, Kleisli bicategories, and substitution monoidal structures (Q1652913)

This paper is based on a bicategorical version of two threads for categories. One is the alternative view of monads that does not involve composing the endofunctor with itself; see [\textit{R. F. C. Walters}, A categorical approach to universal algebra. Australian National University (PhD Thesis) (1970)] and \textit{E. G. Manes} [Algebraic theories. New York, NY: Springer (1976; Zbl 0353.18007)]. The second is relative adjunctions in the sense of \textit{F. Ulmer} [J. Algebra 8, 77--95 (1968; Zbl 0182.34403)]. For ordinary categories, the two threads were brought together by \textit{T. Altenkirch} et al. [Log. Methods Comput. Sci. 11, No. 1, Paper No. 3, 40 p. (2015; Zbl 1448.18007)]. For bicategories the first thread was analysed by \textit{F. Marmolejo} and \textit{R. J. Wood} [Theory Appl. Categ. 28, 371--402 (2013; Zbl 1273.18010)]. The relative version of pseudomonad involves a pseudofunctor \(J : \mathcal{C}\to \mathcal{D}\). When \(J\) is the identity of \(\mathcal{D}\), the concept agrees with the no-iteration pseudomonad of Marmolejo-Wood. Relative pseudoadjunctions generate relative pseudomonads. The Kleisli bicategory of a relative pseudomonad provides a generating relative pseudoadjunction. The bicategory \(\mathrm{Prof}\) of profunctors (also called distributors and modules) between categories is an example of a Kleisli bicategory for the presheaf construction relative to the inclusion of the 2-category of small categories in bigger ones. Lax idempotent (= Kock-Zöberlein) relative pseudomonads are singled out for study. A general method of lifting 2-monads to the Kleisli bicategory of a relative pseudomonad is applied to extend several 2-monads from \(\mathrm{Cat}\) to \(\mathrm{Prof}\). \textit{S. Lack} and the reviewer defined skew warpings on skew bicategories in [Cah. Topol. Géom. Différ. Catég. 55, No. 4, 244--266 (2014; Zbl 1349.18012)]; these include no-iteration pseudomonads. Prompted by the paper under review, one may ask whether relative skew warpings worthy of study.