On categorical aspects of \(S\)-quantales (Q1738256)

The notion of (right) \(S\)-quantale was introduced in [\textit{X. Zhang} and \textit{V. Laan}, Semigroup Forum 91, No. 1, 62--70 (2015; Zbl 1346.06010)]. Recall that a \textit{(right) \(S\)-quantale} is a complete lattice \(A\) equipped with an action of a partially ordered monoid (pomonoid) \(S\), namely, a map \(\cdot:A\times S\rightarrow A\) with the following four properties: \begin{itemize} \item[(1)] \(a\cdot(st)=(a\cdot s)\cdot t\) for every \(a \in A\) and every \(s, t\in S\); \item[(2)] \(a\cdot 1 = a\) for every \(a\in A\), where \(1\) stands for the unit element of \(S\); \item[(3)] \(a\leqslant b\) and \(s\leqslant t\) together imply \(a\cdot s\leqslant b\cdot t\) for every \(a,b\in A\) and every \(s, t\in S\); \item[(4)] \((\bigvee M)\cdot s=\bigvee\{m\cdot s\mid m\in M\}\) for every subset \(M\subseteq A\) and every \(s\in S\). \end{itemize} Every (right) \(S\)-quantale is a (right) \(S\)-act in the sense of, e.g., [\textit{M. Kilp} et al., Monoids, acts and categories. With applications to wreath products and graphs. A handbook for students and researchers. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter (2000; Zbl 0945.20036)]. Every unital quantale \(Q\) (in the sense of, e.g., [\textit{K. I. Rosenthal}, Quantales and their applications. Harlow: Longman Scientific \& Technical; New York: John Wiley \& Sons, Inc. (1990; Zbl 0703.06007)]) is a (right) \(Q\)-quantale. If \(A\) is just a partially ordered set (poset), and above-mentioned property (4) is skipped, then one arrives at the notion of (right) \(S\)-poset, and it is shown in the above paper of X. Zhang and V. Laan (Corollary 8) that for a partially ordered group (pogroup) \(S\) (right) \(S\)-quantales are precisely the \(\mathcal{E}\)-injective objects in the category \(\mathbf{Pos}_S\) of (right) \(S\)-posets, where \(\mathcal{E}\) stands for the class of regular monomorphisms in \(\mathbf{Pos}_S\). The paper under review considers the category \(\mathbf{Quant}_S\) of (right) \(S\)-quan\-tales over a pomonoid \(S\) and their morphisms, which are defined to preserve arbitrary joins and the pomonoid action. In particular, the authors describe (co)limits (e.g., (co)products, (co)equalizers, pullbacks, pushouts) and some special morphisms (e.g., epimorphisms, monomorphisms, embeddings) in the category \(\mathbf{Quant}_S\). All these descriptions (which are often straightforward) are done manually inside the category \(\mathbf{Quant}_S\), i.e., without lifting them from, e.g., the underlying category of complete lattices and join-preserving maps. The authors also show that the forgetful functor from the category \(\mathbf{Quant}_S\) to the category \(\mathbf{Pos}\) of posets and order-preserving maps has a left adjoint (utilizing the construction of free \(S\)-posets over posets of Theorem 10 of [\textit{S. Bulman-Fleming} and \textit{M. Mahmoudi}, Semigroup Forum 71, No. 3, 443--461 (2005; Zbl 1095.20047)]). The paper is well written, contains nearly all of its required preliminaries (which are simple), and will be of interest to all the researchers, who work with the categories of ordered algebraic structures.