\(3 \times 3\) lemma for star-exact sequences (Q1758722)

There are two generalizations of the \(3\times 3\) lemma in abelian categories. The first one in the context of normal categories, i.e., a pointed regular category where every regular epimorphism is a normal epimorphism. The second one in the context of non-pointed regular categories by replacing short exact sequences with exact forks, i.e., kernel pairs of regular epimorphisms (the ``denormalized'' \(3\times 3\)-lemma). The authors show how these two seemingly independent results can be unified in the context of star-regular categories introduced in a joint work of \textit{A. Ursini} et al. [Theory Appl. Categ. 27, 80--96 (2012, Zbl 1252.18022)] and the first two authors.