Constellations with range and IS-categories (Q2134646)

A \textit{constellation} is a class \(\mathcal Q\) equipped with a partial binary operation \(\cdot\) satisfying: \begin{itemize} \item[1)] if \(x\cdot(y\cdot z)\) exists then \((x\cdot y)\cdot z\) exists, and then the two are equal; \item[2)] if \(x\cdot y\) and \(y\cdot z\) exist, then so does \(x\cdot(y\cdot z)\); \item[3)] for each \(x\), there is a unique right identity \(e\) (denoted by \(D(x)\)) such that \(e\cdot x=x\). \end{itemize} Therefore, constellations are asymmetric generalizations of categories. A constellation \(\mathcal Q\) in which for all \(s\in \mathcal Q\) the set \(R(s) =\{e\in D(\mathcal Q) \vert s\cdot e \) exists, and for all \(f\in D(\mathcal Q), s\cdot f\) exists implies \(e\cdot f\) exists\} has a single element, is called a \textit{constellation with pre-range}, and is called \textit{constellation with range} if it additionally satisfies the \textit{right congruence condition} \(R(R(s)\cdot t)=R(s\cdot t)\) whenever \(s\cdot t\) exists. If \((\mathcal Q,\cdot,D,R)\) is a constellation with pre-range, then \((\mathcal Q,\circ,D,R)\) is a (\textit{derived}) category under partial operation \(s\circ t=s\cdot t\) if \(R(s)=D(t)\), and undefined otherwise if and only if \((\mathcal Q,\cdot,D,R)\) is a constellation with range. \textit{Left cancellative} constellations and \textit{ordered categories with restrictions} are defined and proved that if \((\mathcal Q,\cdot,D,R)\) is a (left cancellative) constellation with range, then the derived category \((\mathcal Q,\circ,D,R)\) is an ordered (left cancellative) category with restrictions, and \textit{vice versa}, if \((\mathcal Q,\circ,D,R, \leq)\) is a (left cancellative) ordered category with restrictions, then setting \(s\cdot t\) equal to \(s\cdot (R(s)\vert t)\) whenever \(R(s)\leq D(t)\) makes \((\mathcal Q,\cdot,D,R)\) into a (left cancellative) constellation with range. The authors define also a \textit{category with insertions} (I-category) and a \textit{category with insertions and surjections} (IS-category) and describe some well-known concepts for IS-categories: epimorphisms, subobjects, equalizers, the balanced property and factorization systems. It turns out that the category of constallations with range is isomorphic to the category of ordered categories with restrictions and, with an appropriate choice the morphisms, is equivalent to the category of IS-categories.