Universal semigroups (Q2572475)

The authors introduce the notion of a semimonoidal category \(\langle {\mathcal C},\otimes,\alpha\rangle \) with a bifunctor \({\mathcal C}\times {\mathcal C}\rightarrow {\mathcal C}\) denoted by \(\otimes\) and a natural isomorphism \(\alpha:\otimes\circ( 1_{\mathcal C}\times\otimes) \rightarrow\otimes\circ( \otimes\times 1_{\mathcal C})\) fulfilling MacLane coherence conditions (roughly speaking, \(\otimes\) is ``associative up to isomorphism''). Using the notion of cocone from \textit{S. Mac Lane} [``Categories for the working mathematician'', Grad. Texts Math. 5 (1971; Zbl 0232.18001)] -- really the notion of a semigroup -- the authors define a universal semigroup in a semimonoidal category as a universal cocone. Examples from \({\mathcal S}ets\) and general monoidal categories are given. Next, the authors prove a few results that holds for universal semigroups in any semimonoidal category (for example: the product in a universal semigroup is an epimorphism. The main results concern examples from the category of Banach spaces. Namely, it is proved that semigroups in the category of Banach spaces are Banach algebras and that all Banach algebras with an approximate unit are universal. An example of a finite-dimensional Banach algebra that has no unit but is universal is constructed. In the end of the paper, the authors introduce the dual notion: the universal cosemigroup and give examples from \({\mathcal S}ets\) and other categories.