Supertropical monoids: basics and canonical factorization (Q392167)

In earlier works [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 215, No. 10, 2431--2463 (2011; Zbl 1225.13009); Commun. Algebra 41, No. 7, 2736--2782 (2013; Zbl 1283.13003)], the authors studied the category \(STROP\) comprised of supertropical valuations. This category is too narrow to answer certain natural questions about universality. In the paper under review, the authors broaden the category \(STROP\) to \(STROP_m\), the category of supertropical monoids, thereby permitting them to deal in considerable detail with categories of tropical valuation theory. This is used to solve various problems concerning initial morphisms, left in the papers cited above, and obtain new results on totally ordered supervaluations studied by the authors in [Preprint, ``Monoid valuations and value ordered supervaluations'', \url{arXiv:1104.2753}].