Categories enriched on two sides (Q5957782)

Let \({\mathcal V}\) be a bicategory; then there is a notion of a category enriched in \({\mathcal V}\), and the categories enriched in \({\mathcal V}\) form a \(2\)-category. The authors introduce morphisms of bicategories more general than the original ones, such that morphisms and adjunctions between bicategories induce \(2\)-functors and adjunctions between the corresponding \(2\)-categories of enriched categories. The new morphisms between bicategories are called categories enriched on two sides; in particular the morphisms from the unit bicategory to \({\mathcal V}\) are just the categories enriched in \({\mathcal V}\). Categories enriched on two sides form a monoidal tricategory in which the internal hom is given by convolution, and this tricategory has an autonomous extension. The paper concludes with material on modules between categories enriched on two sides.