Monads on higher monoidal categories (Q722244)

Higher monoidal categories, their functors, and morphisms between those were defined in [\textit{M. Aguiar} and \textit{S. Mahajan}, Monoidal functors, species and Hopf algebras. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS) (2010; Zbl 1209.18002)] as the cells of an iteratively constructed 2-category, see Proposition 7.49 and Remark 7.51. Unfolding the conceptual definition, an \textit{\(n\)-monoidal category} -- for any non-negative integer \(n\) -- is a category together with \(n\) different monoidal structures and suitable compatibility morphisms between them. A \textit{\((p,n-p)\)-monoidal functor} -- for any integer \(0\leq p \leq n\) -- is a functor together with monoidal structures with respect to \(p\) ones of the monoidal structures of the domain and codomain categories, as well as comonoidal structures with respect to the remaining \(n-p\) monoidal structures, which obey certain compatibility conditions. A \textit{morphism} between such functors is a natural transformation which is compatible with all of the monoidal and comonoidal structures. These gadgets constitute a 2-category whose monads are termed \textit{\((p,n-p)\)-monoidal monads} (they are in particular monoidal monads for \(p\) ones of the monoidal structures of their base category and comonoidal monads for the remaining \(n-p\) ones). Any comonoidal structure on a monad \(\mathcal T\) on a monoidal category \(\mathsf C\) induces a monoidal structure on the Eilenberg-Moore category \(\mathsf C^{\mathcal T}\) such that the forgetful functor \(\mathsf C^{\mathcal T} \to \mathsf C\) is strict monoidal. This follows by Proposition 1.1 in [\textit{P. McCrudden}, Theory Appl. Categ. 10, No. 19, 469--485 (2002; Zbl 1018.18006)]. If reflexive coequalizers exist in a monoidal category \(\mathsf C\) and they are preserved by the monoidal product of \(\mathsf C\) and also by the underlying functor of a monad \(\mathcal T\) on \(\mathsf C\), then any monoidal structure on \(\mathcal T\) induces a monoidal structure on \(\mathsf C^{\mathcal T}\) such that the left adjoint of the forgetful functor \(\mathsf C^{\mathcal T} \to \mathsf C\) is strict monoidal. This was proven in Theorem 2.6.4 of [\textit{G. J. Seal}, Theory Appl. Categ. 28, No. 5, 403--433 (2013; Zbl 1273.18011)] and an alternative proof is given in the paper under review in terms of so-called universal multilinear maps. Consequently, if reflexive coequalizers exist in an \(n\)-monoidal category \(\mathsf C\) and they are preserved by the first \(p\) ones of the monoidal products of \(\mathsf C\) and also by the underlying functor of a monad \(\mathcal T\) on \(\mathsf C\), then any \((p,n-p)\)-monoidal structure on \(\mathcal T\) induces \(n\) different monoidal structures on \(\mathsf C^{\mathcal T}\) such that the forgetful functor \(\mathsf C^{\mathcal T} \to \mathsf C\) is strict monoidal with respect to \(n-p\) ones of the monoidal structures and its left adjoint is strict monoidal with respect to the remaining \(p\) ones. As the main result of the paper under review, the \(\mathcal T\)-linearity or multilinearity of the compatibility morphisms between the monoidal structures of \(\mathsf C\) is used to prove that they also lift to \(\mathsf C^{\mathcal T}\) and make it \(n\)-monoidal. Several examples are listed. They give an account on the monoidal structure of the Eilenberg-Moore category of any monad on a cartesian category, or on a co-cartesian category in which appropriate coequalizers exist. Some other examples describe -- for a given braided monoidal category -- the monoidal structure of the category of commutative monoids, of the category of modules over a commutative monoid, and of the category of modules over any bimonoid. Further examples explain the 2-monoidal structure of the category of bipointed objects (under suitable assumptions) and of the category of modules over a commutative bimonoid in a braided monoidal category, so in particular the 2-monoidal structure of the category of sets graded by a fixed monoid. Higher \(n\)-monoidal structures arise on Eilenberg-Moore categories of monads induced by objects in \(n+1\)-monoidal categories which are equipped with several compatible monoid and comonoid structures (they are called \((p+1,n-p)\)-monoids). A `formal theory', interpreting the \(n\)-monoidal Eilenberg-Moore category of an \((n-p,p)\)-monoidal monad as the object map of a suitable double functor, is developed in the follow-up paper [\textit{G. Böhm}, ``The formal theory of multimonoidal monads'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1810.11300}].