Help w/ Awodey Exercise 5, Ch. 1: Functor from Slice Category to Any Category

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In summary, Peter is looking for help in order to solve an exercise from Steve Awodey's book, Category Theory (Second Edition). He provides the definition of a slice category, a functor, and a forgetful functor, and asks the reader to see how he approached the problem.
  • #1
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I am reading Steve Awodey's book: Category Theory (Second Edition) and am focused on Chapter 1: Categories

I need some help in order to make a meaningful start on Awodey Exercise 5, Chapter 1 Awodey Exercise 5, Chapter 1 reads as follows:
View attachment 8392
I am unable to make a meaningful start on this exercise ... can someone please help me to formulate a solution to the above exercise ...I would like to utilise the exact form of Awodey's definition of functor (see below) in the solution to the exercise ...
Help will be much appreciated ...

Peter=======================================================================================
It may well help readers of the above post to have access to Awodey's definition of a slice category ... so I am providing the same ... as follows:View attachment 8393
View attachment 8394

It may also help readers of the above post to have access to Awodey's definition of a functor ... so I am providing the same ... as follows:
View attachment 8395
View attachment 8396
Hope that helps ...

Peter
 

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  • Awodey - 1 -  Definition 1.2 Functor ... ... PART 1 ... .png
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  • #2
Given a category $\mathscr{C}$, fix an object $C \in \mathscr{C}$

Define the catergory $\mathscr{C}/C$ as follows:
Objects: the objects of $\mathscr{C}/C$ are the arrows $f:A \rightarrow C$ in $\mathscr{C}$
Arrows: the arrow $a:f \rightarrow g$ in $\mathscr{C}/C$ between two objects $f:A \rightarrow C$ and $g:B \rightarrow C$ in $\mathscr{C}/C$ is an arrow $a:A \rightarrow B$ in $\mathscr{C}$, such that $g \circ a = f$

Define the category $\mathscr{C}^{\rightarrow}$ as follows:
Objects: the objects of $\mathscr{C}^{\rightarrow}$ are the arrows of $\mathscr{C}$
Arrows: the arrow $h:f \rightarrow g$ in $\mathscr{C}^{\rightarrow}$ between two objects $f:A \rightarrow X$ and $g:B \rightarrow Y$ in $\mathscr{C}^{\rightarrow}$ is a pair $h=(h_1,h_2)$, where $h_1:A \rightarrow B$ and $h_2:X \rightarrow Y$ are arrows in $\mathscr{C}$, such that $h_2 \circ f = g \circ h_1$

Define the forgetful functor $U: \mathscr{C}/C \rightarrow \mathscr{C}$ as follows:
Objects: if $f:A \rightarrow C$ is an object in $\mathscr{C}/C$, define $Uf=A$, which is an object in $\mathscr{C}$
Arrows: if $a:f \rightarrow g$ is an arrow in $\mathscr{C}/C$ between the objects $f:A \rightarrow C$ and $g:B \rightarrow C$ in $\mathscr{C}/C$, define $Ua=a: A \rightarrow B$, which is an arrow in $\mathscr{C}$
Notice that $Ua:Uf \rightarrow Ug$ and show that $U$ a functor $U: \mathscr{C}/C \rightarrow \mathscr{C}$

Define the functor $F: \mathscr{C}/C \rightarrow \mathscr{C}^{\rightarrow}$ as follows:
Objects: if $f:A \rightarrow C$ is an object in $\mathscr{C}/C$, then $Ff=f:A \rightarrow C$ which is an object in $\mathscr{C}^{\rightarrow}$
Arrow: if $a:f \rightarrow g$ is an arrow in $\mathscr{C}/C$ between the objects $f:A \rightarrow C$ and $g:B \rightarrow C$ in $\mathscr{C}/C$, i.e., $a:A \rightarrow B$, then $Fa:Ff \rightarrow Fg$ is the arrow $Fa=(a, 1_C)$ in $\mathscr{C}^{\rightarrow}$ between the objects $Ff= f:A \rightarrow C$ and $Fg= g:B \rightarrow C$ in $\mathscr{C}^{\rightarrow}$. Notice $g \circ a = f \circ 1_C$.
Show that $F: \mathscr{C}/C \rightarrow \mathscr{C}^{\rightarrow}$ is a functor

Now $dom \circ F(f:A \rightarrow C) = dom(f:A \rightarrow C) = A$
And $U(f:A \rightarrow C) = A$
 
  • #3
Peter said:
I am unable to make a meaningful start on this exercise ... can someone please help me to formulate a solution to the above exercise ...

Can you see how I approached this problem ?

I should have made diagrams in my solution, but that is very cumbersome in Latex, you should make them when studying this problem.
 

FAQ: Help w/ Awodey Exercise 5, Ch. 1: Functor from Slice Category to Any Category

1. What is a functor?

A functor is a mathematical concept that maps one category to another in a way that preserves the structure of the categories. In simpler terms, it is a function that takes objects and morphisms from one category and translates them to the corresponding objects and morphisms in another category.

2. What is the Slice category?

The Slice category is a category that is created by fixing one object in another category and considering only the morphisms that start at that fixed object. In other words, it is a subcategory that contains all the objects and morphisms that are relevant to a particular object in the larger category.

3. How do you create a functor from the Slice category to any category?

To create a functor from the Slice category to any category, you need to define how the objects and morphisms in the Slice category are mapped to the corresponding objects and morphisms in the other category. This can be done by specifying a rule or function that takes an object or morphism in the Slice category and translates it to an object or morphism in the other category.

4. What is the purpose of creating a functor from the Slice category to any category?

The purpose of creating a functor from the Slice category to any category is to establish a relationship between two categories and to preserve the structure of the categories. This can be useful in various mathematical and scientific applications, such as in the study of algebraic structures and in defining relationships between objects.

5. Can a functor be created between any two categories?

Yes, a functor can be created between any two categories as long as the necessary rules and functions are defined to map the objects and morphisms from one category to the other. However, not all categories can be mapped to each other, as some categories may not have the necessary structure or properties to be compatible with a functor.

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