Structure

Missing cogenerator

Lemma.

Let C\C be a pointed category with a faithful functor U:C→SetU: \C \to \Set. Assume there exists a collection of non-zero objects F⊆Ob⁡(C)\F \subseteq \Ob(\C) satisfying the following conditions:

  1. For any X∈FX \in \F and any Y∈CY \in \C, every non-zero morphism f:X→Yf: X \to Y is injective on underlying sets.
  2. For every Y∈CY \in \C there is some object X∈FX \in \F such that card⁡(U(X))>card⁡(U(Y))\card(U(X)) > \card(U(Y)).

Then C\C does not have a cogenerator. Moreover, C\C is not hypercocomplete, and hence not cototal.

Proof. Assume that there is a cogenerator YY. By assumption (2) there is an object X∈FX \in \F such that U(X)U(X) is larger than U(Y)U(Y) (w.r.t. cardinalities). Since 0,idX:X⇉X0,\id_X : X \rightrightarrows X are distinct, there is a morphism f:X→Yf : X \to Y with f≠0f \neq 0. But then U(f):U(X)→U(Y)U(f) : U(X) \to U(Y) is injective by assumption (1), which contradicts our choice of XX.

Now assume that C\C is hypercocomplete. Using the axiom of choice, we may assume that for each small cardinal κ\kappa, there is at most one element X∈FX \in \F such that card⁡(U(X))=κ\card(U(X)) = \kappa. Treating F\F as a discrete diagram in C\C, assumption (1) implies that for any object YY of C\C, the collection of cocones F→Y\F \to Y is essentially small, since the maps X→YX \to Y with card⁡(U(X))>card⁡(U(Y))\card(U(X)) > \card(U(Y)) must all be zero in such a cocone. Since C\C is hypercocomplete, there exists a coproduct YY of all elements of F\F. But then by assumption (2), there exists X∈FX \in \F such that card⁡(U(X))>card⁡(U(Y))\card(U(X)) > \card(U(Y)); and since C\C is pointed, the coprojection X→YX \to Y must be split monic and therefore non-zero. Using assumption (1), we get a contradiction.

Finally, any cototal category is hypercocomplete by Thm. 5.6 in G. M. Kelly, A survey of totality for enriched and ordinary categories. □\square

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