Natural transformation

(Extra)natural transformation

Let 𝐹 :𝖠 ×𝖡 ×𝖡𝐨𝐩 𝖣 and 𝐺 :𝖠 ×𝖢 ×𝖢𝐨𝐩 𝖣 be functors. A transformation (family of morphisms) with components

𝛼𝑎,𝑏,𝑐:𝐹(𝑎,𝑏,𝑏)𝐺(𝑎,𝑐,𝑐)

can of course never be natural in 𝑏 or 𝑐, but it can be extraordinary-natural, or extranatural in 𝑏 and 𝑐. Extranaturality in an argument appearing in the domain is given by the diagram on left, whille extranaturality an argument appearing in the codomain is given by the diagram on the right.1 #m/def/cat

c

A transformation is said to be (extra)natural iff it is natural in arguments appearing in both its domain and codomain, and extranatural in any arguments appearing both covariantly and contravariantly in either its domain or codomain only.


#state/tidy | #lang/en | #SemBr

Footnotes

  1. 1966. A generalization of the functorial calculus, p. 367