IsomorphismIn mathematics, an isomorphism is a structure-preserving mapping between two structures of the same type that can be reversed by an inverse mapping. Two mathematical structures are isomorphic if an isomorphism exists between them. The word isomorphism is derived from the Ancient Greek: ἴσος isos "equal", and μορφή morphe "form" or "shape". The interest in isomorphisms lies in the fact that two isomorphic objects have the same properties (excluding further information such as additional structure or names of objects).
Category of setsIn the mathematical field of , the category of sets, denoted as Set, is the whose are sets. The arrows or morphisms between sets A and B are the total functions from A to B, and the composition of morphisms is the composition of functions. Many other categories (such as the , with group homomorphisms as arrows) add structure to the objects of the category of sets and/or restrict the arrows to functions of a particular kind.
Direct productIn mathematics, one can often define a direct product of objects already known, giving a new one. This generalizes the Cartesian product of the underlying sets, together with a suitably defined structure on the product set. More abstractly, one talks about the , which formalizes these notions. Examples are the product of sets, groups (described below), rings, and other algebraic structures. The product of topological spaces is another instance. There is also the direct sum – in some areas this is used interchangeably, while in others it is a different concept.
MorphismIn mathematics, particularly in , a morphism is a structure-preserving map from one mathematical structure to another one of the same type. The notion of morphism recurs in much of contemporary mathematics. In set theory, morphisms are functions; in linear algebra, linear transformations; in group theory, group homomorphisms; in analysis and topology, continuous functions, and so on.
MonoidIn abstract algebra, a branch of mathematics, a monoid is a set equipped with an associative binary operation and an identity element. For example, the nonnegative integers with addition form a monoid, the identity element being 0. Monoids are semigroups with identity. Such algebraic structures occur in several branches of mathematics. The functions from a set into itself form a monoid with respect to function composition. More generally, in , the morphisms of an to itself form a monoid, and, conversely, a monoid may be viewed as a category with a single object.
TopologyIn mathematics, topology (from the Greek words τόπος, and λόγος) is concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing holes, opening holes, tearing, gluing, or passing through itself. A topological space is a set endowed with a structure, called a topology, which allows defining continuous deformation of subspaces, and, more generally, all kinds of continuity.
Group actionIn mathematics, a group action on a space is a group homomorphism of a given group into the group of transformations of the space. Similarly, a group action on a mathematical structure is a group homomorphism of a group into the automorphism group of the structure. It is said that the group acts on the space or structure. If a group acts on a structure, it will usually also act on objects built from that structure. For example, the group of Euclidean isometries acts on Euclidean space and also on the figures drawn in it.
Limit (category theory)In , a branch of mathematics, the abstract notion of a limit captures the essential properties of universal constructions such as , and inverse limits. The of a colimit generalizes constructions such as disjoint unions, direct sums, coproducts, s and direct limits. Limits and colimits, like the strongly related notions of universal properties and adjoint functors, exist at a high level of abstraction. In order to understand them, it is helpful to first study the specific examples these concepts are meant to generalize.
Commutative diagramIn mathematics, and especially in , a commutative diagram is a such that all directed paths in the diagram with the same start and endpoints lead to the same result. It is said that commutative diagrams play the role in category theory that equations play in algebra. A commutative diagram often consists of three parts: (also known as vertices) morphisms (also known as arrows or edges) paths or composites In algebra texts, the type of morphism can be denoted with different arrow usages: A monomorphism may be labeled with a or a .
Functor represented by a schemeIn algebraic geometry, a functor represented by a scheme X is a set-valued contravariant functor on the category of schemes such that the value of the functor at each scheme S is (up to natural bijections) the set of all morphisms . The scheme X is then said to represent the functor and that classify geometric objects over S given by F. The best known example is the Hilbert scheme of a scheme X (over some fixed base scheme), which, when it exists, represents a functor sending a scheme S to a flat family of closed subschemes of .
