Forgetful functorIn mathematics, in the area of , a forgetful functor (also known as a stripping functor) 'forgets' or drops some or all of the input's structure or properties 'before' mapping to the output. For an algebraic structure of a given signature, this may be expressed by curtailing the signature: the new signature is an edited form of the old one. If the signature is left as an empty list, the functor is simply to take the underlying set of a structure.
Polynomial ringIn mathematics, especially in the field of algebra, a polynomial ring or polynomial algebra is a ring (which is also a commutative algebra) formed from the set of polynomials in one or more indeterminates (traditionally also called variables) with coefficients in another ring, often a field. Often, the term "polynomial ring" refers implicitly to the special case of a polynomial ring in one indeterminate over a field. The importance of such polynomial rings relies on the high number of properties that they have in common with the ring of the integers.
Variety (universal algebra)In universal algebra, a variety of algebras or equational class is the class of all algebraic structures of a given signature satisfying a given set of identities. For example, the groups form a variety of algebras, as do the abelian groups, the rings, the monoids etc. According to Birkhoff's theorem, a class of algebraic structures of the same signature is a variety if and only if it is closed under the taking of homomorphic images, subalgebras, and (direct) products.
Tensor algebraIn mathematics, the tensor algebra of a vector space V, denoted T(V) or T^•(V), is the algebra of tensors on V (of any rank) with multiplication being the tensor product. It is the free algebra on V, in the sense of being left adjoint to the forgetful functor from algebras to vector spaces: it is the "most general" algebra containing V, in the sense of the corresponding universal property (see below). The tensor algebra is important because many other algebras arise as quotient algebras of T(V).
Monoidal categoryIn mathematics, a monoidal category (or tensor category) is a equipped with a bifunctor that is associative up to a natural isomorphism, and an I that is both a left and right identity for ⊗, again up to a natural isomorphism. The associated natural isomorphisms are subject to certain coherence conditions, which ensure that all the relevant s commute. The ordinary tensor product makes vector spaces, abelian groups, R-modules, or R-algebras into monoidal categories. Monoidal categories can be seen as a generalization of these and other examples.
Adjoint functorsIn mathematics, specifically , adjunction is a relationship that two functors may exhibit, intuitively corresponding to a weak form of equivalence between two related categories. Two functors that stand in this relationship are known as adjoint functors, one being the left adjoint and the other the right adjoint. Pairs of adjoint functors are ubiquitous in mathematics and often arise from constructions of "optimal solutions" to certain problems (i.e.
Free groupIn mathematics, the free group FS over a given set S consists of all words that can be built from members of S, considering two words to be different unless their equality follows from the group axioms (e.g. st = suu−1t, but s ≠ t−1 for s,t,u ∈ S). The members of S are called generators of FS, and the number of generators is the rank of the free group. An arbitrary group G is called free if it is isomorphic to FS for some subset S of G, that is, if there is a subset S of G such that every element of G can be written in exactly one way as a product of finitely many elements of S and their inverses (disregarding trivial variations such as st = suu−1t).
Magma (algebra)In abstract algebra, a magma, binar, or, rarely, groupoid is a basic kind of algebraic structure. Specifically, a magma consists of a set equipped with a single binary operation that must be closed by definition. No other properties are imposed. The term groupoid was introduced in 1927 by Heinrich Brandt describing his Brandt groupoid (translated from the German Gruppoid). The term was then appropriated by B. A. Hausmann and Øystein Ore (1937) in the sense (of a set with a binary operation) used in this article.
Free monoidIn abstract algebra, the free monoid on a set is the monoid whose elements are all the finite sequences (or strings) of zero or more elements from that set, with string concatenation as the monoid operation and with the unique sequence of zero elements, often called the empty string and denoted by ε or λ, as the identity element. The free monoid on a set A is usually denoted A∗. The free semigroup on A is the subsemigroup of A∗ containing all elements except the empty string. It is usually denoted A+.
Category of groupsIn mathematics, the Grp (or Gp) has the class of all groups for objects and group homomorphisms for morphisms. As such, it is a . The study of this category is known as group theory. There are two forgetful functors from Grp, M: Grp → Mon from groups to monoids and U: Grp → Set from groups to . M has two adjoints: one right, I: Mon→Grp, and one left, K: Mon→Grp. I: Mon→Grp is the functor sending every monoid to the submonoid of invertible elements and K: Mon→Grp the functor sending every monoid to the Grothendieck group of that monoid.
