Free objectIn mathematics, the idea of a free object is one of the basic concepts of abstract algebra. Informally, a free object over a set A can be thought of as being a "generic" algebraic structure over A: the only equations that hold between elements of the free object are those that follow from the defining axioms of the algebraic structure. Examples include free groups, tensor algebras, or free lattices. The concept is a part of universal algebra, in the sense that it relates to all types of algebraic structure (with finitary operations).
Full and faithful functorsIn , a faithful functor is a functor that is injective on hom-sets, and a full functor is surjective on hom-sets. A functor that has both properties is called a fully faithful functor. Explicitly, let C and D be () and let F : C → D be a functor from C to D. The functor F induces a function for every pair of objects X and Y in C. The functor F is said to be faithful if FX,Y is injective full if FX,Y is surjective fully faithful (= full and faithful) if FX,Y is bijective for each X and Y in C.
Stable homotopy theoryIn mathematics, stable homotopy theory is the part of homotopy theory (and thus algebraic topology) concerned with all structure and phenomena that remain after sufficiently many applications of the suspension functor. A founding result was the Freudenthal suspension theorem, which states that given any pointed space , the homotopy groups stabilize for sufficiently large. In particular, the homotopy groups of spheres stabilize for . For example, In the two examples above all the maps between homotopy groups are applications of the suspension functor.
Decomposition of a moduleIn abstract algebra, a decomposition of a module is a way to write a module as a direct sum of modules. A type of a decomposition is often used to define or characterize modules: for example, a semisimple module is a module that has a decomposition into simple modules. Given a ring, the types of decomposition of modules over the ring can also be used to define or characterize the ring: a ring is semisimple if and only if every module over it is a semisimple module.
Monad (category theory)In , a branch of mathematics, a monad (also triple, triad, standard construction and fundamental construction) is a in the of endofunctors of some fixed category. An endofunctor is a functor mapping a category to itself, and a monad is an endofunctor together with two natural transformations required to fulfill certain coherence conditions. Monads are used in the theory of pairs of adjoint functors, and they generalize closure operators on partially ordered sets to arbitrary categories.
Homotopy groupIn mathematics, homotopy groups are used in algebraic topology to classify topological spaces. The first and simplest homotopy group is the fundamental group, denoted which records information about loops in a space. Intuitively, homotopy groups record information about the basic shape, or holes, of a topological space. To define the n-th homotopy group, the base-point-preserving maps from an n-dimensional sphere (with base point) into a given space (with base point) are collected into equivalence classes, called homotopy classes.
Semisimple moduleIn mathematics, especially in the area of abstract algebra known as module theory, a semisimple module or completely reducible module is a type of module that can be understood easily from its parts. A ring that is a semisimple module over itself is known as an Artinian semisimple ring. Some important rings, such as group rings of finite groups over fields of characteristic zero, are semisimple rings. An Artinian ring is initially understood via its largest semisimple quotient.
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.
Cyclic moduleIn mathematics, more specifically in ring theory, a cyclic module or monogenous module is a module over a ring that is generated by one element. The concept is a generalization of the notion of a cyclic group, that is, an Abelian group (i.e. Z-module) that is generated by one element. A left R-module M is called cyclic if M can be generated by a single element i.e. M = (x) = Rx = {rx r ∈ R} for some x in M. Similarly, a right R-module N is cyclic if N = yR for some y ∈ N. 2Z as a Z-module is a cyclic module.
Representable functorIn mathematics, particularly , a representable functor is a certain functor from an arbitrary into the . Such functors give representations of an abstract category in terms of known structures (i.e. sets and functions) allowing one to utilize, as much as possible, knowledge about the category of sets in other settings. From another point of view, representable functors for a category C are the functors given with C. Their theory is a vast generalisation of upper sets in posets, and of Cayley's theorem in group theory.
