Morphism
Encyclopedia
In mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, a morphism is an abstraction
Abstraction (mathematics)
Abstraction in mathematics is the process of extracting the underlying essence of a mathematical concept, removing any dependence on real world objects with which it might originally have been connected, and generalising it so that it has wider applications or matching among other abstract...

 derived from structure-preserving mappings
Map (mathematics)
In most of mathematics and in some related technical fields, the term mapping, usually shortened to map, is either a synonym for function, or denotes a particular kind of function which is important in that branch, or denotes something conceptually similar to a function.In graph theory, a map is a...

between two mathematical structure
Mathematical structure
In mathematics, a structure on a set, or more generally a type, consists of additional mathematical objects that in some manner attach to the set, making it easier to visualize or work with, or endowing the collection with meaning or significance....

s. The notion of morphism recurs in much of contemporary mathematics. In set theory
Set theory
Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies sets, which are collections of objects. Although any type of object can be collected into a set, set theory is applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics...

, morphisms are functions; in linear algebra
Linear algebra
Linear algebra is a branch of mathematics that studies vector spaces, also called linear spaces, along with linear functions that input one vector and output another. Such functions are called linear maps and can be represented by matrices if a basis is given. Thus matrix theory is often...

, linear transformations; in group theory
Group theory
In mathematics and abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as groups.The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as rings, fields, and vector spaces can all be seen as groups endowed with additional operations and...

, group homomorphism
Group homomorphism
In mathematics, given two groups and , a group homomorphism from to is a function h : G → H such that for all u and v in G it holds that h = h \cdot h...

s; in topology
Topology
Topology is a major area of mathematics concerned with properties that are preserved under continuous deformations of objects, such as deformations that involve stretching, but no tearing or gluing...

, continuous functions, and so on.

The study of morphisms and of the structures (called objects
Category theory
Category theory is an area of study in mathematics that examines in an abstract way the properties of particular mathematical concepts, by formalising them as collections of objects and arrows , where these collections satisfy certain basic conditions...

) over which they are defined, is central to category theory
Category theory
Category theory is an area of study in mathematics that examines in an abstract way the properties of particular mathematical concepts, by formalising them as collections of objects and arrows , where these collections satisfy certain basic conditions...

. Much of the terminology of morphisms, as well as the intuition underlying them, comes from concrete categories
Concrete category
In mathematics, a concrete category is a category that is equipped with a faithful functor to the category of sets. This functor makes it possible to think of the objects of the category as sets with additional structure, and of its morphisms as structure-preserving functions...

, where the objects
Category theory
Category theory is an area of study in mathematics that examines in an abstract way the properties of particular mathematical concepts, by formalising them as collections of objects and arrows , where these collections satisfy certain basic conditions...

are simply sets with some additional structure, and morphisms are structure preserving functions.

Definition

A category
Category (mathematics)
In mathematics, a category is an algebraic structure that comprises "objects" that are linked by "arrows". A category has two basic properties: the ability to compose the arrows associatively and the existence of an identity arrow for each object. A simple example is the category of sets, whose...

 C consists of two classes
Class (set theory)
In set theory and its applications throughout mathematics, a class is a collection of sets which can be unambiguously defined by a property that all its members share. The precise definition of "class" depends on foundational context...

, one of objects and the other of morphisms.

There are two operations which are defined on every morphism, the domain (or source) and the codomain
Codomain
In mathematics, the codomain or target set of a function is the set into which all of the output of the function is constrained to fall. It is the set in the notation...

(or target).

If a morphism f has domain X and codomain Y, we write f : XY. Thus a morphism is represented by an arrow from its domain to its codomain. The collection of all morphisms from X to Y is denoted homC(X,Y) or simply hom(X, Y) and called the hom-set between X and Y. Some authors write MorC(X,Y) or Mor(X, Y). Note that the term hom-set is a bit of a misnomer as the collection of morphisms is not required to be a set.

For every three objects X, Y, and Z, there exists a binary operation
Binary operation
In mathematics, a binary operation is a calculation involving two operands, in other words, an operation whose arity is two. Examples include the familiar arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division....

 hom(X, Y) × hom(Y, Z) → hom(X, Z) called composition
Function composition
In mathematics, function composition is the application of one function to the results of another. For instance, the functions and can be composed by computing the output of g when it has an argument of f instead of x...

. The composite of is written g o f or gf. The composition of morphisms is often represented by a commutative diagram
Commutative diagram
In mathematics, and especially in category theory, a commutative diagram is a diagram of objects and morphisms such that all directed paths in the diagram with the same start and endpoints lead to the same result by composition...

. For example,
Morphisms satisfy two axiom
Axiom
In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proven or demonstrated but considered either to be self-evident or to define and delimit the realm of analysis. In other words, an axiom is a logical statement that is assumed to be true...

s:
  • Identity: for every object X, there exists a morphism idX : XX called the identity morphism on X, such that for every morphism we have idB o f = f = f o idA.
  • Associativity
    Associativity
    In mathematics, associativity is a property of some binary operations. It means that, within an expression containing two or more occurrences in a row of the same associative operator, the order in which the operations are performed does not matter as long as the sequence of the operands is not...

    :
    h o (g o f) = (h o g) o f whenever the operations are defined.


When C is a concrete category, the identity morphism is just the identity function
Identity function
In mathematics, an identity function, also called identity map or identity transformation, is a function that always returns the same value that was used as its argument...

, and composition is just the ordinary composition of functions. Associativity then follows, because the composition of functions is associative.

Note that the domain and codomain are in fact part of the information determining a morphism. For example, in the category of sets, where morphisms are functions, two functions may be identical as sets of ordered pairs (may have the same range
Range (mathematics)
In mathematics, the range of a function refers to either the codomain or the image of the function, depending upon usage. This ambiguity is illustrated by the function f that maps real numbers to real numbers with f = x^2. Some books say that range of this function is its codomain, the set of all...

), while having different codomains. The two functions are distinct from the viewpoint of category theory. Thus many authors require that the hom-classes hom(X, Y) be disjoint. In practice, this is not a problem because if this disjointness does not hold, it can be assured by appending the domain and codomain to the morphisms, (say, as the second and third components of an ordered triple).

Some specific morphisms

  • Monomorphism
    Monomorphism
    In the context of abstract algebra or universal algebra, a monomorphism is an injective homomorphism. A monomorphism from X to Y is often denoted with the notation X \hookrightarrow Y....

    : f : XY is called a monomorphism
    Monomorphism
    In the context of abstract algebra or universal algebra, a monomorphism is an injective homomorphism. A monomorphism from X to Y is often denoted with the notation X \hookrightarrow Y....

     if f o g1 = f o g2 implies g1 = g2 for all morphisms g1, g2 : ZX. It is also called a mono or a monic.
    • The morphism f has a left inverse if there is a morphism g:YX such that g o f = idX. The left inverse g is also called a retraction
      Section (category theory)
      In category theory, a branch of mathematics, a section is a right inverse of a morphism. Dually, a retraction is a left inverse...

      of f. Morphisms with left inverses are always monomorphisms, but the converse is not always true in every category; a monomorphism may fail to have a left-inverse.
    • A split monomorphism h : XY is a monomorphism having a left inverse g : YX, so that g o h = idX. Thus h o g : YY is idempotent, so that (h o g)2 = h o g.
    • In concrete categories, a function that has a left inverse is injective. Thus in concrete categories, monomorphisms are often, but not always, injective. The condition of being an injection is stronger than that of being a monomorphism, but weaker than that of being a split monomorphism.
  • Epimorphism
    Epimorphism
    In category theory, an epimorphism is a morphism f : X → Y which is right-cancellative in the sense that, for all morphisms ,...

    : Dually, f : XY is called an epimorphism
    Epimorphism
    In category theory, an epimorphism is a morphism f : X → Y which is right-cancellative in the sense that, for all morphisms ,...

     if g1 o f = g2 o f implies g1 = g2 for all morphisms g1, g2 : YZ. It is also called an epi or an epic.
    • The morphism f has a right-inverse if there is a morphism g : YX such that f o g = idY. The right inverse g is also called a section of f. Morphisms having a right inverse are always epimorphisms, but the converse is not always true in every category, as an epimorphism may fail to have a right inverse.
    • A split epimorphism is an epimorphism having a right inverse. Note that if a monomorphism f splits with left-inverse g, then g is a split epimorphism with right-inverse f.
    • In concrete categories, a function that has a right inverse is surjective. Thus in concrete categories, epimorphisms are often, but not always, surjective. The condition of being a surjection is stronger than that of being an epimorphism, but weaker than that of being a split epimorphism. In the category of sets
      Category of sets
      In the mathematical field of category theory, the category of sets, denoted as Set, is the category whose objects are sets. The arrows or morphisms between sets A and B are all functions from A to B...

      , every surjection has a section, a result equivalent to the axiom of choice.
  • A bimorphism is a morphism that is both an epimorphism and a monomorphism.
  • Isomorphism
    Isomorphism
    In abstract algebra, an isomorphism is a mapping between objects that shows a relationship between two properties or operations.  If there exists an isomorphism between two structures, the two structures are said to be isomorphic.  In a certain sense, isomorphic structures are...

    : f : XY is called an isomorphism
    Isomorphism
    In abstract algebra, an isomorphism is a mapping between objects that shows a relationship between two properties or operations.  If there exists an isomorphism between two structures, the two structures are said to be isomorphic.  In a certain sense, isomorphic structures are...

     if there exists a morphism g : YX such that f o g = idY and g o f = idX. If a morphism has both left-inverse and right-inverse, then the two inverses are equal, so f is an isomorphism, and g is called simply the inverse of f. Inverse morphisms, if they exist, are unique. The inverse g is also an isomorphism with inverse f. Two objects with an isomorphism between them are said to be isomorphic or equivalent. Note that while every isomorphism is a bimorphism, a bimorphism is not necessarily an isomorphism. For example, in the category of commutative ring
    Commutative ring
    In ring theory, a branch of abstract algebra, a commutative ring is a ring in which the multiplication operation is commutative. The study of commutative rings is called commutative algebra....

    s the inclusion ZQ is a bimorphism, which is not an isomorphism. However, any morphism that is both an epimorphism and a split monomorphism, or both a monomorphism and a split epimorphism, must be an isomorphism. A category, such as Set, in which every bimorphism is an isomorphism is known as a balanced category.
  • Endomorphism
    Endomorphism
    In mathematics, an endomorphism is a morphism from a mathematical object to itself. For example, an endomorphism of a vector space V is a linear map ƒ: V → V, and an endomorphism of a group G is a group homomorphism ƒ: G → G. In general, we can talk about...

    : f : XX is an endomorphism
    Endomorphism
    In mathematics, an endomorphism is a morphism from a mathematical object to itself. For example, an endomorphism of a vector space V is a linear map ƒ: V → V, and an endomorphism of a group G is a group homomorphism ƒ: G → G. In general, we can talk about...

     of X. A split endomorphism is an idempotent endomorphism f if f admits a decomposition f = h o g with g o h = id. In particular, the Karoubi envelope
    Karoubi envelope
    In mathematics the Karoubi envelope of a category C is a classification of the idempotents of C, by means of an auxiliary category. Taking the Karoubi envelope of a preadditive category gives a pseudo-abelian category, hence the construction is sometimes called the pseudo-abelian completion...

     of a category splits every idempotent morphism.
  • An automorphism
    Automorphism
    In mathematics, an automorphism is an isomorphism from a mathematical object to itself. It is, in some sense, a symmetry of the object, and a way of mapping the object to itself while preserving all of its structure. The set of all automorphisms of an object forms a group, called the automorphism...

    is a morphism that is both an endomorphism and an isomorphism.

Examples

  • In the concrete categories studied in universal algebra
    Universal algebra
    Universal algebra is the field of mathematics that studies algebraic structures themselves, not examples of algebraic structures....

     (groups
    Group (mathematics)
    In mathematics, a group is an algebraic structure consisting of a set together with an operation that combines any two of its elements to form a third element. To qualify as a group, the set and the operation must satisfy a few conditions called group axioms, namely closure, associativity, identity...

    , rings, modules
    Module (mathematics)
    In abstract algebra, the concept of a module over a ring is a generalization of the notion of vector space, wherein the corresponding scalars are allowed to lie in an arbitrary ring...

    , etc.), morphisms are called homomorphism
    Homomorphism
    In abstract algebra, a homomorphism is a structure-preserving map between two algebraic structures . The word homomorphism comes from the Greek language: ὁμός meaning "same" and μορφή meaning "shape".- Definition :The definition of homomorphism depends on the type of algebraic structure under...

    s. Likewise, the notions of automorphism, endomorphism, epimorphism, homeomorphism
    Homeomorphism
    In the mathematical field of topology, a homeomorphism or topological isomorphism or bicontinuous function is a continuous function between topological spaces that has a continuous inverse function. Homeomorphisms are the isomorphisms in the category of topological spaces—that is, they are...

    , isomorphism, and monomorphism all find use in universal algebra.

  • In the category of topological spaces
    Category of topological spaces
    In mathematics, the category of topological spaces, often denoted Top, is the category whose objects are topological spaces and whose morphisms are continuous maps. This is a category because the composition of two continuous maps is again continuous...

    , morphisms are continuous function
    Continuous function
    In mathematics, a continuous function is a function for which, intuitively, "small" changes in the input result in "small" changes in the output. Otherwise, a function is said to be "discontinuous". A continuous function with a continuous inverse function is called "bicontinuous".Continuity of...

    s and isomorphisms are called homeomorphism
    Homeomorphism
    In the mathematical field of topology, a homeomorphism or topological isomorphism or bicontinuous function is a continuous function between topological spaces that has a continuous inverse function. Homeomorphisms are the isomorphisms in the category of topological spaces—that is, they are...

    s.

  • In the category of smooth manifolds, morphisms are smooth function
    Smooth function
    In mathematical analysis, a differentiability class is a classification of functions according to the properties of their derivatives. Higher order differentiability classes correspond to the existence of more derivatives. Functions that have derivatives of all orders are called smooth.Most of...

    s and isomorphisms are called diffeomorphism
    Diffeomorphism
    In mathematics, a diffeomorphism is an isomorphism in the category of smooth manifolds. It is an invertible function that maps one differentiable manifold to another, such that both the function and its inverse are smooth.- Definition :...

    s.

  • In the category of small categories, functor
    Functor
    In category theory, a branch of mathematics, a functor is a special type of mapping between categories. Functors can be thought of as homomorphisms between categories, or morphisms when in the category of small categories....

    s can be thought of as morphisms.

  • In a functor category
    Functor category
    In category theory, a branch of mathematics, the functors between two given categories form a category, where the objects are the functors and the morphisms are natural transformations between the functors...

    , the morphisms are natural transformation
    Natural transformation
    In category theory, a branch of mathematics, a natural transformation provides a way of transforming one functor into another while respecting the internal structure of the categories involved. Hence, a natural transformation can be considered to be a "morphism of functors". Indeed this intuition...

    s.


For more examples, see the entry category theory
Category theory
Category theory is an area of study in mathematics that examines in an abstract way the properties of particular mathematical concepts, by formalising them as collections of objects and arrows , where these collections satisfy certain basic conditions...

.
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