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• The pentagon axiom: for all quadruples of objects U, V, W, X ∈ Obj(C) the following<br />
diagram commutes<br />
(U ⊗ V ) ⊗ (W ⊗ X)<br />
<br />
<br />
a U⊗V,W,X<br />
a U,V,W ⊗X<br />
<br />
<br />
((U ⊗ V ) ⊗ W ) ⊗ X<br />
U ⊗ (V ⊗ (W ⊗ X))<br />
<br />
a U,V,W ⊗id X<br />
<br />
id U ⊗a V,W,X<br />
(U ⊗ (V ⊗ W )) ⊗ X<br />
a U,V ⊗W,X<br />
U ⊗ ((V ⊗ W ) ⊗ X)<br />
• The triangle axiom: for all pairs of objects V, W ∈ Obj(C) the following diagram<br />
commutes<br />
a V,I,W<br />
(V ⊗ I) ⊗ W<br />
V ⊗ (I ⊗ W )<br />
r<br />
<br />
V ⊗id W<br />
id<br />
<br />
V ⊗l<br />
<br />
W<br />
V ⊗ W<br />
Remarks 2.4.3.<br />
1. A monoidal category can be considered as a higher analogue of an associative, unital<br />
monoid, hence the name. The associator a is, however, a structure, not a property. A<br />
property is imposed at the level of natural transformations in the form of the pentagon<br />
axiom. For a given category C and a given tensor product ⊗, inequivalent associators can<br />
exist. Any associator a gives for any triple U, V, W of objects an isomorphism<br />
such that all diagrams of the form<br />
a U,V,W : (U ⊗ V ) ⊗ W → U ⊗ (V ⊗ W )<br />
(U ⊗ V ) ⊗ W<br />
a U,V,W U ⊗ (V ⊗ W )<br />
(f⊗g)⊗h<br />
<br />
(U ′ ⊗ V ′ ) ⊗ W ′ a U ′ ,V ′ ,W ′<br />
f⊗(g⊗h)<br />
<br />
U ⊗ (V ⊗ W )<br />
commute.<br />
2. The pentagon axiom can be shown to guarantee that one can change the bracketing of<br />
multiple tensor products in a unique way. This is known as Mac Lane’s coherence theorem.<br />
We refer to [Kassel, XI.5] for details.<br />
3. A tensor category is called strict , if the natural transformations a, l and r are the identity.<br />
One can show that any tensor category can be replaced by an equivalent strict tensor<br />
category.<br />
Examples 2.4.4.<br />
1. The category of vector spaces over a fixed field K is a tensor category which is not strict.<br />
(See the appendix for information about this tensor category.) Tacitly, it is frequently<br />
replaced by an equivalent strict tensor category.<br />
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