Mere embeddings

Content created by Fredrik Bakke, Egbert Rijke, Jonathan Prieto-Cubides, Elif Uskuplu and Gregor Perčič.

Created on 2022-06-12.
Last modified on 2026-01-10.

module foundation.mere-embeddings where
Imports 
open import foundation.cantor-schroder-bernstein-escardo
open import foundation.embeddings
open import foundation.functoriality-propositional-truncation
open import foundation.law-of-excluded-middle
open import foundation.mere-equivalences
open import foundation.propositional-truncations
open import foundation.universe-levels

open import foundation-core.propositions

open import order-theory.large-preorders

Idea

A type A merely embeds into a type B if there merely exists an embedding of A into B.

Definition

mere-emb-Prop : {l1 l2 : Level} → UU l1 → UU l2 → Prop (l1 ⊔ l2)
mere-emb-Prop X Y = trunc-Prop (X ↪ Y)

mere-emb : {l1 l2 : Level} → UU l1 → UU l2 → UU (l1 ⊔ l2)
mere-emb X Y = type-Prop (mere-emb-Prop X Y)

is-prop-mere-emb :
  {l1 l2 : Level} (X : UU l1) (Y : UU l2) → is-prop (mere-emb X Y)
is-prop-mere-emb X Y = is-prop-type-Prop (mere-emb-Prop X Y)

Properties

Types equipped with mere embeddings form a preordering

refl-mere-emb : {l1 : Level} (X : UU l1) → mere-emb X X
refl-mere-emb X = unit-trunc-Prop id-emb

transitive-mere-emb :
  {l1 l2 l3 : Level} {X : UU l1} {Y : UU l2} {Z : UU l3} →
  mere-emb Y Z → mere-emb X Y → mere-emb X Z
transitive-mere-emb = map-binary-trunc-Prop comp-emb

mere-emb-Large-Preorder : Large-Preorder lsuc (_⊔_)
mere-emb-Large-Preorder =
  λ where
  .type-Large-Preorder l → UU l
  .leq-prop-Large-Preorder → mere-emb-Prop
  .refl-leq-Large-Preorder → refl-mere-emb
  .transitive-leq-Large-Preorder X Y Z → transitive-mere-emb

Assuming excluded middle, if there are mere embeddings between A and B in both directions, then there is a mere equivalence between them

antisymmetric-mere-emb :
  {l1 l2 : Level} {X : UU l1} {Y : UU l2} →
  level-LEM (l1 ⊔ l2) → mere-emb X Y → mere-emb Y X → mere-equiv X Y
antisymmetric-mere-emb lem =
  map-binary-trunc-Prop (Cantor-Schröder-Bernstein-Escardó lem)

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