Descent data for pushouts

Content created by Vojtěch Štěpančík.

Created on 2024-05-31.
Last modified on 2024-05-31.

module synthetic-homotopy-theory.descent-data-pushouts where
Imports
open import foundation.dependent-pair-types
open import foundation.equivalences
open import foundation.function-types
open import foundation.span-diagrams
open import foundation.transport-along-identifications
open import foundation.universe-levels

open import synthetic-homotopy-theory.cocones-under-spans

Idea

Descent data for the pushout of a span diagram 𝒮

     f     g
  A <-- S --> B

is a triple (PA, PB, PS), where PA : A → 𝒰 is a type family over A, PB : B → 𝒰 is a type family over B, and PS is a family of equivalences

  PS : (s : S) → PA (f a) ≃ PB (g a).

In descent-property-pushouts, we show that this is exactly the data one needs to “glue together” a type family P : X → 𝒰 over the pushout X of 𝒮.

The identity type of descent data is characterized in equivalences-descent-data-pushouts.

It may not be immediately clear why “descent data” is an appropriate name for this concept, because there is no apparent downward motion. Traditionally, descent is studied in the context of a collection of objects Xᵢ covering a single object X, and local structure on the individual Xᵢ’s descending onto X, collecting into a global structure, given that the pieces are appropriately compatible on any “overlaps”. A pushout of 𝒮 is covered by A and B, and the overlaps are encoded in f and g. Then structure on A and B, expressed as type families PA and PB, “descends” to a structure on X (a type family over X). Two elements “overlap” in X if there is an identification between them coming from S, and the gluing/compatibility condition exactly requires the local structure of PA and PB to agree on such elements, i.e. asks for an equivalence PA(fs) ≃ PB(gs).

Definitions

Descent data for pushouts

module _
  {l1 l2 l3 : Level} (𝒮 : span-diagram l1 l2 l3)
  where

  descent-data-pushout : (l4 : Level)  UU (l1  l2  l3  lsuc l4)
  descent-data-pushout l =
    Σ ( domain-span-diagram 𝒮  UU l)
      ( λ PA 
        Σ ( codomain-span-diagram 𝒮  UU l)
          ( λ PB 
            (s : spanning-type-span-diagram 𝒮) 
            PA (left-map-span-diagram 𝒮 s)  PB (right-map-span-diagram 𝒮 s)))

Components of descent data for pushouts

module _
  {l1 l2 l3 l4 : Level} {𝒮 : span-diagram l1 l2 l3}
  (P : descent-data-pushout 𝒮 l4)
  where

  left-family-descent-data-pushout : domain-span-diagram 𝒮  UU l4
  left-family-descent-data-pushout = pr1 P

  right-family-descent-data-pushout : codomain-span-diagram 𝒮  UU l4
  right-family-descent-data-pushout = pr1 (pr2 P)

  equiv-family-descent-data-pushout :
    (s : spanning-type-span-diagram 𝒮) 
    left-family-descent-data-pushout (left-map-span-diagram 𝒮 s) 
    right-family-descent-data-pushout (right-map-span-diagram 𝒮 s)
  equiv-family-descent-data-pushout = pr2 (pr2 P)

  map-family-descent-data-pushout :
    (s : spanning-type-span-diagram 𝒮) 
    left-family-descent-data-pushout (left-map-span-diagram 𝒮 s) 
    right-family-descent-data-pushout (right-map-span-diagram 𝒮 s)
  map-family-descent-data-pushout s =
    map-equiv (equiv-family-descent-data-pushout s)

  is-equiv-map-family-descent-data-pushout :
    (s : spanning-type-span-diagram 𝒮) 
    is-equiv (map-family-descent-data-pushout s)
  is-equiv-map-family-descent-data-pushout s =
    is-equiv-map-equiv (equiv-family-descent-data-pushout s)

Descent data induced by families over cocones

Given a cocone

        g
    S -----> B
    |        |
  f |        | j
    ∨        ∨
    A -----> X
        i

and a family P : X → 𝒰, we can obtain PA and PB by precomposing with i and j, respectively. Then to produce an equivalence PS s : P (ifs) ≃ P (jgs), we transport along the coherence H s : ifs = jgs, which is an equivalence.

module _
  {l1 l2 l3 l4 : Level} {𝒮 : span-diagram l1 l2 l3}
  {X : UU l4} (c : cocone-span-diagram 𝒮 X)
  where

  descent-data-family-cocone-span-diagram :
    {l5 : Level}  (X  UU l5)  descent-data-pushout 𝒮 l5
  pr1 (descent-data-family-cocone-span-diagram P) =
    P  horizontal-map-cocone _ _ c
  pr1 (pr2 (descent-data-family-cocone-span-diagram P)) =
    P  vertical-map-cocone _ _ c
  pr2 (pr2 (descent-data-family-cocone-span-diagram P)) s =
    equiv-tr P (coherence-square-cocone _ _ c s)

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