“Categorical” Schröder–Bernstein theorem

category-theoryset-theory

Problem.

Let $\mathbf{A}$ and $\mathbf{B}$ be two categories and $F:\mathbf{A}\to\mathbf{B}$, $G:\mathbf{B}\to\mathbf{A}$ be two functors that are embeddings (i.e., injective on objects and on $\mathsf{Hom}$-set restrictions). Are $\mathbf{A}$ and $\mathbf{B}$ isomorphic?

It is clear that the object part (respectively, the morphism) part of $\mathbf{A}$ and the object part (respectively, the morphism) part of $\mathbf{B}$ are in bijective correspondence. But whether the bijection on $\mathbf{A}$-morphisms satisfies the functorial properties is not clear to me and a problem which I haven't been able to solve yet.


The reason for giving the title as I have given is due to the "natural" similarity between this problem to the Schröder–Bernstein theorem. Hence I was wondering whether the following is true,

In the metacategory of all categories $\mathbf{CAT}$, is it true that the embeddings are the monomorphisms?

If this is so (I couldn't prove it either) then the only the difference between the Schröder–Bernstein theorem and this problem would be that the Schröder–Bernstein theorem applies to the morphisms of the category $\mathbf{Set}$ whereas here in this problem we are talking about the same question for the $\mathbf{CAT}$-morphisms.

Best Answer

The analogue of Schröder–Bernstein is false for groups, as shown here. Let $f:G\to H$, $k:H\to G$ be such an example. We can translate this example to the case of categories as follows.

Let $\mathbf BG$ be the category with one object, called $\bullet$, and with $\mathrm{Hom}(\bullet,\bullet)=G$. Composition of morphisms is by multiplication in G, and $\mathrm{id}_\bullet$ is just the identity of $G$. Define $\mathbf BH$ analogously.

Now define a functor $\mathbf Bf:\mathbf BG\to \mathbf BH$ by sending $\bullet_G$ to $\bullet_H$ and acting on morphisms by $f$. Likewise define $\mathbf Bk$.

Then $\mathbf Bf$ and $\mathbf Bk$ are injective on objects and morphisms, but $\mathbf BG$ and $\mathbf BH$ aren't isomorphic because $G$ and $H$ aren't.

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