Volume 2011, Issue 1 957592
Research Article
Open Access

Partial Inner Product Spaces: Some Categorical Aspects

Jean-Pierre Antoine

Corresponding Author

Jean-Pierre Antoine

Institut de Recherche en Mathématique et Physique (IRMP) Université Catholique de Louvain 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium , uclouvain.be

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Dominique Lambert

Dominique Lambert

Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica Università di Palermo 90123 Palermo, Italy , unipa.it

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Camillo Trapani

Camillo Trapani

Namur Center for Complex Systems (NAXYS) Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix B-5000 Namur, Belgium , fundp.ac.be

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First published: 10 November 2011
Citations: 3
Academic Editor: Partha Guha

Abstract

We make explicit in terms of categories a number of statements from the theory of partial inner product spaces (-spaces) and operators on them. In particular, we construct sheaves and cosheaves of operators on certain -spaces of practical interest.

1. Motivation

Partial inner product spaces (-spaces) were introduced some time ago by Grossmann and one of us (JPA) as a structure unifying many constructions introduced in functional analysis, such as distributions or generalized functions, scales of Hilbert or Banach spaces, interpolation couples, and so forth [14]. Since these structures have regained a new interest in many aspects of mathematical physics and in modern signal processing, a comprehensive monograph was recently published by two of us [5], as well as a review paper [6].

Roughly speaking, a -space is a vector space equipped with a partial inner product, that is, an inner product which is not defined everywhere, but only for specific pairs of vectors. Given such an object, operators can be defined on it, which generalize the familiar notions of operators on a Hilbert space, while admitting extremely singular ones.

Now, in the previous work, many statements have a categorical “flavor”, but the corresponding technical language was not used; only some hints in that direction were given in [7]. Here we fill the gap and proceed systematically. We introduce the category PIP of (indexed) -spaces, with homomorphisms as arrows (they are defined precisely to play that role), as well as several other categories of -spaces.

In a second part, we consider a single -space VI as a category by itself, called VI, with natural embeddings as arrows. For this category VI, we show, in Sections 4 and 5, respectively, that one can construct sheaves and cosheaves of operators. There are some restrictions on the -space VI, but the cases covered by our results are the most useful ones for applications. Then, in Section 6, we describe the cohomology of these (co)sheaves and prove that, in many cases, the sheaves of operators are acyclic; that is, all cohomology groups of higher order are trivial.

Although sheaves are quite common in many areas of mathematics, the same cannot be said of cosheaves, the dual concept of sheaves, for which very few concrete examples are known. Actually, cosheaves were recently introduced in the context of nonclassical logic (see Section 7) and seem to be related to certain aspects of quantum gravity. Hence the interest of having at one′s disposal new, concrete examples of cosheaves, namely, cosheaves of operators on certain types of -spaces.

2. Preliminaries

2.1. Partial Inner Product Spaces

We begin by fixing the terminology and notations, following our monograph [5], to which we refer for a full information. For the convenience of the reader, we have collected in Appendix A the main features of partial inner product spaces and operators on them.

Throughout the paper, we will consider an indexed -space VI = {Vr,   rI}, corresponding to the linear compatibility #. The assaying subspaces are denoted by Vp, Vr, …,   p, rI. The set I indexes a generating involutive sublattice of the complete lattice (V, #) of all assaying subspaces defined by #; that is,
(2.1)
The lattice properties are the following:
  • (i)

    involution: ,

  • (ii)

    infimum: Vpq : = VpVq = VpVq, (p, q, rI),

  • (iii)

    supremum: .

The smallest element of (V, #) is V# = ⋂rVr, and the greatest element is V = ⋃rVr, but often they do not belong to VI.

Each assaying subspace Vr carries its Mackey topology , and V# is dense in every Vr, since the indexed -space VI is assumed to be nondegenerate. In the sequel, we consider projective and additive indexed -spaces (see Appendix A) and, in particular, lattices of the Banach or Hilbert spaces (LBS/LHS).

Given two indexed -spaces VI, YK, an operator A : VIYK may be identified with the coherent collection of its representatives A≃{Aur}, where each Aur : VrYu is a continuous operator from Vr into Yu. We will also need the set . Every operator A has an adjoint A×, and a partial multiplication between operators is defined.

A crucial role is played by homomorphisms, in particular, mono-, epi-, and isomorphisms. The set of all operators from VI into YK is denoted by Op(VI, YK) and the set of all homomorphisms by Hom(VI, YK).

For more details and references to related work, see Appendix A or our monograph [5].

2.2. Categories

According to the standard terminology [8], a (small) category C is a collection of objects X, Y, Z, … and arrows or morphisms α, β, …, where we note α ∈ hom(X, Y) or , satisfying the following axioms.
  • (i)

    Identity: for any object X, there is a unique arrow 1X : XX.

  • (ii)

    Composition: whenever , there is a unique arrow β    α such that .

  • (iii)

    Associativity: whenever , one has (γβ)∘α = γ∘(βα).

  • (iv)

    Unit law: whenever , one has α∘1X = α and 1Yα = α.

In a category, an object S is initial if, for each object X, there is exactly one arrow SX. An object T is final or terminal if, for each object X, there is exactly one arrow XT. Two terminal objects are necessarily isomorphic (isomorphisms in categories are defined exactly as for indexed -spaces, see Appendix A).

Given two categories C and D, a covariant functor is a morphism between the two categories. To each object X of C, it associates an object of D, and, to each arrow α : XY in C, it associates an arrow of D in such a way that
(2.2)
whenever the arrow βα is defined in C.

Given a category C, the opposite category Cop has the same objects as C and all arrows reversed: to each arrow α : XY, there is an arrow αop : YX, so that αopβop = (βα) op.

A contravariant functor may be defined as a functor , or directly on C, by writing . Thus, we have
(2.3)
Some standard examples of categories are
  • (i)

    Set, the category of sets with functions as arrows.

  • (ii)

    Top, the category of topological spaces with continuous functions as arrows.

  • (iii)

    Grp, the category of groups with group homomorphisms as arrows.

For more details, we refer to standard texts, such as Mac Lane [8].

3. Categories of -Spaces

3.1. A Single -Space as Category

We begin by a trivial example.

A single-indexed -space VI = {Vr,   rI} may be considered as a category VI, where
  • (i)

    the objects are the assaying subspaces {Vr,   rI,   V#,   V};

  • (ii)

    the arrows are the natural embeddings {Ers : VrVs,   rs}, that is, the representatives of the identity operator on VI.

The axioms of categories are readily checked as follows.
  • (i)

    For every Vr, there exists an identity, Err : VrVr, the identity map.

  • (ii)

    For every Vr, Vs with rs, one has EssEsr = Esr and EsrErr = Esr.

  • (iii)

    For every Vr, Vs, Vt with rst, one has EtsEsr = Etr.

  • (iv)

    For every Vr, Vs, Vt, Vu with rstu, one has (EutEts)∘Esr = Eut∘(EtsEsr).

In the category VI, we have:
  • (i)

    is an initial object: for every VrVI, there is a unique arrow .

  • (ii)

    V : = V = ∑rI is a terminal object: for every VrVI, there is a unique arrow Er : VrV.

  • (iii)

    The compatibility defines a contravariant functor VIVI.

Although this category seems rather trivial, it will allow us to define sheaves and cosheaves of operators, a highly nontrivial (and desirable) result.

3.2. A Category Generated by a Single Operator

In the indexed -space VI = {Vr,   rI}, take a single totally regular operator, that is, an operator A that leaves every Vr invariant. Hence so does each power An,   n. Then this operator induces a category A(VI), as follows.
  • (i)

    The objects are the assaying subspaces {Vr,   rI}.

  • (ii)

    The arrows are the operators .

The axioms of categories are readily checked as follows.
  • (i)

    For every Vr, there exists an identity, Arr : VrVr, since A is totally regular.

  • (ii)

    For every Vr, Vs with rs, one has and .

  • (iii)

    For every Vr, Vs, Vt with rst, one has .

  • (iv)

    For every Vr, Vs, Vt, Vu with rstu, one has .

As for VI, the space is an initial object in A(VI) and V : = V is a terminal object.

The adjunction AA# defines a contravariant functor from A(VI) into , where the latter is the category induced by A#. The proof is immediate.

3.3. The Category PIP of Indexed -Spaces

The collection of all indexed -spaces constitutes a category, which we call PIP, where
  • (i)

    objects are indexed -spaces {VI};

  • (ii)

    arrows are homomorphisms A : VIYK, where an operator A ∈ Op(VI, YK) is called a homomorphism if

    • (a)

      for every rI there exists uK such that both Aur and exist;

    • (b)

      for every uK there exists rI such that both Aur and exist.

For making the notation less cumbersome (and more automatic), we will, henceforth, denote by AKI an element A ∈ Hom(VI, YK). Then the axioms of a category are obviously satisfied as follows.
  • (i)

    For every VI, there exists an identity, 1I ∈ Hom(VI, VI), the identity operator on VI.

  • (ii)

    For every VI, YK, one has 1KAKI = AKI and AKI∘1I = AKI.

  • (iii)

    For every VI, YK, WL, one has BLKAKI = CLI ∈ Hom(VI, WL).

  • (iv)

    For every VI, YK, WL, ZM, one has (CMLBLK)∘AKI = CML∘(BLKAKI) ∈ Hom(VI, ZM).

The category PIP has no initial object and no terminal object; hence, it is not a topos.

One can define in the same way smaller categories LBS and LHS, whose objects are, respectively, lattices of the Banach spaces (LBS) and lattices of the Hilbert spaces (LHS), the arrows being still the corresponding homomorphisms.

3.3.1. Subobjects

We recall that a homomorphism MKI ∈ Hom(VI, YK) is a monomorphism if MKLALI = MKLBLI implies ALI = BLI, for any pair ALI, BLI and any indexed -space WL (a typical example is given in Appendix A). Two monomorphisms MLI, NLK with the same codomain WL are equivalent if there exists an isomorphism UKI such that NLKUKI = MLI. Then a subobject of VI is an equivalence class of monomorphisms into VI. A -subspace W of an indexed -space V is defined as an orthocomplemented subspace of V, and this holds if and only if W is the range of an orthogonal projection, WI = PVI. Now the embedding M : WI = PVIVI is a monomorphism; thus, orthocomplemented subspaces are subobjects of PIP.

However, the converse is not true, at least for a general indexed -space. Take the case where V is a noncomplete prehilbert space (i.e., V = V#). Then every subspace is a subobject, but need not to be the range of a projection. To give a concrete example [5, Section 3.4.5], take V = 𝒮(), the Schwartz space of test functions. Let W = 𝒮+ : = {φ𝒮 : φ(x) = 0  for  x ⩽ 0}. Then W = 𝒮 : = {ψ𝒮 : ψ(x) = 0  for  x⩾0}; hence, W⊥⊥ = W. However, W is not orthocomplemented, since every χW + W satisfies χ(0) = 0, so that W + W𝒮. Yet W is the range of a monomorphism (the injection), hence, a subobject. However, this example addresses an indexed -space which is not a LBS/LHS.

Take now a LBS/LHS VI = {Vr,   rI} and a vector subspace W. In order that W becomes a LBS/LHS WI in its own right, we must require that, for every rI, Wr = WVr and are a dual pair with respect to their respective Mackey topologies and that the intrinsic Mackey topology coincides with the norm topology induced by Vr. In other words, W must be topologically regular, which is equivalent that it be orthocomplemented [5, Section 3.4.2]. Now the injection MI : WIVI is clearly a monomorphism, and WI is a subobject of VI. Thus, we have shown that, in a LBS/LHS, the subobjects are precisely the orthocomplemented subspaces.

Coming back to the previous example of a noncomplete prehilbert space, we see that an arbitrary subspace W need not be orthocomplemented, because it may fail to be topologically regular. Indeed the intrinsic topology τ(W, W) does not coincide with the norm topology, unless W is orthocomplemented (see the discussion in [5, Section 3.4.5]). In the Schwartz example above, one has W⊥⊥ = W, which means that W is τ(W, W) closed, hence, norm closed, but it is not orthocomplemented.

Remark 3.1. Homomorphisms are defined between arbitrary -spaces. However, when it comes to indexed -spaces, the discussion above shows that the notion of homomorphism is more natural between two indexed -spaces of the same type, for instance, two LBSs or two LHSs. This is true, in particular, when trying to identify subobjects. This suggests to define categories LBS and LHS, either directly as above or as subcategories within PIP, and then define properly subobjects in that context.

3.3.2. Superobjects

Dually, one may define superobjects in terms of epimorphisms. We recall that a homomorphism NKL ∈ Hom(VI, WK) is an epimorphism if AIKNKL = BIKNKL implies AIK = BIK, for any pair AIK, BIK and any indexed -space YL. Then a superobject is an equivalence class of epimorphisms, where again equivalence means modulo isomorphisms.

Whereas monomorphisms are natural in the context of sheaves; epimorphisms are natural in the dual structure, that is, cosheaves.

4. Sheaves of Operators on -Spaces

4.1. Presheaves and Sheaves

Let X be a topological space, and let C be a (concrete) category. Usually C is the category of sets, the category of groups, the category of abelian groups, or the category of commutative rings. In the standard fashion [8, 9], we proceed in two steps.

Definition 4.1. A presheaf on X with values in C is a map defined on the family of open subsets of X such that

  • (PS1)

    for each open set U of X, there is an object in C;

  • (PS2)

    for each inclusion of open sets TU, there is given a restriction morphism in the category C, such that is the identity for every open set U and whenever STU.

Definition 4.2. Let be a presheaf on X, and let U be an open set of X. Every element is called a section of over U. A section over X is called a global section.

Example 4.3. Let X be a topological space; let C be the category of vector spaces. Let associate to each open set U the vector space of continuous functions on U with values in . If TU, associates to each continuous function on U its restriction to T. This is a presheaf. Any continuous function on U is a section of on U.

Definition 4.4. Let be a presheaf on the topological space X. One says that is a sheaf if, for every open set UX and for every open covering {Ui} iI of U, the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • (S1)

    given such that , for every iI, then s = s (local identity);

  • (S2)

    given such that , for every i, jI, then there exists a section such that , for every iI (gluing).

The section s whose existence is guaranteed by axiom (S2) is called the gluing, concatenation, or collation of the sections si. By axiom (S1), it is unique. The sheaf may be seen as a contravariant functor from the category of open sets of X into .

4.2. A Sheaf of Operators on an Indexed -Space

Let VI = {Vr,   rI} be an indexed -space, and let VI be the corresponding category defined in Section 3.1. If we put on I the discrete topology, then I defines an open covering of V. Each Vr carries its Mackey’s topology .

We define a sheaf on VI by the contravariant functor given by
(4.1)
This means that an element of Opr is a representative Awr from Vr into some Vw. In the sequel, we will use the notation A*r whenever the dependence on the first index may be neglected without creating ambiguities. By analogy with functions, the elements of Opr may be called germs of operators. Opr is the restriction to Vr of the set Lr of left multipliers [5, Section 6.2.3]:
(4.2)
Then we have:
  • (i)

    When VqVp, define by , for A*p ∈ Opp. Clearly, and if VrVqVp. Hence, is a presheaf.

  • (ii)

    (S1) is clearly satisfied. As for (S2), if A*r ∈ Opr and are such that ; that is, , then these two operators are the (rs,   *) representative of a unique operator A ∈ Op(VI). It remains to prove that A extends to Vrs and that its representative A*rs extends both A*r and .

Proposition 4.5. Let the indexed -space VI be additive; that is, Vrs = Vr + Vs,   for  all  r, sI. Then the map given in (4.1) is a sheaf of operators on VI.

Proof. By linearity, A*r and A*s can be extended to an operator A(rs) on Vr + Vs as follows:

(4.3)
This operator is well defined. Let indeed be two decompositions of fVr + Vs, so that . Then . Hence, . Taking the restriction to VrVs = Vrs, this relation becomes A*rs(ff)rs = A*rs(ff)rs = 0, so that the vector A(rs)f is uniquely defined.

Next, by additivity, Vr + Vs, with its inductive topology, coincides with Vrs, and, thus, A*rs is the (rs,   *)-representative of the operator A ∈ Op(VI). Therefore, is a sheaf.

We recall that the most interesting classes of indexed -spaces are additive, namely, the projective ones and, in particular, LBSs and LHSs. Thus the proposition just proven has a widely applicable range.

5. Cosheaves of Operators on -Spaces

5.1. Pre-Cosheaves and Cosheaves

Pre-cosheaves and cosheaves are the dual notions of presheaves and sheaves, respectively. Let again X be a topological space, with closed sets Wi so that X = ⋃iIWi, and let C be a (concrete) category.

Definition 5.1. A pre-cosheaf on X with values in C is a map defined on the family of closed subsets of X such that

  • (PC1)

    for each closed set W of X, there is an object in C;

  • (PC2)

    for each inclusion of closed sets ZW, there is given a extension morphism in the category C, such that is the identity for every closed set W and whenever TZW.

Definition 5.2. Let be a pre-cosheaf on the topological space X. We say that is a cosheaf if, for every nonempty closed set W = ⋂jJWj,   JI and for every family of (local) sections , the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • (CS1)

    given such that , for every jI such that WWj, then t = t;

  • (CS2)

    if , for every j, kJ, then there exists a unique section such that , for every jJ.

The cosheaf may be seen as a covariant functor from the category of closed sets of X into .

Now, there are situations where extensions do not exist for all inclusions ZW but only for certain pairs. This will be the case for operators on a -space, as will be seen below. Thus, we may generalize the notions of (pre-) cosheaf as follows (there could be several variants).

Definition 5.3. Let X be a topological space, let 𝒞l(X) be the family of closed subsets of X, and let ≼ a be coarsening of the set inclusion in 𝒞l(X); that is, WZ implies WZ, but not necessarily the opposite. A partial pre-cosheaf with values in C is a map defined on 𝒞l(X), satisfying conditions (PC1) and

  • (pPC2)

    if ZW, there is given an extension morphism in the category C, such that is the identity for every closed set W and whenever TZW.

We may use the term “partial,” since here not all pairs wz admit extensions, but only certain pairs, namely, those that satisfy wz. This is analogous to the familiar situation of a compatibility.

Definition 5.4. Let be a partial pre-cosheaf on the topological space X. We say that is a partial cosheaf if, for every nonempty closed set W = ⋂jJWj, JI and for every family of sections , the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • (pCS1)

    given such that and exist and are equal, for every jJ, then t = t;

  • (pCS2)

    if and exist and are equal, for every j, kJ, then exists for every jJ and there exists a unique section such that , for every jJ.

5.2. Cosheaves of Operators on Indexed -Spaces

Let again VI = {Vr,   rI} be an indexed -space. If we put on I the discrete topology, then the assaying subspaces may be taken as closed sets in V. In order to build a cosheaf, we consider the same map as before in (4.1):
(5.1)
Then we immediately face a problem. Given Vq, there is no Vp, with VqVp, such that exists. One can always find an operator A such that and ; in other words, A*q exists, but it cannot be extended to Vp. This happens, for instance, each time has a maximal element (see Figure 3.1 in [5]). There are three ways out of this situation.

5.2.1. General Operators: The Additive Case

We still consider the set of all operators Op(VI). Take two assaying subspaces Vr, Vs and two operators A(r) ∈ Opr,   B(s) ∈ Ops, and assume that they have a common extension C(rs) to Oprs. This means that, for any suitable w, C(rs) : VrsVw is the (rs, w)-representative Cw,rs of a unique operator C ∈ Op(VI), and C = A = B. A fortiori, A, and B coincide on Vrs = VrVs; that is, condition (pCS2) is satisfied.

Assume now that VI is additive; that is, Vrs coincides with Vr + Vs, with its inductive topology. Then we can proceed as in the case of a sheaf, by defining the extension C of A and B by linearity. In other words, since C(rs)fr = A*rfr and C(rs)fs = B*sfs, we may write, for any f = fr + fsVr + Vs,
(5.2)
Here too, this operator is well defined. Let indeed be two decompositions of fVr + Vs, so that . Then necessarily . Hence, . Taking the restriction to VrVs = Vrs, this relation becomes A*rs(ff) rs = B*rs(ff)rs, and this equals 0, since A = B on Vrs, by the condition (pcS2).

The conclusion is that, for any pair of assaying subspaces Vr, Vs, the extension maps and always exist, and the condition (pCS2) is satisfied for that pair. However, this is not necessarily true for any comparable pair, and this motivates the coarsening of the order given in Proposition 5.5 below. Condition (pPC2) is also satisfied, as one can see by taking supremums (= sums) of successive pairs within three assaying subspaces Vr, Vs, Vt (and using the associativity of ∨). Thus, me may state the following.

Proposition 5.5. Let VI = {Vr,   rI} be an additive indexed -space. Then the map given in (4.1) is a partial cosheaf with respect to the partial order on I:

(5.3)

5.2.2. Universal Left Multipliers

We consider only the operators A which are everywhere defined; that is, . This is precisely the set of universal left multipliers:
(5.4)
where . Correspondingly, we consider the map
(5.5)
Here again, elements of LOpr are representatives A*r. In that case, extensions always exist. When VqVp, define by for A*qLOpq. Clearly, and if VrVqVp. Hence, is a pre-cosheaf. Moreover, if ; that is, , these two operators are the (pq, *) representative of a unique operator ALOp(VI). Then, of course, one has and ; thus, is a cosheaf. Therefore,

Proposition 5.6. Let VI = {Vr,   rI} be an arbitrary indexed -space. Then the map given in (5.5) is a cosheaf on VI with values in LOp(VI), the set of universal left multipliers, with extensions given by .

5.2.3. General Operators: The Projective Case

We consider again all operators in Op(VI). The fact is that the set ⋃rIOpr is an initial set in Op(VI), like every ; that is, it contains all predecessors of any of its elements, and this is natural for constructing sheaves into it. But it is not when considering cosheaves. By duality, one should rather take a final set, that is, containing all successors of any of its elements, just like any . Hence, we define the map:
(5.6)
Now indeed is a final set. Elements of have been denoted as Ar*, but, for definiteness, we could also replace Ar* by where .

We claim that the map defines a cosheaf, with extensions , for , which exist whenever qp.

As in the case of Section 5.2.1, assume that have a common extension belonging to ; that is, Ars* : = Ers,rAr* = Brs*   : = Ers,sBs*. Call this operator Crs*. Thus, for any suitable w, Crs,w is the (w, rs) representative of a unique operator C ∈ Op(VI), which extends A and B. Thus C = A = B ∈ Op(VI). Assume now that VI is projective; that is, Vrs = VrVs,   for  all  r, sI, with the projective topology. Then, Crs* = Ars* = Brs*; that is, condition (CS2) is satisfied with extensions and . The rest is obvious. As in the case of sheaves, extensions from Vr, Vs to Vrs exist by linearity, since VI is projective, hence, additive. Thus, we may state the following.

Proposition 5.7. Let the indexed -space VI be projective that is, Vrs = VrVs,   for  all  r, sI, with the projective topology. Then the map given in (5.6) is a cosheaf of operators on VI.

Corollary 5.8. Let VI = {Vr, rI} be a projective indexed -space. Then VI generates in a natural fashion a sheaf and a cosheaf of operators. If VI is additive, but not projective; it generates a sheaf and a partial cosheaf of operators.

6. Cohomology of an Indexed -Space

6.1. Cohomology of Operator Sheaves

It is possible to introduce a concept of sheaf cohomology group defined on an indexed -space according to the usual definition of sheaf cohomology [10]. Let VI be an indexed -space. The set of its assaying spaces, endowed with the discrete topology, defines an open covering of V. Endowed with the Mackey topology, , each Vr is a Hausdorff vector subspace of V.

Definition 6.1. Given the indexed -space VI, let {Vj,   jI} be the open covering of V by its assaying subspaces, and let be the sheaf of operators defined in (4.1) above. We call p-cochain with values in the map which associates, to each intersection of open sets , an operator belonging to .

Thus, a p-cochain with value in is a set . The set of p-cochains is denoted by . For example, a 0-cochain is a set {Aj,   jI}. A 1-cochain is a set .

Definition 6.2. Given the notion of p-cochain, the corresponding coboundary operator D is defined by

(6.1)
where the hat corresponds to the omission of the corresponding symbol. One checks that D is a coboundary operator; that is, DD = 0.

If we compute the action of the coboundary operator on 0-cochains, we get

(6.2)

This equation is nothing but the condition (S1) in Definition 4.4, that is, the necessary condition for getting a sheaf.

We can also compute the action of the coboundary operator on 1-cochains. We get
(6.3)
Now, let us suppose that a 1-cochain is defined by 𝒜 = D, where is a 0-cochain on V. The previous formula becomes:
(6.4)
Using the properties of restrictions we get
(6.5)
which shows that indeed DD = 0.

Now it is possible to define cohomology groups of the sheaf on a indexed -space V.

Definition 6.3. Let VI be an indexed -space, endowed with the open covering of its assaying spaces, {Vj,   jI}, and let be the corresponding sheaf of operators on VI. Then the pth cohomology group is defined as , where is the set of p-cocycles, that is, p-cochains 𝒜 such that D𝒜 = 0, and is the set of p-coboundaries, that is, p-cochains for which there exists a (p − 1)-cochain 𝒞 with = D𝒞.

The definition of the group is motivated by the fact that the p-cocycle 𝒜 is given only up to a coboundary = D𝒞 : D𝒜 = 0 = D(𝒜 + ) = D(𝒜 + D𝒞).

Our definition of cohomology groups of sheaves on indexed -spaces depends on the particular open covering we are choosing. So far we have used the open covering given by all assaying subspaces, but there might be other ones, typically consisting of unions of assaying subspaces. We say that an open covering {Vj,   jJ} of an indexed -space VI is finer than another one, {Uk,   kK}, if there exists an application t : JK such that VjUt(j),   for  all  jJ. For instance, Ut(j) could be a union ∪lVl containing Vj. According to the general theory of sheaf cohomology [9], this induces group homomorphisms . It is then possible to introduce cohomology groups that do not depend on the particular open covering, namely, by defining as the inductive limit of the groups with respect to the homomorphisms .

Using a famous result of Cartan and Leray and an unpublished work of J. Shabani, we give now a theorem which characterizes the cohomology of sheaves on indexed -spaces. We collect in Appendix B the definitions and the results needed for this discussion. We know that an indexed -space V endowed with the Mackey topology is a separated (Hausdorff) locally convex space, but it is not necessarily paracompact, unless V is metrizable, in particular, a Banach or a Hilbert space. In that case, it is possible to define a fine sheaf (see Definition B.3) of operators on V and apply the Cartan-Leray Theorem B.4. This justifies the restriction of metrizability in the following theorem.

Theorem 6.4. Given an indexed -space VI, define the sheaf . Then, if V is metrizable for its Mackey topology, the sheaf is acyclic; that is, the cohomology groups are trivial for all p⩾1; that is, .

Proof. First of all, V is a paracompact space, since it is metrizable.

Next, we check that the sheaf on the paracompact space V is fine. Indeed, let {Vj,   jJ} be a locally finite open covering of V. We can associate to the latter a partition of unity {φj,   jJ}. Then we can use {φj,   jJ} to define the homomorphisms . Let Vr ⊂ ∪sKVs for some index set K. For each sK, we consider the set of operators Ops = {A*s : VsV}, and we define hj : Ashj(As): = φjAs. This defines a homomorphism Ops → Ops and then a homomorphism . One can check that satisfies conditions (1) and (2) in Definition B.3, and, thus, is a fine sheaf.

Then the result follows from Theorem B.4.

The crucial point of the proof here is the Cartan-Leray theorem. Let us give a flavor of the proof of a particular case of this classical result. Let [𝒞] be an element of . We want to show that [𝒞] = 0. As an equivalence class, [𝒞] can be represented by an element of , such that D𝒞 = 0; that is,
(6.6)
Using the fact that is a fine sheaf, we can choose the partition of unity {φi,   iI} to define the 0-cochain = {Ej}, where Ej = −∑kIφk(Cjk). This sum is well defined since the covering is locally finite. Applying the coboundary operator, we get
(6.7)
Putting k = j2 and using the equation , we find
(6.8)
But since {φi,   iI} is a partition of unity, we get . This means that D = 𝒞, and; thus, [𝒞] = 0.
Of course, the restriction that V is to be metrizable is quite strong, but still the result applies to a significant number of interesting situations, for instance,
  • (1)

    a finite chain of reflexive Banach spaces or Hilbert spaces, for instance, a triplet of Hilbert spaces or any of its refinements, as discussed in [5, Section 5.2.2],

  • (2)

    an indexed -space VI whose extreme space V is itself a Hilbert space, like the LHS of functions analytic in a sector described in [5, Section 4.6.3],

  • (3)

    a Banach Gel′fand triple, in the sense of Feichtinger (see [11]), that is, an RHS (or LBS) in which the extreme spaces are (nonreflexive) Banach spaces. A nice example, extremely useful in Gabor analysis, is the so-called Feichtinger algebra 𝒮0(d), which generates the triplet

    (6.9)
    The latter can often replace the familiar Schwartz triplet of tempered distributions. Of course, one can design all sorts of LHSs of LBSs interpolating between the extreme spaces, as explained in [5, Sections 5.3 and 5.4].

In fact, what is really needed for the Cartan-Leray theorem is not that V becomes metrizable, but that it becomes paracompact. Indeed, without that condition, the situation becomes totally unmanageable. However, except for metrizable spaces, we could not find interesting examples of indexed -spaces with V paracompact.

6.2. Cohomology of Operator Cosheaves

It is also possible to get cohomological concepts on cosheaves defined from indexed -spaces. The assaying spaces can also be considered as closed sets. Let, thus, {Wj,   jI} be such a closed covering of V, and let be a cosheaf of operators defined in (5.5), namely, together with maps as above. In the sequel, denotes the set of operators . Alternatively, one could consider the cosheaf defined in (5.6), and proceed in the same way.

In this setup, we may introduce the necessary cohomological concepts, as in Definitions 6.1 and 6.2.

Definition 6.5. A p-cochain with values in the cosheaf is a map which associates to each union of closed sets , an operator of . A p-cochain is, thus, a set . The set of such p-cochains will be denoted by .

Definition 6.6. One can then introduce the coboundary operator as follows:

(6.10)
In view of the properties of the maps , we check that .

In the case of 0-cochains, a straightforward application of the formula leads to
(6.11)
And if we put this to zero, we get the constraint , which has to be satisfied in order to build a cosheaf, according to the condition (CS2). On 1-cochains, the coboundary action gives
(6.12)
The cohomology groups of the cosheaf , with obvious notations, can then be defined in a natural way. Similarly for and .

Now it is tempting to proceed as in the case of sheaves and define the analog of a fine cosheaf, in such a way that one can apply a result similar to the Cartan-Leray theorem. But this is largely unexplored territory, so we will not venture into it.

7. Outcome

The analysis so far shows that several aspects of the theory of indexed -spaces and operators on them have a natural formulation in categorical terms. Of course, this is only a first step, many questions remain open. For instance, does there exist a simple characterisation of the dual category PIPop? Could it be somehow linked to the category of partial *algebras, in the same way as Setop is isomorphic to the category of complete atomic Boolean algebras (this is the so-called Lindenbaum-Tarski duality [12, Section VI.4.6]?

In addition, our constructions yield new concrete examples of sheaves and cosheaves, namely, (co)sheaves of operators on an indexed -space, and this is probably the most important result of this paper. Then, another open question concerns the cosheaf cohomology groups. Can one find conditions under which the cosheaf is acyclic, that is, , for all p⩾1, or, similarly, , for all p⩾1?

In guise of conclusion, let us note that cosheaf is a new concept which was introduced in a logical framework in order to dualize the sheaf concept [13]. In fact one knows that the category of sheaves (which is in fact a topos) is related to Intuitionistic logic and Heyting algebras, in the same way as the category of sets has deep relations with the classical proposition logic and Boolean algebras [12, Section I.1.10].

More precisely, Classical logic satisfies the noncontradiction principle ¬(p∧¬p) and the excluded middle principle (p∨¬p) (i.e., : = Not-(p And Not-p) and : = p Or Not-p.). Intuitionistic logic satisfies but not . Finally, we know that Paraconsistent logic, satisfying but not , is related to Brouwer algebras, also called co-Heyting algebras [14, 15]. Then, it is natural to wonder what is the category, if any, (mimicking the category of sets for the classical case and the topos of sheaves for the intuitionistic case), corresponding to Paraconsistent logic? The category of cosheaves can be a natural candidate for this. And this is the reason why it was tentatively introduced in a formal logic context. The category of closed sets of a topological space happens to be a cosheaf. But up to now we did not know any other examples of cosheaves in other areas of mathematics. Therefore, it is interesting to find here additional concrete examples of cosheaves in the field of functional analysis.

In a completely different field, the search for a quantum gravity theory, Shahn Majid [16, page 294] (see also the diagram in [17, page 122]) has proposed to unify quantum field theory and general relativity using a self-duality principle expressed in categorical terms. His approach shows deep connections, on the one hand, between quantum concepts and Heyting algebras (the relations between quantum physics and Intuitionistic logic are well known) and, on the other hand, following a suggestion of Lawvere [16], between general relativity (Riemannian geometry and uniform spaces) and co-Heyting algebras (Brouwer algebras). Therefore, it is very interesting to shed light on concepts arising naturally from Brouwer algebras, and this is precisely the case of cosheaves. Sheaves of operators on -spaces are connected to quantum physics. Is there any hope to connect cosheaves of operators on some -spaces to (pseudo-)Riemannian geometry, uniform spaces, or to theories describing gravitation? This is an open question suggested by Majid′s idea of a self-duality principle (let us note that classical logic is the prototype of a self-dual structure, self-duality being given by the de Morgan rule, which transforms into !).

Acknowledgments

J.-P. Antoine thanks Juma Shabani (UNESCO) for communicating his unpublished results. D. Lambert thanks Bertrand Hespel (FUNDP) for inspiring discussions. The authors all thank the anonymous referee for his constructive remarks that have definitely improved the paper.

    Appendices

    A. Partial Inner Product Spaces

    A.1. -Spaces and Indexed -Spaces

    For the convenience of the reader, we have collected here the main features of partial inner product spaces and operators on them, keeping only what is needed for reading the paper. Further information may be found in our review paper [6] or our monograph [5].

    The general framework is that of a -space V, corresponding to the linear compatibility #, that is, a symmetric binary relation f#g which preserves linearity. We call assaying subspace of V a subspace S such that S## = S, and we denote by (V, #) the family of all assaying subspaces of V, ordered by inclusion. The assaying subspaces are denoted by Vr, Vq, …, and the index set is F. By definition, qr if and only if VqVr. Thus, we may write
    (A.1)
    General considerations imply that the family (V, #): = {Vr,   rF}, ordered by inclusion, is a complete involutive lattice; that is, it is stable under the following operations, arbitrarily iterated:
    • (i)

      involution:,

    • (ii)

      infimum: Vpq : = VpVq = VpVq, (p, q, rF),

    • (iii)

      supremum:.

    The smallest element of (V, #) is V# = ⋂rVr, and the greatest element is V = ⋃rVr.

    By definition, the index set F is also a complete involutive lattice; for instance,
    (A.2)

    Given a vector space V equipped with a linear compatibility #, a partial inner product on (V, #) is a Hermitian form 〈·∣·〉 defined exactly on compatible pairs of vectors. A partial inner product space (-space) is a vector space V equipped with a linear compatibility and a partial inner product.

    From now on, we will assume that our -space (V, #, 〈·∣·〉) is nondegenerate; that is, 〈fg〉 = 0 for all fV# implies g = 0. As a consequence, (V#, V) and every couple , are a dual pair in the sense of topological vector spaces [18]. Next, we assume that every Vr carries its Mackey topology , so that its conjugate dual is . Then, r < s implies VrVs, and the embedding operator Esr : VrVs is continuous and has dense range. In particular, V# is dense in every Vr.

    As a matter of fact, the whole structure can be reconstructed from a fairly small subset of , namely, a generating involutive sublattice of (V, #), indexed by I, which means that
    (A.3)
    The resulting structure is called an indexed -space and denoted simply by VI : = (V, , 〈·∣·〉).
    Then an indexed -space VI is said to be
    • (i)

      additive if Vpq = Vp + Vq,   for  all  p, qI,

    • (ii)

      projective if ; here Vpq|τ denotes Vpq equipped with the Mackey topology , the right-hand side denotes VpVq with the topology of the projective limit from Vp and Vq, and ≃ denotes an isomorphism of locally convex topological spaces.

    For practical applications, it is essentially sufficient to restrict oneself to the case of an indexed -space satisfying the following conditions:
    • (i)

      every Vr,   rI, is a Hilbert space or a reflexive Banach space, so that the Mackey topology coincides with the norm topology;

    • (ii)

      there is a unique self-dual, Hilbert, assaying subspace .

    In that case, the structure VI : = (V, , 〈·∣·〉) is called, respectively, a lattice of Hilbert spaces (LHS) or a lattice of Banach spaces (LBS) (see [5] for more precise definitions, including explicit requirements on norms). The important facts here are that
    • (i)

      every projective indexed -space is additive;

    • (ii)

      an LBS or an LHS is projective if and only if it is additive.

    Note that V#, V themselves usually do not belong to the family {Vr,   rI}, but they can be recovered as
    (A.4)
    A standard, albeit trivial, example is that of a Rigged Hilbert space (RHS) Φ ⊂ ⊂ Φ# (it is trivial because the lattice contains only three elements). One should note that the construction of an RHS from a directed family of Hilbert spaces, via projective and inductive limits, has been investigated recently by Bellomonte and Trapani [19]. Similar constructions, in the language of categories, may be found in the work of Mityagin and Shvarts [20] and that of Semadeni and Zidenberg [21].

    Let us give some concrete examples.

    (i) Sequence Spaces Let V be the space ω of all complex sequences x = (xn) and define on it (i) a compatibility relation by , (ii) a partial inner product . Then ω# = φ, the space of finite sequences, and the complete lattice (ω, #) consists of Köthe′s perfect sequence spaces [18, § 30]. Among these, a nice example is the lattice of the so-called ϕ spaces associated to symmetric norming functions or, more generally, the Banach sequence ideals discussed in [5, Section 4.3.2] and previously in [20, § 6] (in this example, the extreme spaces are, resp., 1 and ).

    (ii) Spaces of Locally Integrable Functions Let V be , the space of Lebesgue measurable functions, integrable over compact subsets, and define a compatibility relation on it by f#g⇔∫ | f(x)g(x) |   dx < and a partial inner product . Then , the space of bounded measurable functions of compact support. The complete lattice consists of the so-called Köthe function spaces. Here again, normed ideals of measurable functions in L1([0,1], dx) are described in [20, § 8].

    A.2. Operators on Indexed -Spaces

    Let VI and YK be two nondegenerate indexed -spaces (in particular, two LHSs or LBSs). Then an operator from VI to YK is a map A from a subset 𝒟(A) ⊂ V into Y, such that
    • (i)

      , where is a nonempty subset of I.

    • (ii)

      For every , there exists uK such that the restriction of A to Vr is a continuous linear map into Yu (we denote this restriction by Aur).

    • (iii)

      A has no proper extension satisfying (i) and (ii).

    We denote by Op(VI, YK) the set of all operators from VI to YK and, in particular, Op(VI) : = Op(VI, VI). The continuous linear operator Aur : VrYu is called a representative of A. Thus, the operator A may be identified with the collection of its representatives, A≃{Aur : VrYu  exists  as  a  bounded  operator}. We will also need the following sets:
    (A.5)
    The following properties are immediate:
    • (i)

      is an initial subset of I: if and r < r, then , and Aur = AurErr, where Err is a representative of the unit operator.

    • (ii)

      is a final subset of K: if and u > u, then , and Aur = EuuAur.

    Although an operator may be identified with a separately continuous sesquilinear form on V# × V#, it is more useful to keep also the algebraic operations on operators, namely,
    • (i)

      adjoint: every A ∈ Op(VI, YK) has a unique adjoint A× ∈ Op(YK, VI) and one has A×× = A, for every A ∈ Op(VI, YK): no extension is allowed, by the maximality condition (iii) of the definition.

    • (ii)

      partial multiplication: let VI, WL, and YK be nondegenerate indexed -spaces (some, or all, may coincide). Let A ∈ Op(VI, WL), and, B ∈ Op(WL, YK). We say that the product BA is defined if and only if there is a ; that is, if and only if there is continuous factorization through some Wt:

    (A.6)
    Among operators on indexed -spaces, a special role is played by morphisms.
    An operator A ∈ Op(VI, YK) is called a homomorphism if
    • (i)

      for every rI, there exists uK such that both Aur and exist;

    • (ii)

      for every uK, there exists rI such that both Aur and exist.

    We denote by Hom(VI, YK) the set of all homomorphisms from VI into YK and by Hom(VI) those from VI into itself. The following properties are immediate.

    Proposition A.1. Let VI, YK, … be indexed -spaces. Then,

    • (i)

      A ∈ Hom(VI, YK) if and only if A× ∈ Hom(YK, VI);

    • (ii)

      the product of any number of homomorphisms (between successive -spaces) is defined and is a homomorphism;

    • (iii)

      if A ∈ Hom(VI, YK), then f#g implies Af#Ag.

    The definition of homomorphisms just given is tailored in such a way that one may consider the category PIP of all indexed -spaces, with the homomorphisms as morphisms (arrows), as we have done in Section 3.3 above. In the same language, we may define particular classes of morphisms, such as monomorphisms, epimorphisms, and isomorphisms.
    • (i)

      Let M ∈ Hom(WL, YK). Then M is called a monomorphism if MA = MB implies A = B, for any two elements of A, B ∈ Hom(VI, WL), where VI is any indexed -space.

    • (ii)

      Let N ∈ Hom(WL, YK). Then N is called an epimorphism if AN = BN implies A = B, for any two elements A, B ∈ Hom(YK, VI), where VI is any indexed -space.

    • (iii)

      An operator A ∈ Op(VI, YK) is an isomorphism if A ∈ Hom(VI, YK), and there is a homomorphism B ∈ Hom(YK, VI) such that BA = 1V,   AB = 1Y, the identity operators on V, Y, respectively.

    Typical examples of monomorphisms are the inclusion maps resulting from the restriction of a support, for instance, the natural injection , where = Ω ∪ Ω is the partition of in two measurable subsets of nonzero measure. More examples and further properties of morphisms may be found in [5, Section 3.3] and in [7].

    Finally, an orthogonal projection on a nondegenerate indexed -space VI, in particular, an LBS or an LHS, is a homomorphism P ∈ Hom(VI) such that P2 = P× = P.

    A -subspace W of a -space V is defined in [5, Section 3.4.2] as an orthocomplemented subspace of V, that is, a vector subspace W for which there exists a vector subspace ZV such that V = WZ and
    • (i)

      for every fV, where f = fW + fZ, fWW, fZZ;

    • (ii)

      if fW,   gZ and f#g, then 〈fg〉 = 0.

    In the same Section 3.4.2 of [5], it is shown that a vector subspace W of a nondegenerate -space is orthocomplemented if and only if it is topologically regular, which means that it satisfies the following two conditions:
    • (i)

      for every assaying subset VrV, the intersections Wr = WVr and are a dual pair in V;

    • (ii)

      the intrinsic Mackey topology coincides with the Mackey topology induced by Vr.

    Then the fundamental result, which is the analogue to the similar statement for a Hilbert space, says that a vector subspace W of the nondegenerate -space V is orthocomplemented if and only if it is the range of an orthogonal projection:
    (A.7)
    Clearly, this raises the question, discussed in Section 3.3.1, of identifying the subobjects of any category consisting of -spaces.

    B. Fine Sheaves

    We collect here some classical notions and results used in Section 6. We recall first that the support of the continuous function φ : X on the topological space X is the closed set supp φ : = closure{xX : φ ≠ 0}, which is the smallest closed set outside which φ is zero. The same definition applies to a distribution. Then we recall the standard notion of a partition of unity.

    Definition B.1. Let U = {Ui,   iI} be an open covering of the topological space X. A set of real and continuous functions {φi,   iI} defined on X is called a partition of unity with respect to U if one has the following.

    • (i)

      φi(x)⩾0,   for  all  xX.

    • (ii)

      supp φiUi,   for  all  iI.

    • (iii)

      Each point xX has an open neighborhood that meets supp φ for a finite number of iI only.

    • (iv)

      iIφi(x) = 1,   for  all  iI. This sum is well defined by (iii).

    We recall that a topological space is paracompact if it is separated (Hausdorff), and every open covering admits a locally finite open covering that is finer [22, § 6]. Every metrizable locally convex space is paracompact, but there are nonmetrizable paracompact spaces as well. The following result is standard.

    Theorem B.2. X is paracompact if and only if X is a separated topological space and each open covering of X admits a partition of unity.

    The main use of paracompact spaces is for the definition of a fine sheaf, to which the Cartan-Leray theorem applies (see below).

    Definition B.3. Let be a sheaf on a paracompact topological space X. One says that is fine if, for every locally finite open covering U = {Ui,   iI} of X, there exists a set of homomorphisms such that

    • (1)

      for each iI, there exists a closed set Mi of X such that MiUi and for xMi, where is the stalk of the sheaf at the point x (the stalk is defined by the inductive limit );

    • (2)

      iIhi = 1. This sum is well defined since the covering U is locally finite.

    Then the basic result is the following standard theorem. (A good introduction to the cohomology of sheaves and to the Cartan-Leray theorem can be found in [23, pages 166–197].)

    Theorem B.4 (Cartan-Leray). Let be a fine sheaf on a paracompact topological space X. Then is acyclic; that is, the higher-order sheaf cohomology groups are trivial; for all p ≥ 1.

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