Bicategories of algebras for relative pseudomonads

Abstract

We introduce pseudoalgebras for relative pseudomonads and develop their theory. For each relative pseudomonad $T$, we construct a free--forgetful relative pseudoadjunction that exhibits the bicategory of $T$-pseudoalgebras as terminal among resolutions of $T$. The Kleisli bicategory for $T$ thus embeds into the bicategory of pseudoalgebras as the sub-bicategory of free pseudoalgebras. We consequently obtain a coherence theorem that implies, for instance, that the bicategory of distributors is biequivalent to the 2-category of presheaf categories. In doing so, we extend several aspects of the theory of pseudomonads to relative pseudomonads, including doctrinal adjunction, transport of structure, and lax-idempotence. As an application of our general theory, we prove that, for each class of colimits $\Phi$, there is a correspondence between monads relative to free $\Phi$-cocompletions, and $\Phi$-cocontinuous monads on free $\Phi$-cocompletions.