Twisted double functors and loosely discrete opfibrations

Abstract

Various situations in the theory and applications of double categories, ranging from a loose Yoneda theory and loose compact closure to double-operadic systems theory, require a notion of double copresheaf in which the action is by loose morphisms rather than tight ones. In this paper, we develop and compare several models for loose copresheaves on double categories. First, we introduce a new notion of morphism between double categories, called twisted double functors, which send tight morphisms to loose morphisms and vice versa, and use these to define twisted copresheaves. We exhibit numerous examples of twisted double functors, starting with the twisted Hom functor and the twisted representables on a double category. Corresponding to this functorial notion of loose copresheaf is a fibrational one, an internal version of a discrete opfibration that we call a loosely discrete opfibration. We prove that twisted copresheaves and cloven loosely discrete opfibrations are equivalent via an elements construction. Finally, we compare twisted bimodules with double categories over the walking loose arrow, or double barrels, via a collage construction.