Definition 4.4.4.1. Let $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ be an $\infty $-category, let $X$ be a simplicial set, and suppose we are given a pair of diagrams $f,f': X \rightarrow \operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$. A natural transformation from $f$ to $f'$ is a morphism $u: f \rightarrow f'$ in the $\infty $-category $\operatorname{Fun}(X, \operatorname{\mathcal{C}})$. A natural isomorphism from $f$ to $f'$ is a natural transformation $u: f \rightarrow f'$ which is an isomorphism in the $\infty $-category $\operatorname{Fun}(X, \operatorname{\mathcal{C}})$ (Definition 1.4.6.1). We say that $f$ and $f'$ are naturally isomorphic if there exists a natural isomorphism from $f$ to $f'$.
4.4.4 Natural Isomorphisms
Recall that, if $X$ is an arbitrary simplicial set and $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ is an $\infty $-category, then the simplicial set $\operatorname{Fun}(X, \operatorname{\mathcal{C}})$ is also an $\infty $-category (Theorem 1.5.3.7). In this section, we study isomorphisms in $\infty $-categories of the form $\operatorname{Fun}(X, \operatorname{\mathcal{C}})$.
Remark 4.4.4.2. In the situation of Definition 4.4.4.1, a natural transformation from $f$ to $f'$ is simply a homotopy from $f$ to $f'$, in the sense of Definition 3.1.5.2: that is, a map of simplicial sets $h: \Delta ^1 \times X \rightarrow \operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ satisfying $h|_{ \{ 0\} \times X} = f$ and $h|_{ \{ 1\} \times X } = f'$. However, the terminology of Definition 4.4.4.1 is intended to signal a shift in emphasis. We will generally reserve use of the term homotopy between diagrams $f,f': X \rightarrow \operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ for the case where $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ is a Kan complex, and use the term natural transformation when $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ is a more general $\infty $-category.
Example 4.4.4.3. Let $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ be an ordinary category, and suppose we are given a pair of diagrams $f,f': X \rightarrow \operatorname{N}_{\bullet }(\operatorname{\mathcal{C}})$. Then a natural transformation from $f$ to $f'$ can be identified with a collection of morphisms $\{ u_{x}: f(x) \rightarrow f'(x) \} _{x \in X}$ with the following property: for every edge $e: x \rightarrow y$ of the simplicial set $X$, the diagram commutes (in the category $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$). In particular, if $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ and $\operatorname{\mathcal{D}}$ are ordinary categories and we are given a pair of functors $f,f': \operatorname{\mathcal{D}}\rightarrow \operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$, then giving a natural transformation from $f$ to $f'$ (in the sense of classical category theory) is equivalent to giving a natural transformation from $\operatorname{N}_{\bullet }(f): \operatorname{N}_{\bullet }(\operatorname{\mathcal{D}}) \rightarrow \operatorname{N}_{\bullet }(\operatorname{\mathcal{C}})$ to $\operatorname{N}_{\bullet }(f'): \operatorname{N}_{\bullet }(\operatorname{\mathcal{D}}) \rightarrow \operatorname{N}_{\bullet }(\operatorname{\mathcal{C}})$.
Let $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ be an $\infty $-category and let $X$ be an arbitrary simplicial set. For every vertex $x \in X$, evaluation at $x$ determines a functor
In particular, if $u: f \rightarrow f'$ is an isomorphism in the $\infty $-category $\operatorname{Fun}(X, \operatorname{\mathcal{C}})$, then $\operatorname{ev}_{x}(u): f(x) \rightarrow f'(x)$ is an isomorphism in the $\infty $-category $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$. Our goal in this section is to prove the converse:
Theorem 4.4.4.4. Let $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ be an $\infty $-category, let $f,f': X \rightarrow \operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ be diagrams in $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ indexed by a simplicial set $X$, and let $u: f \rightarrow f'$ be a natural transformation. Then $u$ is a natural isomorphism if and only if, for every vertex $x \in X$, the induced map $\operatorname{ev}_{x}(u): f(x) \rightarrow f'(x)$ is an isomorphism in the $\infty $-category $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$.
Remark 4.4.4.5. Let $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ and $\operatorname{\mathcal{D}}$ be $\infty $-categories and suppose we are given a pair of functors $F,G: \operatorname{\mathcal{C}}\rightarrow \operatorname{\mathcal{D}}$, which restrict to functors between their cores $F^{\simeq }, G^{\simeq }: \operatorname{\mathcal{C}}^{\simeq } \rightarrow \operatorname{\mathcal{D}}^{\simeq }$ (see Remark 4.4.3.5). Let $u$ be a natural transformation from $F$ to $G$, which we identify with a map of simplicial sets $u: \Delta ^1 \times \operatorname{\mathcal{C}}\rightarrow \operatorname{\mathcal{D}}$. If $u$ is a natural isomorphism, then it restricts to a map of simplicial sets $u_0: \Delta ^1 \times \operatorname{\mathcal{C}}^{\simeq } \rightarrow \operatorname{\mathcal{D}}^{\simeq }$, which we can regard as a homotopy from $F^{\simeq }$ to $G^{\simeq }$. In particular, if the functors $F$ and $G$ are naturally isomorphic, then the morphisms $F^{\simeq }$ and $G^{\simeq }$ are homotopic.
Corollary 4.4.4.6. Let $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ be an $\infty $-category. Then the functor preserves limits (that is, it carries colimits in the category of simplicial sets to limits of Kan complexes).
The proof of Theorem 4.4.4.4 will use the following combinatorial assertion:
Lemma 4.4.4.7. Let $m \geq 0$ and $n \geq 2$ be integers. Then there exists a sequence of simplicial subsets with the following properties:
The simplicial subset $X(0) \subseteq \Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$ is the union of $\Delta ^{m} \times \Lambda ^{n}_{0}$ and $\operatorname{\partial \Delta }^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$.
For each $0 < s \leq t$, there exist integers $q \geq 2$ and $0 \leq p < q$ and a pushout diagram of simplicial sets
Moreover, if $p=0$, then the map $\sigma : \Delta ^{q} \rightarrow X(s) \subseteq \Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$ satisfies $\sigma (0) = (0,0)$ and $\sigma (1) = (0,1)$.
Proof. Let $\sigma $ be a nondegenerate $q$-simplex of the product $\Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$, given by a chain
We will say that $\sigma $ is free if the composite maps
are surjective and there exists an integer $0 \leq p < q$ such that $(i_ p, j_ p) = (p,0)$ and $(i_{p+1}, j_{p+1} ) = (p, 1)$. If this condition is satisfied, then the integer $p$ is uniquely determined; we will refer to $p$ as the index of $\sigma $ and denote it by $p(\sigma )$. We also denote the dimension $q$ of $\sigma $ by $q(\sigma )$.
Let $\{ \sigma _1, \sigma _{2}, \cdots , \sigma _{t} \} $ be an enumeration of the collection of all free simplices of the product $\Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$. Without loss of generality, we may assume that that this enumeration satisfies the following pair of conditions:
For $1 \leq s \leq s' \leq t$, we have $q( \sigma _ s ) \leq q( \sigma _{s'} )$.
If $1 \leq s \leq s' \leq t$ are integers satisfying $q( \sigma _ s ) = q( \sigma _{s'} )$, then $p( \sigma _ s ) \geq p( \sigma _{s'} )$.
Let $X(0)$ denote the union $(\Delta ^{m} \times \Lambda ^{n}_{0}) \cup (\operatorname{\partial \Delta }^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}) \subseteq \Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$. For $0 < s \leq t$, we let $X(s)$ denote the smallest simplicial subset of $\Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$ which contains $X(0)$ together with the simplices $\{ \sigma _1, \sigma _2, \ldots , \sigma _{s} \} $. We will show that the sequence
satisfies the requirements of Lemma 4.4.4.7.
We first claim that $X(t) = \Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$. Let $\sigma $ be an arbitrary nondegenerate $q$-simplex of $\Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$, which we will identify with a sequence
of elements of the partially ordered set $[m] \times [n]$. We wish to show that $\sigma $ is contained in $X(t)$. Without loss of generality, we may assume that the sequence $(i_0, i_1, \ldots , i_ q)$ contains every element of the set $[m] = \{ 0 < 1 < \cdots < m \} $. (otherwise, $\sigma $ is contained in the simplicial subset $\operatorname{\partial \Delta }^ m \times \Delta ^ n \subseteq X(0) \subseteq X(t)$). Similarly, we may assume that that the sequence $(j_0, j_1, \ldots , j_ q)$ contains every element of the set $\{ 1 < 2 < \cdots < n \} $ (otherwise, $\sigma $ is is contained in the simplicial subset $\Delta ^ m \times \Lambda ^{n}_{0} \subseteq X(0) \subseteq X(t)$). In particular, the sequence $\sigma $ contains $(p,1)$, for some integer $0 \leq p \leq n$. Let us assume that $p$ is chosen as small as possible. In this case, there are two possibilities:
The sequence $\sigma $ also contains the pair $(p,0)$. In this case, $\sigma $ is a free simplex of $\Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$, and therefore belongs to $X(t)$.
The sequence $\sigma $ does not contain $(p,0)$, and therefore has the form
\[ (0,0) < (1,0) < \cdots < (p-1, 0) < (p,1) < (i_{p+1}, j_{p+1} ) < \cdots < (i_ q, j_ q). \]We can then identify $\sigma $ with the $p$th face of the $(q+1)$-simplex $\sigma '$ given by the sequence
\[ (0,0) < (1,0) < \cdots < (p-1, 0) < (p,0) < (p,1) < (i_{p+1}, j_{p+1} ) < \cdots < (i_ q, j_ q). \]The simplex $\sigma '$ is free and therefore belongs to $X(t)$, so that $\sigma $ belongs to $X(t)$ as well.
We now complete the proof by verifying requirement $(2)$ of Lemma 4.4.4.7. Fix an integer $0 < s \leq t$ and let $\sigma = \sigma _{s}$ be the corresponding free simplex of $\Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$. Let $q = q(\sigma )$ be the dimension of $\sigma $ and let $p = p(\sigma )$ be the index of $\sigma $, so that $0 \leq p < q$ and $\sigma $ has the form
By construction, the simplicial subset $X(s) \subseteq \Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$ is the union of $X(s-1)$ with the image of $\sigma $. Let $K \subseteq \Delta ^1$ denote the inverse image $\sigma ^{-1} X(s-1)$. We will show that $K$ is equal to the horn $\Lambda ^{q}_{p} \subseteq \Delta ^{q}$, so that the pullback diagram of simplicial sets
is also a pushout square (Lemma 3.1.2.11).
We first show that the horn $\Lambda ^{q}_{p}$ is contained in $K$. For this, it will suffice to show that for every integer $0 \leq p' \leq q$ satisfying $p' \neq p$, the face $\tau = d^{q}_{p'}( \sigma )$ is contained in $X(s-1)$. We consider three cases:
For $p' < p$, the simplex $\tau $ is given by the sequence
\[ (0,0) < \cdots < (p'-1,0) < (p'+1,0) < \cdots < (p,0) < (p,1) < \cdots < (i_ q, j_ q), \]which is contained in the simplicial subset $\operatorname{\partial \Delta }^{m} \times \Delta ^{n} \subseteq X(0) \subseteq X(s-1)$.
For $p' = p+1$, the simplex $\tau $ is given by the sequence
\[ (0,0) < (1,0) < \cdots < (p,0) < (i_{p+2}, j_{p+2} ) < \cdots < (i_ q, j_ q). \]If $j_{p+2} \geq 2$, then $\tau $ belongs to the simplicial subset $\Delta ^ m \times \Lambda ^{n}_{0} \subseteq X(0) \subseteq X(s-1)$. Otherwise, we must have $(i_{p+2}, j_{p+2} ) = (p+1, 1)$, so that $\tau $ occurs as a face of the free simplex $\sigma '$ given by the sequence
\[ (0,0) < (1,0) < \cdots < (p,0) < (p+1,0) < (p+1, 1) < \cdots < (i_ q, j_ q), \]which has dimension $q$ and index $p+1$. By construction, $\sigma '$ belongs to the set $\{ \sigma _1, \sigma _2, \ldots , \sigma _{s-1} \} $, and is therefore contained in the simplicial subset $X(s-1) \subseteq \Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^ n$.
For $p' > p+1$, the simplex $\tau $ is given by the sequence
\[ (0,0) < \cdots < (p,0) < (p,1) < \cdots < (i_{p'-1}, j_{p'-1} ) < (i_{p'+1}, j_{p'+1} ) < \cdots < (i_ q, j_ q). \]It follows that $\tau $ is either contained in the simplicial subset $X(0) = (\Delta ^{m} \times \Lambda ^{n}_{0}) \cup (\operatorname{\partial \Delta }^{m} \times \Delta ^{n})$ or that it is a free simplex of $\Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$ having dimension $q-1$. In the latter case, $\tau $ must belong to the set $\{ \sigma _1, \ldots , \sigma _{s-1} \} $, and is therefore contained in the simplicial subset $X(s-1) \subseteq \Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$.
To show that the inclusion $\Lambda ^{q}_{p} \subseteq K$ is an equality, it will suffice to show that $K$ does not contain the $p$th face of $\Delta ^{q}$. Let $\tau = d^{q}_{p}(\sigma )$ be the $p$th face of $\sigma $, given by the sequence
We wish to show that $\tau $ is not contained in $X(s-1)$. Assume otherwise. Since $\tau $ is not contained in $X(0)$, we conclude that $\tau $ is contained in some free simplex $\sigma ' \in \{ \sigma _1, \sigma _2, \ldots , \sigma _{s-1} \} $. Note that $\tau \neq \sigma '$ (since $\tau $ is not free), so we have inequalities
It follows that $\sigma '$ is a free $q$-simplex of $\Delta ^{m} \times \Delta ^{n}$ which contains $\tau $ and is not equal to $\sigma $, and is therefore necessarily given by the sequence
We therefore have $p(\sigma ') = p-1 < p = p(\sigma )$, which contradicts our assumption regarding the choice of enumeration $\{ \sigma _1, \sigma _2, \ldots , \sigma _ t \} $. $\square$
Lemma 4.4.4.8. Let $r: Y \rightarrow S$ be an inner fibration of simplicial sets, let $\overline{F}: B \rightarrow S$ be any morphism of simplicial sets, let $A$ be a simplicial subset of $B$, let $n \geq 2$ be an integer. Let $\pi : B \times \Delta ^ n \rightarrow B$ be the projection map and suppose we are given a lifting problem Assume that, for every vertex $b \in B$, the edge is an isomorphism in the $\infty $-category $Y_{b} = \{ \overline{F}(b) \} \times _{S} X$. Then the lifting problem (4.18) admits a solution $F: B \times \Delta ^ n \rightarrow Y$.
Proof. Let $P$ denote the collection of all pairs $(K, F_ K)$, where $K \subseteq B$ is a simplicial subset containing $A$ and $F_ K: K \times \Delta ^ n \rightarrow Y$ is a morphism of simplicial sets satisfying $F_{K}|_{ A \times \Delta ^ n} = F_0 |_{ A \times \Delta ^ n }$, $F_ K|_{ K \times \Lambda ^ n_0 } = F_0 |_{ K \times \Lambda ^{n}_0}$, and $r \circ F_{K} = (\overline{F} \circ \pi )|_{ K \times \Delta ^ n}$. We regard $P$ as partially ordered set, where $(K, F_ K) \leq (K', F_{K'} )$ if $K \subseteq K'$ and $F_ K = F_{K'} |_{K \times \Delta ^ n}$. The partially ordered set $P$ satisfies the hypotheses of Zorn's lemma, and therefore has a maximal element $(K_{\mathrm{max}}, F_{K_{\mathrm{max}}})$. We will complete the proof by showing that $K_{\mathrm{max}} = B$. Assume otherwise. Then there exists some nondegenerate $m$-simplex $\tau : \Delta ^{m} \rightarrow B$ whose image is not contained in $K_{ \mathrm{max} }$. Choosing $m$ as small as possible, we can assume that $\tau $ carries the boundary $\operatorname{\partial \Delta }^{m}$ into $K_{\mathrm{max}}$. Let $K' \subseteq B$ be the union of $K_{\mathrm{max}}$ with the image of $\tau $, so that we have a pushout diagram of simplicial sets
We will complete the proof by showing that the lifting problem
admits a solution (contradicting the maximality of the pair $(K_{\mathrm{max}}, F_{K_{\mathrm{max}}} )$). To prove this, we can replace the inclusion $K_{\mathrm{max}} \hookrightarrow K'$ by $\operatorname{\partial \Delta }^ m \hookrightarrow \Delta ^ m$. We are therefore reduced to proving Lemma 4.4.4.8 in the special case where $B = \Delta ^ m$ is a simplex and $A = \operatorname{\partial \Delta }^ m$ is its boundary. Replacing $r$ by the projection map $\Delta ^ m \times _{S} Y \rightarrow \Delta ^ m$, we may further assume that $S$ is an $\infty $-category.
Choose a sequence of simplicial subsets
satisfying the requirements of Lemma 4.4.4.7, so that $F_0$ can be identified with a morphism $X(0) \rightarrow Y$. We will show that, for $0 \leq s \leq t$, there exists a morphism of simplicial sets $F_{s}: X(s) \rightarrow Y$ satisfying $F_ s|_{ X(0)} = F_0$ and $r \circ F_{s} = (\overline{F} \circ \pi )|_{X(s)}$ (taking $s = t$, this will complete the proof of Lemma 4.4.4.8). We proceed by induction on $s$, the case $s=0$ being vacuous. Assume that $s > 0$ and that we have already constructed a morphism $F_{s-1}: X(s-1) \rightarrow Y$ satisfying $F_{s-1}|_{X(0)} = F_0$ and $r \circ F_{s-1} = (\overline{F} \circ \pi )|_{X(s-1)}$ By construction, there exists integers $q \geq 2$, $0 \leq p < q$, and a pushout diagram of simplicial sets
Moreover, in the special case $p=0$, we can assume that $\sigma (0) = (0,0)$ and $\sigma (1) = (0,1)$, so that the composite map
corresponds to an isomorphism in $Y$. To construct the desired extension $F_{s}: X(s) \rightarrow Y$, it will suffice to solve a lifting problem of the form
In the case $0 < p < q$, this lifting problem admits a solution by virtue of our assumption that $r$ is an inner fibration of simplicial sets. In the special case $p=0$, it follows from Proposition 4.4.2.13. $\square$
Theorem 4.4.4.4 is a special case of the following more general assertion:
Proposition 4.4.4.9. Let $q: X \rightarrow S$ be an inner fibration of simplicial sets, let $\overline{F}: B \rightarrow S$ be a morphism of simplicial sets, and let $u: F \rightarrow F'$ be a morphism in the $\infty $-category $\operatorname{Fun}_{/S}(B, X)$. The following conditions are equivalent:
The morphism $u$ is an isomorphism in the $\infty $-category $\operatorname{Fun}_{/S}(B,X)$.
For every vertex $b \in B$, the morphism $u_ b: F(b) \rightarrow F'(b)$ is an isomorphism in the $\infty $-category $X_{b} = \{ \overline{F}(b) \} \times _{S} X$.
Proof. For each vertex $b \in B$, evaluation at $b$ determines a functor of $\infty $-categories $\operatorname{Fun}_{/S}(B,X) \rightarrow X_{b}$. Consequently, the implication $(1) \Rightarrow (2)$ follows from Remark 1.5.1.6. The converse implication follows by combining Lemma 4.4.4.8 (in the special case $A = \emptyset $) with the criterion of Theorem 4.4.2.6. $\square$
Proof of Theorem 4.4.4.4. Apply Proposition 4.4.4.9 in the case $S = \Delta ^0$. $\square$