Simona Paoli

2-nerves for bicategories

We describe a Cat-valued nerve of bicategories, which associates to every bicategory a simplicial object in Cat, called the 2-nerve. We define a 2-category NHom whose objects are bicategories and whose 1-cells are normal homomorphisms of bicategories, in such a way that the 2-nerve construction becomes a full embedding of NHom in the 2-category of simplicial objects in Cat. This embedding has a left biadjoint, and we characterize its image. The 2-nerve of a bicategory is always a weak 2-category in the sense of Tamsamani, and we show that NHom is biequivalent to a certain 2-category whose objects are Tamsamani weak 2-categories.

Model structures on the category of small double categories

In this paper we obtain several model structures on DblCat, the category of small double categories. Our model structures have three sources. We first transfer across a categorification-nerve adjunction. Secondly, we view double categories as internal categories in Cat and take as our weak equivalences various internal equivalences defined via Grothendieck topologies. Thirdly, DblCat inherits a model structure as a category of algebras over a 2‐monad. Some of these model structures coincide and the different points of view give us further results about cofibrant replacements and cofibrant objects. As part of this program we give explicit descriptions for and discuss properties of free double categories, quotient double categories, colimits of double categories, horizontal nerve and horizontal categorification. 18D05, 18G55; 55P99, 55U10

A Thomason model structure on the category of small n-fold categories

We construct a cofibrantly generated Quillen model structure on the category of small n-fold categories and prove that it is Quillen equivalent to the standard model structure on the category of simplicial sets. An n-fold functor is a weak equivalence if and only if the diagonal of its n-fold nerve is a weak equivalence of simplicial sets. This is an n-fold analogue to Thomasons Quillen model structure on Cat. We introduce an n-fold Grothendieck construction for multisimplicial sets, and prove that it is a homotopy inverse to the n-fold nerve. As a consequence, we completely prove that the unit and counit of the adjunction between simplicial sets and n-fold categories are natural weak equivalences.

Segal-type algebraic models of n–types

For each n\geq 1 we introduce two new Segal-type models of n-types of topological spaces: weakly globular n-fold groupoids, and a lax version of these. We show that any n-type can be represented up to homotopy by such models via an explicit algebraic fundamental n-fold groupoid functor. We compare these models to Tamsamanis weak n-groupoids, and extract from them a model for (k-1)connected n-types

Internal Categorical Structures in Homotopical Algebra

This is a survey on the use of some internal higher categorical structures in algebraic topology and homotopy theory. After providing a general view of the area and its applications, we concentrate on the algebraic modelling of connected (n+1)-types through catn-groups.

An operadic approach to internal structures

We study internal structures in the category of algebras for an operad, and show that these themselves admit an operadic description. The main case of interest is where the operad is on an abelian category, and the internal structures in question are those of internal category, internaln-category, or internal (cubical) n-tuple category. This allows an operadic treatment of crossed modules and other crossed structures.

A thomason model structure on the category of small n-fold categories

We construct a cofibrantly generated Quillen model structure on the category of small n-fold categories and prove that it is Quillen equivalent to the standard model structure on the category of simplicial sets. An n-fold functor is a weak equivalence if and only if the diagonal of its n-fold nerve is a weak equivalence of simplicial sets. This is an n-fold analogue to Thomasons Quillen model structure on Cat. We introduce an n-fold Grothendieck construction for multisimplicial sets, and prove that it is a homotopy inverse to the n-fold nerve. As a consequence, we completely prove that the unit and counit of the adjunction between simplicial sets and n-fold categories are natural weak equivalences.