Formalizing the ∞-Categorical Yoneda Lemma

Abstract

Formalized 1-category theory forms a core component of various libraries of mathematical proofs. However, more sophisticated results in fields from algebraic topology to theoretical physics, where objects have “higher structure,” rely on infinite-dimensional categories in place of 1-dimensional categories, and ∞-category theory has thusfar proved unamenable to computer formalization.

Using a new proof assistant called Rzk, which is designed to support Riehl–Shulman’s simplicial extension of homotopy type theory for synthetic ∞-category theory, we provide the first formalizations of results from ∞-category theory. This includes in particular a formalization of the Yoneda lemma, often regarded as the fundamental theorem of category theory, a theorem which roughly states that an object of a given category is determined by its relationship to all of the other objects of the category. A key feature of our framework is that, thanks to the synthetic theory, many constructions are automatically natural or functorial. We plan to use Rzk to formalize further results from ∞-category theory, such as the theory of limits and colimits and adjunctions.