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Fix a Heyting algebra $H$. By Stone duality for distributive lattices, we know that we can embed $H$ into the lattice of open sets of the space $\mathrm{Spec}(H)$ given by the set of all prime filters on $H$. Then, we also know that the co-Heyting algebra $H^{op}$ embeds into the lattice of closed sets of the space $\mathrm{Spec}(H)$, and so in a sense the space $\mathrm{Spec}(H)$ contains the data of both the Heyting algebra and the co-Heyting algebra. This framework provides a nice way to relate the intuitionistic and dual intuitionistic propositional theories given by $H$ and $H^{op}$ to a "modal" theory given by considering $\mathrm{Spec}(H)$ as a set of "possible worlds".

Now suppose I have a Heyting category $\mathcal{H}$, and a co-Heyting category $\mathcal{H}^{op}$, given by the usual hyperdoctrine approach. My knowledge of hyperdoctrines is superficial, but I know these structures provide semantics for quantified intuitionistic (and dual intuitionistic) theories. Is there some sort of space of "points" for which $\mathcal{H}$ and $\mathcal{H}^{op}$ can be "lattices" of open and closed sets in the same way that $\mathrm{Spec}(H)$ is a space of points for which $H$ and $H^{op}$ are lattices of open and closed sets? Perhaps this is given by some sort of classifying topos construction? I am curious about whether the relationship between first-order intuitionistic and dual intuitionistic theories can be understood "modally" in this way as well.

safsom
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  • Yes, Heyting categories can interpret intuitionistic first order logic. But I would not be so sure about their opposites. You only want to dualise the subobject lattices without dualising the whole category (which would convert the subobject lattices into quotient object lattices). – Zhen Lin Nov 05 '24 at 09:47
  • @ZhenLin What would dualizing just the subobject lattice look like, morally? I am not too sure on the fine details of such constructions. And do you think I would be able to do a "spectrum" type thing with the resulting categorie(s)? – safsom Nov 05 '24 at 13:48
  • I did not say there was such a construction. I don't know of one, anyway. – Zhen Lin Nov 05 '24 at 13:50
  • @ZhenLin Ah, ok. Thank you for the pointer anyways. I will ponder it a little bit. – safsom Nov 05 '24 at 13:52
  • OK, I did some reading, and indeed it seems that it is possible to dualize just the subobject lattices. This paper of W. James constructs sheaves of closed sets (rather than open sets), allowing for "paraconsistent topoi" of sorts. I still need to think about the more general question, though. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/44084346.pdf?refreqid=fastly-default%3Ad26f1318ddd781526be7191a9e07dfcb&ab_segments=&initiator=&acceptTC=1 – safsom Nov 05 '24 at 15:10
  • That paper is probably not as interesting as it looks. On a finite set, closed set topologies are basically the same as open set topologies. – Zhen Lin Nov 05 '24 at 15:21

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Okay, I think I am on my way to an answer. This is nowhere near a full answer, but it is too large for a comment, and so I will post it here. Essentially, the key ingredient is to use Grothendieck topologies. I am not fully familiar with these yet (my interests in logic are primarily philosophical and as such my topos theory is rusty), but the open coverings they define seem to provide a nice generalization of the concept of open set that we could apply to Heyting categories. Corrections and criticisms in the comments are welcome.

I claim that the construction of $\mathrm{Spec}(\mathcal{H})$ for a Heyting category $\mathcal{H}$ can be formulated rigorously using the language of Grothendieck topologies. We begin by noting that $\mathcal{H}$ is a coherent category in which the subobject lattice $\mathrm{Sub}(X)$ of each object $X$ is a Heyting algebra. For each morphism $f: X \to Y$, there exists a pullback functor $f^*: \mathrm{Sub}(Y) \to \mathrm{Sub}(X)$, along with adjoint quantifier functors $\exists_f$ (left adjoint) and $\forall_f$ (right adjoint), which encode existential and universal quantification, respectively. This internal logical structure allows us to define a Grothendieck topology $J$ on $\mathcal{H}$, specifically the canonical (or coherent) topology generated by the logical deductions in $\mathcal{H}$.

The objects of $\mathcal{H}$ are interpreted as logical contexts, and the morphisms represent transitions between contexts. A sieve $S$ on an object $X$ in $\mathcal{H}$ is a collection of morphisms ${f: Y \to X}$ such that if $f \in S$ and $g: Z \to Y$, then $f \circ g \in S$; that is, the sieve is "downward closed" under composition. A sieve $S$ is said to be a covering sieve in the Grothendieck topology $J$ if there exists a finite family of monomorphisms ${m_i: A_i \hookrightarrow X}$ such that $S$ is generated by the $m_i$, and the union of the subobjects $A_i$ covers $X$, i.e., $\bigvee A_i = 1_X$ in $\mathrm{Sub}(X)$. It seems to me that this corresponds to the logical assertion that the $A_i$ collectively represent a deduction that covers the entire context $X$. We now step towards (provisionally) defining the spectrum $\mathrm{Spec}(\mathcal{H})$ with the Grothendieck topos $\mathrm{Sh}(\mathcal{H}, J)$, which consists of all sheaves on the site $(\mathcal{H}, J)$. A presheaf $P: \mathcal{H}^{\mathrm{op}} \to \mathbf{Set}$ assigns to each object $X \in \mathcal{H}$ a set $P(X)$ and to each morphism $f: X \to Y$ a map $P(f): P(Y) \to P(X)$. The presheaf $P$ is a sheaf if it satisfies the sheaf condition with respect to the topology $J$. That is, for every covering sieve $S$ on $X$, and for any compatible family of local sections ${\sigma_f \in P(Y_f)}_{f \in S}$, there exists a unique global section $\sigma \in P(X)$ such that $P(f)(\sigma) = \sigma_f$ for all $f \in S$. This reflects the logical principle that local truths determined by covering families can be uniquely glued to a global truth.

The "open sets" of $\mathrm{Spec}(\mathcal{H})$ correspond to the sieves generated by subobjects in $\mathrm{Sub}(X)$. For a subobject $A \hookrightarrow X$, we define the sieve $S_A = \{f: Y \to X \mid f \text{ factors through } A\}$; that is, $f$ factors as $Y \xrightarrow{h} A \hookrightarrow X$. This sieve reflects the logical proposition represented by $A$ in the context $X$. The intersection and union of these sieves correspond to the logical conjunction and disjunction, respectively, of the subobjects in $\mathrm{Sub}(X)$, aligning the topological structure with the logical operations in $\mathcal{H}$. Finally, we define $\mathrm{Spec}(\mathcal{H})$ from the space of sheaves $\mathrm{Sh}(\mathcal{H}, J)$, with the points of the space corresponding to geometric morphisms $\mathbf{Set} \to \mathrm{Sh}(\mathcal{H}, J)$. These points can be interpreted as models or valuations of the internal logic of $\mathcal{H}$, assigning truth values to propositions in a way that respects the logical structure. This parallels the classical spectrum $\mathrm{Spec}(H)$, which consists of homomorphisms from a Heyting algebra $H$ to $\{0, 1\}$, capturing all possible consistent evaluations of the propositions in $H$.

Feedback and criticism are welcome.

safsom
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