Decomposing the Univalence Axiom

This paper investigates Voevodsky's univalence axiom in intensional Martin-Löf type theory. In particular, it looks at how univalence can be derived from simpler axioms. We first present some existing work, collected together from various published and unpublished sources; we then present a new decomposition of the univalence axiom into simpler axioms. We argue that these axioms are easier to verify in certain potential models of univalent type theory, particularly those models based on cubical sets. Finally we show how this decomposition is relevant to an open problem in type theory

Cubical Models of Homotopy Type Theory - An Internal Approach

This thesis presents an account of the cubical sets model of homotopy type theory using an internal type theory for elementary topoi. Homotopy type theory is a variant of Martin-Lof type theory where we think of types as spaces, with terms as points in the space and elements of the identity type as paths. We actualise this intuition by extending type theory with Voevodsky's univalence axiom which identifies equalities between types with homotopy equivalences between spaces. Voevodsky showed the univalence axiom to be consistent by giving a model of homotopy type theory in the category of Kan simplicial sets in a paper with Kapulkin and Lumsdaine. However, this construction makes fundamental use of classical logic in order to show certain results. Therefore this model cannot be used to explain the computational content of the univalence axiom, such as how to compute terms involving univalence. This problem was resolved by Cohen, Coquand, Huber and Mortberg, who presented a new model of type theory in Kan cubical sets which validated the univalence axiom using a constructive metatheory. This meant that the model provided an understanding of the computational content of univalence. In fact, the authors present a new type theory, cubical type theory, where univalence is provable using a new "glueing" type former. This type former comes with appropriate definitional equalities which explain how the univalence axiom should compute. In particular, Huber proved that any term of natural number type constructed in this new type theory must reduce to a numeral. This thesis explores models of type theory based on the cubical sets model of Cohen et al. It gives an account of this model using the internal language of toposes, where we present a series of axioms which are sufficient to construct a model of cubical type theory, and hence a model of homotopy type theory. This approach therefore generalises the original model and gives a new and useful method for analysing models of type theory. We also discuss an alternative derivation of the univalence axiom and show how this leads to a potentially simpler proof of univalence in any model satisfying the axioms mentioned above, such as cubical sets. Finally, we discuss some shortcomings of the internal language approach with respect to constructing univalent universes. We overcome these difficulties by extending the internal language with an appropriate modality in order to manipulate global elements of an object.UK EPSRC PhD studentship, funded by grants EP/L504920/1, EP/M506485/1

Categorical Structures for Type Theory in Univalent Foundations

In this paper, we analyze and compare three of the many algebraic structures that have been used for modeling dependent type theories: categories with families, split type-categories, and representable maps of presheaves. We study these in the setting of univalent foundations, where the relationships between them can be stated more transparently. Specifically, we construct maps between the different structures and show that these maps are equivalences under suitable assumptions. We then analyze how these structures transfer along (weak and strong) equivalences of categories, and, in particular, show how they descend from a category (not assumed univalent/saturated) to its Rezk completion. To this end, we introduce relative universes, generalizing the preceding notions, and study the transfer of such relative universes along suitable structure. We work throughout in (intensional) dependent type theory; some results, but not all, assume the univalence axiom. All the material of this paper has been formalized in Coq, over the UniMath library

Internal Universes in Models of Homotopy Type Theory

We begin by recalling the essentially global character of universes in various models of homotopy type theory, which prevents a straightforward axiomatization of their properties using the internal language of the presheaf toposes from which these model are constructed. We get around this problem by extending the internal language with a modal operator for expressing properties of global elements. In this setting we show how to construct a universe that classifies the Cohen-Coquand-Huber-Mörtberg (CCHM) notion of fibration from their cubical sets model, starting from the assumption that the interval is tiny - a property that the interval in cubical sets does indeed have. This leads to an elementary axiomatization of that and related models of homotopy type theory within what we call crisp type theory

Arrow Categories of Monoidal Model Categories

We prove that the arrow category of a monoidal model category, equipped with the pushout product monoidal structure and the projective model structure, is a monoidal model category. This answers a question posed by Mark Hovey, and has the important consequence that it allows for the consideration of a monoidal product in cubical homotopy theory. As illustrations we include numerous examples of non-cofibrantly generated monoidal model categories, including chain complexes, small categories, topological spaces, and pro-categories.Comment: 13 pages. Comments welcome. Version 2 adds more examples, and an application to cubical homotopy theory. Version 3 is the final, journal version, accepted to Mathematica Scandinavic

Modalities in homotopy type theory

Univalent homotopy type theory (HoTT) may be seen as a language for the category of $\infty$-groupoids. It is being developed as a new foundation for mathematics and as an internal language for (elementary) higher toposes. We develop the theory of factorization systems, reflective subuniverses, and modalities in homotopy type theory, including their construction using a "localization" higher inductive type. This produces in particular the ($n$-connected, $n$-truncated) factorization system as well as internal presentations of subtoposes, through lex modalities. We also develop the semantics of these constructions