Definition. Nominal Sets

2026-10-01 Β· nLab Β· category-theory nominal-set

Fix a countably infinite set of names 𝔸. A nominal set [1] is a set 𝑋 equipped with an action by the group of finite permutations 𝖯𝖾𝗋𝗆(𝔸), such that every element π‘₯βˆˆπ‘‹ has a finite support.

A finite set of names π‘†βŠ†π”Έ supports π‘₯ if any permutation fixing 𝑆 pointwise also fixes π‘₯.

The category of nominal sets is equivalent to the Schanuel topos. Under this equivalence, a nominal set 𝑋 corresponds to a functor π•€β†’π’πžπ­, where 𝕀 is the category of finite sets and injections, given by mapping a finite set of names 𝑑 to the set of elements supported by 𝑑:

𝑋(𝑑)={π‘₯βˆˆπ‘‹|𝑑supportsπ‘₯}

References

Nominal Sets: Names and Symmetry in Computer Science β†—
nominal-set definition entries/parsing/nominal-set.hel