In this mainly expository note, we state a criterion for when a left Kan extension of a lax monoidal functor along a strong monoidal functor can itself be equipped with a lax monoidal structure, in a way that results in a left Kan extension in MonCat. This belongs to the general theory of algebraic Kan extensions, as developed by Melli es-Tabareau, Koudenburg and Weber, and is very close to an instance of a theorem of Koudenburg. We find this special case particularly important due to its connections with the theory of graded monads.
We study Kan extensions in three weakenings of the Eilenberg-Moore dou- ble category associated to a double monad, that was introduced by Grandis and Par e. To be precise, given a normal oplax double monad T on a double categoryK, we consider the double categories consisting of pseudo T -algebras, 'weak' vertical T -morphisms, hor- izontal T -morphisms and T -cells, where 'weak' means either 'lax', 'colax' or 'pseudo'. Denoting these double categories by Algw(T ), where w = l, c or ps accordingly, our main result gives, in each of these cases, conditions ensuring that (pointwise) Kan extensions can be lifted along the forgetful double functor Algw(T ) ! K. As an application we recover and generalise a result by Getzler, on the lifting of pointwise left Kan extensions along symmetric monoidal enriched functors. As an application of Getzler's result we prove, in suitable symmetric monoidal categories, the existence of bicommutative Hopf monoids that are freely generated by cocommutative comonoids. Whereas formal category theory is classically considered within a @math -category, in this paper a double-dimensional approach is taken. More precisely we develop such theory within the setting of hypervirtual double categories, a notion extending that of virtual double category by adding cells with nullary target. [...] After this the notion of weak' Kan extension within a hypervirtual double category is considered, together with three strengthenings. [...] The notion of yoneda embedding is then considered in a hypervirtual double category, and compared to that of a good yoneda structure on a @math -category; the latter in the sense of Street-Walters and Weber. Conditions are given ensuring that a yoneda embedding @math defines @math as the free small cocompletion of @math , in a suitable sense. In the second half we consider formal category theory in the presence of algebraic structures. In detail: to a monad @math on a hypervirtual double category @math several hypervirtual double categories @math of @math -algebras are associated, [...]. This is followed by the study of the creation of, amongst others, left Kan extensions by the forgetful functors @math . The main motivation of this paper is the description of conditions ensuring that yoneda embeddings in @math lift along these forgetful functors, as well as ensuring that such lifted algebraic yoneda embeddings again define free small cocompletions, now in @math . As a first example we apply the previous to monoidal structures on categories, hence recovering Day convolution of presheaves and Im-Kelly's result on free monoidal cocompletion, as well as obtaining a "monoidal Yoneda lemma".