On the functoriality of universal abelian factorizations

Abstract: In this note, we discuss several aspects of the functoriality of universal abelian factorizations associated to representations of quivers into abelian categories. After recalling the general construction of universal abelian factorizations, we review the canonical lifting procedures for exact functors and natural transformations thereof (already studied by F. Ivorra in a slightly different axiomatic framework) and we describe how these interact with general categorical constructions; for sake of simplicity, we mostly focus on the case where the quivers and representations considered are defined by actual (additive) categories and (additive) functors. We then extend these known results in two directions which have not been explored explicitly in the existing literature: on the one side, to the setting of multi-linear functors; on the other side, to the setting of abelian fibered categories. Combining these two extensions, we are able to discuss the case of monoidal structures on abelian fibered categories; the latter case has been successfully applied in the author's construction of the tensor structure on perverse Nori motives.