Operads as polynomial 2-monads

Theory and Applications of Categories, 30:1659-1712, 2015

In this article we give a construction of a polynomial 2-monad from an operad and describe the algebras of the 2-monads which then arise. This construction is different from the standard construction of a monad from an operad in that the algebras of our associated 2-monad are the categorified algebras of the original operad. Moreover it enables us to characterise operads as categorical polynomial monads in a canonical way. This point of view reveals categorical polynomial monads as a unifying environment for operads, Cat-operads and clubs. We recover the standard construction of a monad from an operad in a 2-categorical way from our associated 2-monad as a coidentifier of 2-monads, and understand the algebras of both as weak morphisms of operads into a Cat-operad of categories. The relevance of this to the theory of internal algebras is discussed.