Abelian categories of modules over a (lax) monoidal functor

Crane and Yetter (Deformations of (bi)tensor categories, Cahier de Topologie et Géometrie Differentielle Catégorique, 1998) introduced a deformation theory for monoidal categories. The related deformation theory for monoidal functors introduced by Yetter (in: E. Getzler, M. Kapranov (Eds.), Higher Category Theory, American Mathematical Society Contemporary Mathematics, Vol. 230, American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI, 1998, pp. 117-134.) is a proper generalization of Gerstenhaber's deformation theory for associative algebras (Ann. Math. 78(2) (1963) 267; 79(1) (1964) 59; in: M. Hazewinkel, M. Gerstenhaber (Eds.), Deformation Theory of Algebras and Structure and Applications, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1988, pp. 11-264). In the present paper we solidify the analogy between lax monoidal functors and associative algebras by showing that under suitable conditions, categories of functors with an action of a lax monoidal functor are abelian categories. The deformation complex of a monoidal functor is generalized to an analogue of the Hochschild complex with coefficients in a bimodule, and the deformation complex of a monoidal natural transformation is shown to be a special case. It is shown further that the cohomology of a monoidal functor F with coefficients in an F,F-bimodule is given by right derived functors.