English

A $\textbf{Gray}$-categorical pasting theorem

Category Theory 2023-02-03 v2

Abstract

The notion of Gray\textbf{Gray}-category, a semi-strict 33-category in which the middle four interchange is weakened to an isomorphism, is central in the study of three-dimensional category theory. In this context it is common practice to use 22-dimensional pasting diagrams to express composites of 22-cells, however there is no thorough treatment in the literature justifying this procedure. We fill this gap by providing a formal approach to pasting in Gray\textbf{Gray}-categories and by proving that such composites are uniquely defined up to a contractible groupoid of choices.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2205.15486,
  title  = {A $\textbf{Gray}$-categorical pasting theorem},
  author = {Nicola Di Vittorio},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2205.15486},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

18 pages (originally 15). Version accepted for publication by Theory and Applications of Categories

R2 v1 2026-06-24T11:33:54.624Z