English

Parallel 2-transport and 2-group torsors

Category Theory 2019-01-21 v2 Mathematical Physics Differential Geometry math.MP

Abstract

We provide a new perspective on parallel 2-transport and principal 2-group bundles with 2-connection. We define parallel 2-transport as a 2-functor from the thin fundamental 2-groupoid to the 2-category of 2-group torsors. The definition of the 2-category of 2-group torsors is new, and we develop the tools necessary for computations in this 2-category. We prove a version of the non-Abelian Stokes Theorem and the Ambrose-Singer Theorem for 2-transport. This definition motivated by the fact that principal GG-bundles with connection are equivalent to functors from the thin fundamental groupoid to the category of GG-torsors. In the same lines we deduce a notion of principal 2-bundle with 2-connection, and show it is equivalent to our notion 2-transport functors. This gives a stricter notion than appears in the literature, which is more concrete. It allows for computations of 2-holonomy which will be exploited in a companion paper to define Wilson surface observables. Furthermore this notion can be generalized to a concrete but strict notion of nn-transport for arbitrary nn.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1811.10060,
  title  = {Parallel 2-transport and 2-group torsors},
  author = {Rik Voorhaar},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1811.10060},
  year   = {2019}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-23T05:27:05.428Z