Related papers: On two-Dimensional Holonomy

We define the thin fundamental Gray 3-groupoid $S_3(M)$ of a smooth manifold $M$ and define (by using differential geometric data) 3-dimensional holonomies, to be smooth strict Gray 3-groupoid maps $S_3(M) \to C(H)$, where $H$ is a…

We survey several mathematical developments in the holonomy approach to gauge theory. A cornerstone of this approach is the introduction of group structures on spaces of based loops on a smooth manifold, relying on certain homotopy…

Let $M$ be a smooth manifold. We use Chern-Weil theory to study the characteristic classes of principal $G$-bundles built from continuous families of $\pi_{1}(M)$-representations, where $G$ is a compact Lie group. We then relate these…

Implementing an idea due to John Baez and James Dolan we define new invariants of Whitney stratified manifolds by considering the homotopy theory of smooth transversal maps. To each Whitney stratified manifold we assign transversal homotopy…

Let $S$ be a closed oriented surface of genus $g\geq 2$. Fix an arbitrary non-elementary representation $\rho\colon\pi_1(S)\to {\rm SL}_2(\mathbb{C})$ and consider all marked (complex) projective structures on $S$ with holonomy $\rho$. We…

Let $M$ be a smooth compact connected surface, $P$ be either the real line $\mathbb{R}$ or the circle $S^1$ and $f:M\to P$ be a Morse map. Denote by $\mathcal{S}(f)$ and $\mathcal{O}(f)$ the corresponding stabilizer and orbit of $f$ with…

Let $P$ be a pseudogroup of local diffeomorphisms of an $n$-dimensional smooth manifold $M$. Following Losik we consider characteristic classes of the quotient $M/P$ as elements of the de~Rham cohomology of the second order frame bundles…

First we survey and explain the strategy of some recent results that construct holomorphic $\text{sl}(2, \mathbb C)$-differential systems over some Riemann surfaces $\Sigma_g$ of genus $g\geq 2$, satisfying the condition that the image of…

We classify, up to diffeomorphism, all closed smooth manifolds homeomorphic to the complex projective $n$-space $\mathbb{C}\textbf{P}^n$, where $n=3$ and $4$. Let $M^{2n}$ be a closed smooth $2n$-manifold homotopy equivalent to…

The holonomy group of an (n+2)-dimensional simply-connected, indecomposable but non-irreducible Lorentzian manifold (M,h) is contained in the parabolic group $(\mathbb{R} \times SO(n))\ltimes \mathbb{R}^n$. The main ingredient of such a…

We describe various equivalent ways of associating to an orbifold, or more generally a higher \'etale differentiable stack, a weak homotopy type. Some of these ways extend to arbitrary higher stacks on the site of smooth manifolds, and we…

We extend the theory of diffeomorphism-invariant spin network states from the real-analytic category to the smooth category. Suppose that G is a compact connected semisimple Lie group and P -> M is a smooth principal G-bundle. A `cylinder…

Let $(W,\Pi)$ be a Riemann domain over a complex manifold $M$ and $w_0$ be a point in $W$. Let $\mathbb D$ be the unit disk in $\mathbb C$ and $\mathbb T=\bd\mathbb D$. Consider the space ${\mathcal S}_{1,w_0}({\bar{\mathbb D}},W,M)$ of…

For each integer n\ge 2, we construct an irreducible, smooth, complex projective variety M of dimension n, whose fundamental group has infinitely generated homology in degree n+1 and whose universal cover is a Stein manifold, homotopy…

We investigate the Lawson genus $2$ surface by methods from integrable system theory. We prove that the associated family of flat connections comes from a family of flat connections on a $4-$punctured sphere. We describe the symmetries of…

Let $M$ denote a two-dimensional Moore space (so $H_2(M; \Z) = 0$), with fundamental group $G$. The $M$-cellular spaces are those one can build from $M$ by using wedges, push-outs, and telescopes (and hence all pointed homotopy colimits).…

We propose a new notion of `n-category with duals', which we call a Whitney n-category. There are two motivations. The first is that Baez and Dolan's Tangle Hypothesis is (almost) tautological when interpreted as a statement about Whitney…

We give the construction of the universal, natural up to homotopy Chern-Weil differential graded algebra homomorphism: $$cw: \mathcal{I} (G) \to \Omega ^{\bullet } (BG, \mathbb{R})$$ for infinite dimensional Milnor regular Lie groups $G$,…

We introduce the description of a Wilson surface as a 2-dimensional topological quantum field theory with a 1-dimensional Hilbert space. On a closed surface, the Wilson surface theory defines a topological invariant of the principal…

We initiate the study of holomorphically convex groups: groups that can be realized as fundamental groups of smooth complex projective varieties with holomorphically convex universal covers. If $G$ is a holomorphically convex group of…