Related papers: An Invitation to Higher Gauge Theory

Just as gauge theory describes the parallel transport of point particles using connections on bundles, higher gauge theory describes the parallel transport of 1-dimensional objects (e.g. strings) using 2-connections on 2-bundles. A 2-bundle…

In conventional gauge theory, a charged point particle is described by a representation of the gauge group. If we propagate the particle along some path, the parallel transport of the gauge connection acts on this representation. The…

We give a complete and explicit description of the kinematical data of higher gauge theory on principal 2-bundles with the string 2-group model of Schommer-Pries as structure 2-group. We start with a self-contained review of the weak…

Many physical theories, including notably string theory, require non-abelian higher gauge fields defining higher holonomy. Previous approaches to such higher connections on categorified principal bundles require these to be fake flat. This…

The notion of global higher-form symmetries has received much attention, but leaves room for a more systematic mathematical formulation. In this article, we highlight the concept of higher automorphism bundles from the field of higher…

I categorify the definition of fibre bundle, replacing smooth manifolds with differentiable categories, Lie groups with coherent Lie 2-groups, and bundles with a suitable notion of 2-bundle. To link this with previous work, I show that…

The term higher gauge theory refers to the generalization of gauge theory to a theory of connections at two levels, essentially given by 1- and 2-forms. So far, there have been two approaches to this subject. The differential picture uses…

We analyze the gauge structure of a recently proposed superconformal field theory in six dimensions. We find that this structure amounts to a weak Courant-Dorfman algebra, which, in turn, can be interpreted as a strong homotopy Lie algebra.…

We show that general relativity can be viewed as a higher gauge theory involving a categorical group, or 2-group, called the teleparallel 2-group. On any semi-Riemannian manifold M, we first construct a principal 2-bundle with the Poincare…

This PhD thesis investigates several aspects of nonabelian higher gauge theories, which appear in many areas of physics, notably string theory and gauged supergravity. We show that nonabelian higher gauge theory admits a consistent…

We argue that the relevant higher gauge group for the non-abelian generalization of the self-dual string equation is the string 2-group. We then derive the corresponding equations of motion and discuss their properties. The underlying…

We provide a visual and intuitive introduction to effectively calculating in 2-groups along with explicit examples coming from non-abelian 1- and 2-form gauge theory. In particular, we utilize string diagrams, tools similar to tensor…

I propose a way of unambiguously parallel transporting fields on non-Abelian flux tubes, or strings, by means of two gauge fields. One gauge field transports along the tube, while the other transports normal to the tube. Ambiguity is…

Connections and curvings on gerbes are beginning to play a vital role in differential geometry and mathematical physics -- first abelian gerbes, and more recently nonabelian gerbes. These concepts can be elegantly understood using the…

While higher bundles are of clear relevance to higher gauge theory, examples other than abelian bundle gerbes are hard to come across. One would in particular like to see 2-bundles where the structure 2-group is the String 2-group…

A gauge theory is associated with a principal bundle endowed with a connection permitting to define horizontal lifts of paths. The horizontal lifts of surfaces cannot be defined into a principal bundle structure. An higher gauge theory is…

I summarize and discuss some recent results on formulating actions of six-dimensional superconformal field theories using the language of higher gauge theory. The latter guarantees mathematical consistency of our constructions and we review…

We provide several examples of higher gauge theories, constructed as generalizations of a BF model to 2BF and 3BF models with constraints. Using the framework of higher category theory, we introduce appropriate 2-groups and 3-groups, and…

We investigate an interplay between some ideas in traditional gauge theory and certain concepts in fibered categories. We accomplish this by introducing a notion of a principal Lie 2-group bundle over a Lie groupoid and studying its…

We define the notion of adjustment for strict Lie 2-groups and provide the complete cocycle description for non-Abelian gerbes with connections whose structure 2-group is an adjusted 2-group. Most importantly, we depart from the common…