Related papers: Spherical 2-categories and 4-manifold invariants

In this first of a series of three papers we outline an approach to classifying 4d $\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theories at rank 2. The classification of allowed scale invariant $\mathcal{N}=2$ Coulomb branch geometries of…

Modular categories are a well-known source of quantum 3-manifold invariants. In this paper we study structures on modular categories which allow to define refinements of quantum 3-manifold invariants involving cohomology classes or…

For a non-relativistic scale invariant system in two spatial dimensions, the quantum scattering amplitude $f(\theta)$ is given as a dispersion relation, with a simple closed form for ${\rm Im}(f(\theta)$) as well as the integrated…

We prove that semisimple 4-dimensional oriented topological field theories lead to stable diffeomorphism invariants and can therefore not distinguish homeomorphic closed oriented smooth 4-manifolds and homotopy equivalent simply connected…

In this paper we define spherical complexes as simplicial complexes with the property that every subcomplex obtained by a sequence of links and deletions either has trivial homology, or has the homology of a sphere. Examples of such…

Given a 2-category $\mathcal{A}$, a $2$-functor $\mathcal{A} \overset {F} {\longrightarrow} \mathcal{C}at$ and a distinguished 1-subcategory $\Sigma \subset \mathcal{A}$ containing all the objects, a $\sigma$-cone for $F$ (with respect to…

We introduce a new quantity for describing nonclassicality of an arbitrary optical two-mode Gaussian state which remains invariant under any global photon-number preserving unitary transformation of the covariance matrix of the state. The…

We show that the Reshetikhin-Turaev-Walker invariant of 3-manifolds can be normalized to obtain an invariant of 4-dimensional thickenings of 2-complexes. Moreover when the underlying semisimple tortile category comes from the…

We construct a modular functor which takes its values in the monoidal bicategory of finite categories, left exact functors and natural transformations. The modular functor is defined on bordisms that are 2-framed. Accordingly we do not need…

Any triple $(W,L,\rho)$, where $W$ is a compact closed oriented 3-manifold, $L$ is a link in $W$ and $\rho$ is a flat principal $B$-bundle over $W$ ($B$ is the Borel subgroup of upper triangular matrices of $SL(2,\mc)$), can be encoded by…

We introduce a diffeomorphism invariant of $4$-manifolds, the $\mathrm{Pin}^-(2)$-monopole invariant, defined by using the $\mathrm{Pin}^-(2)$-monopole equations. We compute the invariants of several $4$-manifolds, and prove gluing…

We show how the families Seiberg-Witten invariants of a family of smooth $4$-manifolds can be recovered from the families Bauer-Furuta invariant via a cohomological formula. We use this formula to deduce several properties of the families…

Working over an arbitrary field, we define compact semisimple 2-categories, and show that every compact semisimple 2-category is equivalent to the 2-category of separable module 1-categories over a finite semisimple tensor 1-category. Then,…

The main result of this paper is a formula for calculating the Seiberg-Witten invariants of 4-manifolds with fixed-point free circle actions. This is done by showing under suitable conditions the existence of a diffeomorphism between the…

By extending a result of Kronheimer-Mrowka to the family setting, we prove a gluing formula for the family Seiberg-Witten invariant. This formula allows one to compute the invariant for a smooth family of 4-manifolds by cutting it open…

We define strict and weak duality involutions on 2-categories, and prove a coherence theorem that every bicategory with a weak duality involution is biequivalent to a 2-category with a strict duality involution. For this purpose we…

This is the first paper in a general program to automate skein theoretic arguments. In this paper, we study skein theoretic invariants of planar trivalent graphs. Equivalently, we classify trivalent categories, which are nondegenerate…

We develop the theory of probabilistic variants of the one-category and diagonal topological complexity, which bound the classical LS-category and topological complexity from below. Unlike any other classical or probabilistic invariants,…

Let $(Q,\sigma)$ be a symmetric quiver, where $Q=(Q_0,Q_1)$ is a finite quiver without oriented cycles and $\sigma$ is a contravariant involution on $Q_0\sqcup Q_1$. The involution allows us to define a nondegenerate bilinear form $<,>$ on…

This paper introduces the concept of distorted monoidal categories, a generalization of monoidal and braided monoidal categories that supports non-reversible and direction-sensitive tensor structures. Unlike the classical setting, where the…