Related papers: Higher-Dimensional Algebra IV: 2-Tangles
For a 2-category 2C we associate a notion of a principal 2C-bundle. In case of the 2-category of 2-vector spaces in the sense of M.M. Kapranov and V.A. Voevodsky this gives the the 2-vector bundles of N.A. Baas, B.I. Dundas and J. Rognes.…
We show that the second bounded cohomology of the free product of racks and quandles is infinite-dimensional as a real vector space. This is similar to the case of groups. As a corollary, we show that the second bounded cohomology of the…
The familiar trace of a square matrix generalizes to a trace of an endomorphism of a dualizable object in a symmetric monoidal category. To extend these ideas to other settings, such as modules over non-commutative rings, the trace can be…
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…
We prove that 1) There exist infinitely many non-trivial codimension one "thick" knots in $\mathbb{R}^5$; 2) For each closed four-dimensional smooth manifold $M$ and for each sufficiently small positive $\epsilon$ the set of isometry…
A subunit in a monoidal category is a subobject of the monoidal unit for which a canonical morphism is invertible. They correspond to open subsets of a base topological space in categories such as those of sheaves or Hilbert modules. We…
This paper continues the study of decompositions of a smooth 4-manifold into two handlebodies with handles of index $\leq2$. Part I gave existence results in terms of spines and chain complexes over the fundamental group of the ambient…
We introduce an $(\infty,1)$-category ${\sf Bord}_1^{\sf fr}(\mathbb{R}^n)$, the morphisms in which are framed tangles in $\mathbb{R}^n\times \mathbb{D}^1$. We prove that ${\sf Bord}_1^{\sf fr}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ has the universal mapping out…
New obstructions for embedding one compact oriented 3-manifold in another are given. A theorem of D. Krebes concerning 4-tangles embedded in links arises as a special case. Algebraic and skein-theoretic generalizations for 2n-tangles…
Based on different views on the Jones polynomial we review representation theoretic categorified link and tangle invariants. We unify them in a common combinatorial framework and connect them via the theory of Soergel bimodules. The…
Codimension 2 contact submanifolds are the natural generalization of transverse knots to contact manifolds of arbitrary dimension. In this paper, we construct new invariants of codimension 2 contact submanifolds. Our main invariant can be…
An $n$-plat 1-knot is one isotopic to the plat closure of some $2n$-braid, which is also called an $n$-bridge 1-knot. Schubert classified 2-bridge 1-knots by considering their double branched covers which are homeomorphic to lens spaces. A…
We classify four-dimensional compact solvmanifolds up to diffeomorphism, while determining which of them have complex analytic structures. In particular, we shall see that a four-dimensional compact solvmanifold S can be written, up to…
We describe free rigid commutative algebras in $2$-presentably symmetric monoidal $(\infty,2)$-categories as oplax colimits over the $1$-dimensional framed cobordism category. The special case of the $(\infty,2)$-category…
In arXiv:2211.04917, it was shown that, over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero, every fusion 2-category is Morita equivalent to a connected fusion 2-category, that is, one arising from a braided fusion 1-category. This…
A general result relating skew monoidal structures and monads is proved. This is applied to quantum categories and bialgebroids. Ordinary categories are monads in the bicategory whose morphisms are spans between sets. Quantum categories…
We give an alternate conception of string diagrams as labeled 1-dimensional oriented cobordisms, the operad of which we denote by Cob/O, where O is the set of string labels. The axioms of traced (symmetric monoidal) categories are fully…
We build a concrete and natural model for the strict 2-category of orbifolds. In particular we prove that if one localizes the 2-category of proper etale Lie groupoids at a class of 1-arrows that we call "covers", then the strict 2-category…
We generalize principal bundles and quotient stacks to the two-categorical context of bisites. We introduce a notion of principal 2-bundle that makes sense for a 2-category with finite flexible limits, endowed with a bitopology. We then use…
In this paper, we explore the bounded cohomology of quandles and its applications to knot theory. We establish two key results that provide sufficient conditions for the infinite dimensionality of the second bounded cohomology of quandles.…