Related papers: Higher-Dimensional Algebra IV: 2-Tangles
The notion of 2-framed three-manifolds is defined. The category of 2-framed cobordisms is described, and used to define a 2-framed three-dimensional TQFT. Using skeletonization and special features of this category, a small set of data and…
We show that two constructions yield equivalent braided monoidal categories. The first is topological, based on Legendrian tangles and skein relations, while the second is algebraic, in terms of chain complexes with complete flag and…
A braided monoidal category may be considered a $3$-category with one object and one $1$-morphism. In this paper, we show that, more generally, $3$-categories with one object and $1$-morphisms given by elements of a group $G$ correspond to…
It is proved that the Wedderburn Theorem on finite division rings implies that all knots and links in the smooth 4-dimensional manifolds are trivial.
The fundamental quandle is an invariant for distinguishing surface knots, yet computable presentations have traditionally been limited to surfaces embedded in the $4$-sphere. Building on the framework of banded unlink diagrams introduced by…
The polynomial invariants $q_d$ for a large class of smooth 4-manifolds are shown to satisfy universal relations. The relations reflect the possible genera of embedded surfaces in the 4-manifold and lead to a structure theorem for the…
We categorify the notion of an infinitesimal braiding in a linear strict symmetric monoidal category, leading to the notion of a (strict) infinitesimal 2-braiding in a linear symmetric strict monoidal 2-category. We describe the associated…
We consider knotted annuli in 4-space, called 2-string-links, which are knotted surfaces in codimension two that are naturally related, via closure operations, to both 2-links and 2-torus links. We classify 2-string-links up to…
Given a 2-category $\twocat{K}$ admitting a calculus of bimodules, and a 2-monad T on it compatible with such calculus, we construct a 2-category $\twocat{L}$ with a 2-monad S on it such that: (1)S has the adjoint-pseudo-algebra property.…
On negatively curved compact manifolds, it is possible to associate to every closed form a bounded cocycle - hence a bounded cohomology class - via integration over straight simplices. The kernel of this map is contained in the space of…
A link of an isolated singularity of a two-dimensional semialgebraic surface in $R^4$ is a knot (or a link) in $S^3$. Thus the ambient Lipschitz classification of surface singularities in $R^4$ can be interpreted as a bi-Lipschitz…
We study unbounded 2-dimensional metric polytopes such as those arising as K\"ahler quotients of complete K\"ahler 4-manifolds with two commuting symmetries and zero scalar curvature. Under a mild closedness condition, we obtain a complete…
The categories with noninvertible morphisms are studied analogously to the semisupermanifolds with noninvertible transition functions. The concepts of regular n-cycles, obstruction and the regularization procedure are introduced and…
We prove that a 2-convex closed surface $S\subset E^4$ in the four-dimensional Euclidean space $E^4$, which is either $C^2$-smooth or polyhedral, provided that each vertex is incident to at most five edges, admits a mapping of degree one to…
This paper proves three different coherence theorems for symmetric monoidal bicategories. First, we show that in a free symmetric monoidal bicategory every diagram of 2-cells commutes. Second, we show that this implies that the free…
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…
The classification of algebraic vector bundles of rank 2 over smooth affine fourfolds is a notoriously difficult problem. Isomorphism classes of such vector bundles are not uniquely determined by their Chern classes, in contrast to the…
We present an expository overview of the monoidal structures in the category of linearly compact vector spaces. Bimonoids in this category are the natural duals of infinite-dimensional bialgebras. We classify the relations on words whose…
We construct what we call a Kirby category, a monoidal category whose morphisms are smooth 4-manifolds, projecting down to another monoidal category whose morphisms are orientable 3-manifolds, the projection being induced by the boundary…
For every integer g, we construct a 2-solvable and 2-bipolar knot whose topological 4-genus is greater than g. Note that 2-solvable knots are in particular algebraically slice and have vanishing Casson-Gordon obstructions. Similarly all…