Related papers: Higher-dimensional Algebra and Topological Quantum…
This is an invited contribution to the 2nd edition of the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics. We give an overview of 3-dimensional topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) and the corresponding quantum invariants of 3-manifolds. We…
We examine configurations of finite subsets of manifolds within the homotopy-theoretic context of $\infty$-categories by way of stratified spaces. Through these higher categorical means, we identify the homotopy types of such configuration…
We show how extended topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) can be used to obtain a kinematical setup for quantum gravity, i.e. a kinematical Hilbert space together with a representation of the observable algebra including operators of…
We construct a certain `cobordism category' ${\cal D}$ whose morphisms are suitably decorated cobordism classes between similarly decorated closed oriented 1-manifolds, and show that there is essentially a bijection between…
A fundamental step towards studying string theory vacua, and, ultimately, their stability, is that of understanding the underlying mathematical structure of the QFT resulting from its dimensional reduction on Calabi-Yau (CY) manifolds, the…
We introduce the notion of $n$-dimensional topological quantum field theory (TQFT) with defects as a symmetric monoidal functor on decorated stratified bordisms of dimension $n$. The familiar closed or open-closed TQFTs are special cases of…
We construct a four dimensional topological Quantum Field Theory from a modular tensor category. We complete the proof in the case of SU(2)q at a root of unity. Our construction may be important in the physical interpretation of the Chern…
We propose a unifying mathematical framework describing the higher categorical structures formed by topological defects in quantum field theory equipped with tangential structures, such as orientations, framings, or…
Modular tensor categories are generalizations of the representation categories of quantum groups at roots of unity axiomatizing the properties necessary to produce 3-dimensional TQFTs. Although other constructions have since been found,…
We propose a quantum field theory description of the X-cube model of fracton topological order. The field theory is not (and cannot be) a topological quantum field theory (TQFT), since unlike the X-cube model, TQFTs are invariant (i.e.…
We introduce an unrolled quantization $U_q^E(\mathfrak{gl}(1 \vert 1))$ of the complex Lie superalgebra $\mathfrak{gl}(1 \vert 1)$ and use its categories of weight modules to construct and study new three dimensional non-semisimple…
Motivated by the question of exploring the "theory space" of quantum field theories, we review the concept of "decomposing" and "gluing" quantum field theories. We explain this in the context of three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$…
Topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) are symmetric monoidal functors out of cobordism categories. In dimension two, oriented TQFTs are famously classified by commutative Frobenius algebras. In the unoriented setting, the…
We introduce a new higher categorical structure called a weakly globular n-fold category. This structure is based on iterated internal categories and on the notion of weak globularity. We identify a suitable class of pseudo-functors whose…
We introduce a framework for internal topological symmetries in quantum field theory, including "noninvertible symmetries" and "categorical symmetries". This leads to a calculus of topological defects which takes full advantage of…
Homotopy Quantum Field Theories (HQFTs) generalize more familiar Topological Quantum Field Theories (TQFTs). In generalization of the surgery construction of 3-dimensional TQFTs from modular categories, we use surgery to derive…
A topological quantum field theory is introduced which reproduces the Seiberg-Witten invariants of four-manifolds. Dimensional reduction of this topological field theory leads to a new one in three dimensions. Its partition function yields…
The space M_n of all isomorphism classes of n-dimensional Lie algebras over a field k has a natural non-Hausdorff topology, induced from the Segal topology by the action of GL(n). One way of studying this complicated space is by topological…
The aim of this paper is to survey some aspects of mapping class groups with focus on their finite dimensional representations arising in topological quantum field theory.
The purpose of this dissertation is to set up a theory of generalized operads and multicategories, and to use it as a language in which to propose a definition of weak n-category. Included is a full explanation of why the proposed…