English

Factorization homology I: higher categories

Algebraic Topology 2020-02-25 v7 Category Theory Geometric Topology Quantum Algebra

Abstract

We construct a pairing, which we call factorization homology, between framed manifolds and higher categories. The essential geometric notion is that of a vari-framing of a stratified manifold, which is a framing on each stratum together with a coherent system of compatibilities of framings along links between strata. Our main result constructs labeling systems on disk-stratified vari-framed nn-manifolds from (,n)(\infty,n)-categories. These (,n)(\infty,n)-categories, in contrast with the literature to date, are not required to have adjoints. This allows the following conceptual definition: the factorization homology MC \int_M\mathcal{C} of a framed nn-manifold MM with coefficients in an (,n)(\infty,n)-category C\mathcal{C} is the classifying space of \cC\cC-labeled disk-stratifications over MM.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1504.04007,
  title  = {Factorization homology I: higher categories},
  author = {David Ayala and John Francis and Nick Rozenblyum},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1504.04007},
  year   = {2020}
}

Comments

94 pages, 14 figures; contains an erratum which corrects the statement of the main theorem, based on the non-contractibility of vari-framed automorphisms of the hemispherical disk in higher-dimensions; differs from the published version

R2 v1 2026-06-22T09:16:44.057Z