相关论文: Higher gauge theory I: 2-Bundles

Let $Y$ be a pointed space and let $\mathcal E(Y^r)$ be the group of based self-equivalences of $Y^r$, $r\geq 2$. For $Y$ a homotopy commutative $H$-group we construct a subgroup $\mathcal E_{\mathrm{Mat}}(Y^r)$ of $\mathcal E(Y^r)$ which…

The bigerbes introduced here give a refinement of the notion of 2-gerbes, representing degree four integral cohomology classes of a space. Defined in terms of bisimplicial line bundles, bigerbes have a symmetry with respect to which they…

By regarding the classical non abelian cohomology of groups from a 2-dimensional categorical viewpoint, we are led to a non abelian cohomology of groupoids which continues to satisfy classification, interpretation and representation…

We define 2-crossed module bundle 2-gerbes related to general Lie 2-crossed modules and discuss their properties. A 2-crossed module bundle 2-gerbe over a manifold is defined in terms of a so called 2-crossed module bundle gerbe, which is a…

Let G be a compact Lie group acting on a smooth manifold M. In this paper, we consider Meinrenken's G-equivariant bundle gerbe connections on M as objects in a 2-groupoid. We prove this 2-category is equivalent to the 2-groupoid of gerbe…

By studying the Higgs bundle equations with the gauge group replaced by the group of symplectic diffeomorphisms of the 2-sphere we encounter the notion of a folded hyperkaehler 4-manifold and conjecture the existence of a family of such…

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…

It is a classic result that the geometry of the total space of a principal bundle with reference to the action of the bundle's structure group is codified in the bundle's operation, a collection of derivations comprising the de Rham…

We study torsors over 2-groups and their morphisms. In particular, we study the first non-abelian cohomology group with values in a 2-group. Butterfly diagrams encode morphisms of 2-groups and we employ them to examine the functorial…

A nice differential-geometric framework for (non-abelian) higher gauge theory is provided by principal 2-bundles, i.e. categorified principal bundles. Their total spaces are Lie groupoids, local trivializations are kinds of Morita…

We present a construction of a 2-Hilbert space of sections of a bundle gerbe, a suitable candidate for a prequantum 2-Hilbert space in higher geometric quantisation. We introduce a direct sum on the morphism categories in the 2-category of…

We construct a prequantum 2-Hilbert space for any line bundle gerbe whose Dixmier-Douady class is torsion. Analogously to usual prequantisation, this 2-Hilbert space has the category of sections of the line bundle gerbe as its underlying…

M2-branes couple to a 3-form potential, which suggests that their description involves a non-abelian 2-gerbe or, equivalently, a principal 3-bundle. We show that current M2-brane models fit this expectation: they can be reformulated as…

Many bundle gerbes constructed in practice are either infinite-dimensional, or finite-dimensional but built using submersions that are far from being fibre bundles. Murray and Stevenson proved that gerbes on simply-connected manifolds,…

2-Theories are a canonical way of describing categories with extra structure. 2-theory-morphisms are used when discussing how one structure can be replaced with another structure. This is central to categorical coherence theory. We place a…

We introduce an axiomatic framework for the parallel transport of connections on gerbes. It incorporates parallel transport along curves and along surfaces, and is formulated in terms of gluing axioms and smoothness conditions. The…

The point of this paper is to prove the conjecture that virtual 2-vector bundles are classified by K(ku), the algebraic K-theory of topological K-theory. Hence, by the work of Ausoni and the fourth author, virtual 2-vector bundles give us a…

Many physical theories, including notably string theory, require non-abelian higher gauge fields defining higher holonomy. Previous approaches to such higher connections on categorified principal bundles require these to be fake flat. This…

In the context of non-abelian gerbes we define a cubical version of categorical group 2-bundles with connection over a smooth manifold. We define their two-dimensional parallel transport, study its properties, and define non-abelian Wilson…

We explore various aspects of 2-form topological gauge theories in (3+1)d. These theories can be constructed as sigma models with target space the second classifying space $B^2G$ of the symmetry group $G$, and they are classified by…