arXiv research

We show that general relativity can be viewed as a higher gauge theory involving a categorical group, or 2-group, called the teleparallel 2-group. On any semi-Riemannian manifold M, we first construct a principal 2-bundle with the Poincare 2-group as its structure 2-group. Any flat metric-preserving connection on M giv…

We present a classification theorem for closed smooth spin 2-connected 7-manifolds M. This builds on the almost-smooth classification from the first author's thesis. The main additional ingredient is an extension of the Eells-Kuiper invariant for any closed spin 7-manifold, regardless of whether the spin characteristic…

In this paper, using exclusively homotopy theoretical methods, we study degrees of maps between $(n-2)$-connected $(2n-1)$-dimensional Poincar\' e complexes which have torsion free integral homology. Necessary and sufficient algebraic conditions for the existence of map degrees between such Poincar\' e complexes are es…

Study on factorizations of knot polynomials for up to 12 crossings.

We prove a functorial correspondence between a category of logarithmic $\mathfrak{sl}_2$-connections on a curve $X$ with fixed generic residues and a category of abelian logarithmic connections on an appropriate spectral double cover $π: Σ\to X$. The proof is by constructing a pair of inverse functors $π^{\text{ab}}, π…

Just as gauge theory describes the parallel transport of point particles using connections on bundles, higher gauge theory describes the parallel transport of 1-dimensional objects (e.g. strings) using 2-connections on 2-bundles. A 2-bundle is a categorified version of a bundle: that is, one where the fiber is not a ma…

Enhanced loop space decomposition for specific Poincaré complexes.

We construct a flat (and fake-flat) 2-connection in the configuration space of $n$ indistinguishable particles in the complex plane, which categorifies the $sl(2,C)$-Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov connection obtained from the adjoint representation of $sl(2,C)$. This will be done by considering the adjoint categorical represen…

We answer a weaker version of the classification problem for the homotopy types of $(n-2)$-connected closed orientable $(2n-1)$-manifolds. Let $n\geq 6$ be an even integer, and $X$ be a $(n-2)$-connected finite orientable Poincaré $(2n-1)$-complex such that $H^{n-1}(X;\mathbb{Q})=0$ and $H^{n-1}(X;\mathbb{Z}_2)=0$. The…

Constructing solutions to the heterotic G$_2$ system on specific types of manifolds.

We generalize a result of the author about the classification of 1-connected 7-manifolds and demonstrate its use by two concrete applications, one to 2-connected 7-manifolds (a new proof -- and slightly different formulation -- of an up to now unpublished Theorem by Crowley and Nordstroem and one to simply connected 7-…

We study the problem of finding good gauges for connections in higher gauge theories. We find that, for $2$-connections in strict $2$-gauge theory and $3$-connections in $3$-gauge theory, there are local "Coulomb gauges" that are more canonical than in classical gauge theory. In particular, they are essentially unique,…

We show that for an m-connected cell complex X the space exp_k X of non-empty subsets of X of cardinality at most k is (m + k - 2)-connected

We construct a new 7-dimensional manifold with positive sectional curvature which is 2-connected with π_3=\Z_2 and admits an isometric group action with one dimensional quotient.

A kinematics of the motion of a car is reformulated in terms of the theory of gauge potentials (connection on principal bundle). E(2)-connection originates in the no-slipping contact of the car with a road.

We establish a splitting formula for the spectral flow of the odd signature operator on a closed 3-manifold M coupled to a path of SU(2) connections, provided M = S cup X, where S is the solid torus. It describes the spectral flow on M in terms of the spectral flow on S, the spectral flow on X (with certain Atiyah-Pato…

Let $M$ be a closed orientable surface of negative curvature. A connection is said to be transparent if its parallel transport along closed geodesics is the identity. We describe all transparent SU(2)-connections and we show that they can be built up from suitable Bäcklund transformations.

The kth finite subset space of a topological space X is the space exp_k X of non-empty subsets of X of size at most k, topologised as a quotient of X^k. Using results from our earlier paper (math.GT/0210315) on the finite subset spaces of connected graphs we show that the kth finite subset space of a connected cell com…

New Sasaki-Einstein 7-manifolds found, including rational homology 7-spheres and connected sums.

We establish the following theorem of Bernstein type for the first Heisenberg group: Let S be a C^2 connected H-minimal surface which is a graph over some plane P, then S is either a non-characteristic vertical plane, or its generalized seed curve satisfies a type of constant curvature condition.

In this paper we demonstrate the existence of Sasakian-Einstein structures on certain 2-connected rational homology 7-spheres. These appear to be the first non-regular examples of Sasakian-Einstein metrics on simply connected rational homology spheres. We also briefly describe the rational homology 7-spheres that admit…

Introduces a new relation between BF theory and gravity.

The worldvolume theory of coincident M5-branes is expected to contain a nonabelian 2-form/nonabelian gerbe gauge theory that is a higher analog of self-dual Yang-Mills theory. But the precise details -- in particular the global moduli / instanton / magnetic charge structure -- have remained elusive. Here we deduce from…

Based on earlier work of the latter two named authors on the higher super-Teichmueller space with $\mathcal{N}=1$, a component of the flat $OSp(1|2)$ connections on a punctured surface, here we extend to the case $\mathcal{N}=2$ of flat $OSp(2|2)$ connections. Indeed, we construct here coordinates on the higher super-T…

In this work we prove that any unitary Sobolev $W^{1,2}$ connection of an Hermitian bundle over a 2-dimensional Kähler manifold whose curvature is $(1,1)$ defines a smooth holomorphic structure. We prove moreover that such a connection can be strongly approximated in any $W^{1,p}$ ($p<2$) norm by smooth connections sat…

The geometry of the total space of a principal bundle with regard to the action of the bundle's structure group is elegantly described by the bundle's operation, a collection of derivations consisting of the de Rham differential and the contraction and Lie derivatives of all vertical vector fields and satisfying the si…

This paper outlines an approach to the non-abelian theta functions of the $SU(2)$-Chern-Simons theory with the methods used by A. Weil for studying classical theta functions. First we translate in knot theoretic language classical theta functions, the action of the finite Heisenberg group, and the discrete Fourier tran…

This is the first of a series of two technical papers devoted to the analysis of holonomy invariants in strict higher gauge theory with end applications in higher Chern--Simons theory. For a flat 2--connection, we define the 2-holonomy of surface knots of arbitrary genus and determine its covariance properties under 1-…

For $k \ge 2,$ let $M^{4k-1}$ be a $(2k{-}2)$-connected closed manifold. If $k \equiv 1$ mod $4$ assume further that $M$ is $(2k{-}1)$-parallelisable. Then there is a homotopy sphere $Σ^{4k-1}$ such that $M \sharp Σ$ admits a Ricci positive metric. This follows from a new description of these manifolds as the boundarie…

We provide a new perspective on parallel 2-transport and principal 2-group bundles with 2-connection. We define parallel 2-transport as a 2-functor from the thin fundamental 2-groupoid to the 2-category of 2-group torsors. The definition of the 2-category of 2-group torsors is new, and we develop the tools necessary fo…

We study a module structure on Khovanov homology, which we show is natural under the Ozsvath-Szabo spectral sequence to the Floer homology of the branched double cover. As an application, we show that this module structure detects trivial links. A key ingredient of our proof is that the H_1/Torsion module structure on …

A closed, orientable, splitting surface in an oriented $3$-manifold is a topologically minimal surface of index $n$ if its associated disk complex is $(n-2)$-connected but not $(n-1)$-connected. A critical surface is a topologically minimal surface of index $2$. In this paper, we use an equivalent combinatorial definit…

Extends foliation results to singular cases.

Given a closed flat 3-torus $N$, for each $H>0$ and each non-negative integer $g$, we obtain area estimates for closed surfaces with genus $g$ and constant mean curvature $H$ embedded in $N$. This result contrasts with the theorem of Traizet [33], who proved that every flat 3-torus admits for every positive integer $g$…

This paper extends results of Hatcher and Vogtmann's work "Cerf Theory for Graphs" to ribbon graphs. Given an orientable, punctured and basepointed surface Sigma, we prove that the space of ribbon graphs that can be drawn in Sigma is filtered by simplicial complexes. The k-th simplicial complex is (k-1)-dimensional, (k…

In this article we prove that, if $X$ is a smooth $4$-manifold containing an embedded double node neighborhood, all knot surgery $4$-manifolds $X_K$ are mutually diffeomorphic to each other after a connected sum with $\mathbb{CP}^2$. Hence, by applying to the simply connected elliptic surface $E(n)$, we also show that …

We prove that in dimensions not equal to 4, 5, or 7, the homology and homotopy groups of the classifying space of the topological group of diffeomorphisms of a disk fixing the boundary are finitely generated in each degree. The proof uses homological stability, embedding calculus and the arithmeticity of mapping class …

Following Sullivan's spacial realization of a differential algebra, we construct a universal integrating Lie 2-groupoid for every Lie algebroid. Then We show that unlike Lie algebras which one-to-one correspond to simply connected Lie groups, Lie algebroids (integrable or not) one-to-one correspond to a sort of etale L…

Study proves mean curvature flows on spheres in higher dimensions.

Classifies two families of simply connected 7-manifolds with minimal homological complexity.

Let $Y$ be a closed $3$-manifold such that all flat $SU(2)$-connections on $Y$ are $non$-$degenerate$. In this article, we prove a Uhlenbeck-type compactness theorem on $Y$ for stable flat $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$ connections satisfying an $L^{2}$-bound for the real curvature. Combining the compactness theorem and a previous…

Let P be a closed smooth (4j-2)-connected 8j-manifold. We complete Wilkens' classification of the manifolds P for j = 1,2 and give an alternative proof to Wall's classification of the manifolds for j > 2. The Hopf-invariant-one dimensions (j=1,2) are characteristed by the fact that the quadratic linking functions which…

Consider the moduli space of framed flat $U(2)$ connections with fixed odd determinant over a surface. Newstead combined some fundamental facts about this moduli space with the Mayer-Vietoris sequence to compute its betti numbers over any field not of characteristic two. We adapt his method in characteristic two to pro…

Study curvature properties of $G_2$ connections with skew-symmetric torsion.

We show that the complex of free factors of a free group of rank n > 1 is homotopy equivalent to a wedge of spheres of dimension n-2. We also prove that for n > 1, the complement of (unreduced) Outer space in the free splitting complex is homotopy equivalent to the complex of free factor systems and moreover is (n-2)-c…

The paper constructs solutions to the Allen-Cahn equation using special minimal hypersurfaces.

We show that solutions of the Yamabe equation on certain n-dimensional non-compact Riemannian manifolds which are bounded and L^p for p=2n/(n-2) are also L^2. This L^p-L^2-implication provides explicit constants in the surgery-monotonicity formula for the smooth Yamabe invariant in a previous article of the authors. As…

Let $(M,g)$ be a closed oriented negatively curved surface. A unitary connection on a Hermitian vector bundle over $M$ is said to be transparent if its parallel transport along the closed geodesics of $g$ is the identity. We study the space of such connections modulo gauge and we prove a classification result in terms …