arXiv research

Quantum field theory uses Lorentzian bordisms to describe time evolution.

The paper defines a category of Lagrangian correspondences in super Hilbert spaces and constructs a functorial field theory.

When trying to cast the free fermion in the framework of functorial field theory, its chiral anomaly manifests in the fact that it assigns the determinant of the Dirac operator to a top-dimensional closed spin manifold, which is not a number as expected, but an element of a complex line. In functorial field theory lang…

Paper establishes equivalence between algebraic and functorial QFTs.

Develops a new framework for anomaly description in quantum field theories.

We present a clear-cut example of the importance of the functorial approach of gauge-natural bundles and the general theory of Lie derivatives for classical field theory, where the sole correct geometrical formulation of Einstein (-Cartan) gravity coupled with Dirac fields gives rise to an unexpected indeterminacy in t…

This paper investigates the relationship between algebraic quantum field theories and factorization algebras on globally hyperbolic Lorentzian manifolds. Functorial constructions that map between these two types of theories in both directions are developed under certain natural hypotheses, including suitable variants o…

In the Lagrangian approach to 2-dimensional sigma models, B-fields and D-branes contribute topological terms to the action of worldsheets of both open and closed strings. We show that these terms naturally fit into a 2-dimensional, smooth open-closed functorial field theory (FFT) in the sense of Atiyah, Segal, and Stol…

In this article we prove that any unitary, axiomatic topological quantum field theory in four-dimensions can not detect changes in the smooth structure of M, a simply connected, closed (compact without boundary), oriented smooth manifold. However, as Donaldson-Witten theory (a topological quantum field theory but not a…

Lie algebroids are by no means natural as an infinitesimal counterpart of groupoids. In this paper we propose a functorial construction called Nishimura algebroids for an infinitesimal counterpart of groupoids. Nishimura algebroids, intended for differential geometry, are of the same vein as Lawvere's functorial notion…

We provide a unified framework for proving Reidemeister-invariance and functoriality for a wide range of link homology theories. These include Lee homology, Heegaard Floer homology of branched double covers, singular instanton homology, and \Szabo's geometric link homology theory. We follow Baldwin, Hedden, and Lobb (a…

Study normal bundle and deformation to get new pushforward maps.

Develops a framework for 1D geometric field theories and proves they are equivalent to vector bundles.

We develop a general framework for the quantization of bosonic and fermionic field theories on affine bundles over arbitrary globally hyperbolic spacetimes. All concepts and results are formulated using the language of category theory, which allows us to prove that these models satisfy the principle of general local co…

Link homology theories connect to 4-manifold invariants and TQFTs.

Simplifies fixing Khovanov homology functoriality.

Arithmetic Dijkgraaf-Witten theory constructs analogues in Chern-Simons TQFT.

In~\cite{rotvandervorst} a homology theory --Morse-Conley-Floer homology-- for isolated invariant sets of arbitrary flows on finite dimensional manifolds is developed. In this paper we investigate functoriality and duality of this homology theory. As a preliminary we investigate functoriality in Morse homology. Functor…

We propose a dictionary between geometry of triangulated 3-manifolds and physics of three-dimensional N=2 gauge theories. Under this duality, standard operations on triangulated 3-manifolds and various invariants thereof (classical as well as quantum) find a natural interpretation in field theory. For example, independ…

Extends Khovanov bracket to link cobordisms, proving functoriality up to scalars.

Extends odd Khovanov bracket to link cobordisms and proves functoriality up to sign.

Alternative proof of Khovanov's up-to-sign functoriality for odd Khovanov homology.

Study proves naturality and functoriality in a type of Heegaard Floer homology.

Using properties of the determinant line bundle for a family of elliptic boundary value problems, we explain how the Fock space functor defines an axiomatic quantum field theory which formally models the Fermionic path integral. The 'sewing axiom' of the theory arises as an algebraic pasting law for the determinant of …

We prove that Morrison and Nieh's categorification of the su(3) quantum knot invariant is functorial with respect to tangle cobordisms. This is in contrast to the categorified su(2) theory, which was not functorial as originally defined. We use methods of Bar-Natan to construct explicit chain maps for each variation of…

Constructs a fusion product on spinor bundle over loop space.

Motivated by the study of the interrelation between functorial and algebraic quantum field theory, we point out that on any locally trivial bundle of compact groups, representations up to homotopy are enough to separate points by means of the associated representations in cohomol- ogy. Furthermore, we observe that the …

We discuss two kinds of functorial prolongations of the functional bundle of all smooth maps between the fibers over the same base point of two fibered manifolds over the same base. We study the prolongation of vector fields in both cases and we prove that the bracket is preserved. Our proof is based on several new res…

The paper describes new types of picture-valued invariants and their applications.

This work draws inspiration from three important sources of research on dissimilarity-based clustering and intertwines those three threads into a consistent principled functorial theory of clustering. Those three are the overlapping clustering of Jardine and Sibson, the functorial approach of Carlsson and Mémoli to par…

Extends field theory foundations to infinitesimal spaces, simplifying complex concepts.

This thesis bridges Lie theory and sketch theory using tangent categories.

A homological invariant of 3-manifolds is defined, using abelian Yang-Mills gauge theory. It is shown that the construction, in an appropriate sense, is functorial with respect to the families of 4-dimensional cobordisms. This construction and its functoriality are used to define several link invariants. The strongest …

The paper reinterprets knot group invariants using affine transformations.

We construct a bigraded (co)homology theory which depends on a parameter a, and whose graded Euler characteristic is the quantum sl(2) link invariant. We follow Bar-Natan's approach to tangles on one side, and Khovanov's sl(3) theory for foams on the other side. Our theory is properly functorial under tangle cobordisms…

We use techniques from functorial quantum field theory to provide a geometric description of the parity anomaly in fermionic systems coupled to background gauge and gravitational fields on odd-dimensional spacetimes. We give an explicit construction of a geometric cobordism bicategory which incorporates general backgro…

We introduce the notion of a Khovanov-Floer theory. Roughly, such a theory assigns a filtered chain complex over Z/2 to a link diagram such that (1) the E_2 page of the resulting spectral sequence is naturally isomorphic to the Khovanov homology of the link; (2) this filtered complex behaves nicely under planar isotopy…

Extends string-net theory to 3D TQFT via surface graphs and surgery.

Let $\mathbb{F}$ be a field and let $G\subset \mathbb{F}\setminus \{0\}$ be a multiplicative subgroup. We consider the category $\mathcal{Cob}_G$ of $3$-dimensional cobordisms equipped with a representation of their fundamental group in $G$, and the category ${Vect}_{\mathbb{F},\pm G}$ of $\mathbb{F}$-linear maps defin…

We elaborate a detailed study of certain aspects of (a version of) the AdS/CFT correspondence, conjectured by Maldacena and Witten, between quantum field theories in a gravitational background given by an asymptotically anti-de Sitter (AAdS) spacetime, and conformally covariant quantum field theories in the latter's co…

For a finite dimensional real vector space V with inner product, let F(V) be the block structure space, in the sense of surgery theory, of the projective space of V. Continuing a program launched in part I, we investigate F as a functor on vector spaces with inner product, relying on functor calculus ideas. It was show…

Refines a tangle invariant using XC-algebras.

We discuss some aspects of index and secondary index theory for flat bundles with duality. This theory was first developed by J. Lott. Our main purpose in the present paper is to provide a modification with better functorial properties.

For a Lie groupoid G with a twisting (a PU(H)-principal bundle over G), we use the (geometric) deformation quantization techniques supplied by Connes tangent groupoids to define an analytic index morphism in twisted K-theory. In the case the twisting is trivial we recover the analytic index morphism of the groupoid. Fo…

We define compactifications of vector spaces which are functorial with respect to certain linear maps. These "many-body" compactifications are manifolds with corners, and the linear maps lift to b-maps in the sense of Melrose. We derive a simple criterion under which the lifted maps are in fact b-fibrations, and identi…

Khovanov spectra are shown to be functorial under certain conditions.

New homology theory connects graph domination to subtle algebraic structures.

Using ideas of the Dowker duality we prove that the Rips complex at scale $r$ is homotopy equivalent to the nerve of a cover consisting of sets of prescribed diameter. We then develop a functorial version of the Nerve theorem coupled with the Dowker duality, which is presented as a Functorial Dowker-Nerve Diagram. Thes…