arXiv research

We generalize Cohen & Jones & Segal's flow category whose objects are the critical points of a Morse function and whose morphisms are the Morse moduli spaces between the critical points to an n-category. The n-category construction involves repeatedly doing Morse theory on Morse moduli spaces for which we have to const…

In an earlier work, we constructed the almost strict Morse $n$-category $\mathcal X$ which extends Cohen $\&$ Jones $\&$ Segal's flow category. In this article, we define two other almost strict $n$-categories $\mathcal V$ and $\mathcal W$ where $\mathcal V$ is based on homomorphisms between real vector spaces and $\ma…

Defines a universal state sum construction for various TQFTs.

Given an n-manifold M and an n-category C, we define a chain complex (the "blob complex") B_*(M;C). The blob complex can be thought of as a derived category analogue of the Hilbert space of a TQFT, and as a generalization of Hochschild homology to n-categories and n-manifolds. It enjoys a number of nice formal properti…

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. O…

We propose a new notion of `n-category with duals', which we call a Whitney n-category. There are two motivations. The first is that Baez and Dolan's Tangle Hypothesis is (almost) tautological when interpreted as a statement about Whitney categories. The second is that we can functorially construct `fundamental Whitney…

We summarize our axioms for higher categories, and describe the blob complex. Fixing an n-category C, the blob complex associates a chain complex B_*(W;C)$ to any n-manifold W. The 0-th homology of this chain complex recovers the usual topological quantum field theory invariants of W. The higher homology groups should …

This reports on the fundamental objects revealed by Ross Street, which he called `orientals'. Street's work was in part inspired by Robert's attempts to use N-category ideas to construct nets of C*-algebras in Minkowski space for applications to relativistic quantum field theory: Roberts' additional challenge was that …