Semisimple and modular categories from link invariants (Q1374727)

Modular categories are semisimple additive (meaning abelian group enriched) tortile (also called ribbon) monoidal categories with a finite representative set \(S\) of simple objects such that the determinant of the matrix \[ \text{Trace} (c_{t,s} \circ c_{s,t}: s\otimes t\to s \otimes t) \] (where \(c_{x,y}: x\otimes y\to y\otimes x\) is the braiding) is non-zero. Examples are hard to construct. Earlier examples of the authors and others came from quantum group theory. In this paper, a semisimple additive tortile monoidal category is constructed from each suitable link invariant valued in an algebraically closed field. The starting point is the free tortile monoidal category on a single generating object; the endomorphisms of the unit for tensor product are framed links. This needs to be cut down considerably to achieve the goal. In particular, for the Kauffman invariant [cf. \textit{L. H. Kauffman}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 318, No. 2, 417-471 (1990; Zbl 0763.57004)], a modular category is obtained.