2-tangles

DOI10.1023/A:1007449529401MaRDI QIDQ1386540zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors John Baez, Laurel Langford

Publication date 14 January 1999

Published in Letters in Mathematical Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/q-alg/9703033

zbMATH Keywords

\(2\)-tanglemanifoldmovie movessemistrict braided monoidal \(2\)-categorysmooth embedding in Euclidean spacesurfaceunframed self-dual object

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Embeddings in differential topology (57R40)

Abstract: Just as links may be algebraically described as certain morphisms in the category of tangles, compact surfaces smoothly embedded in R^4 may be described as certain 2-morphisms in the 2-category of `2-tangles in 4 dimensions'. In this announcement we give a purely algebraic characterization of the 2-category of unframed unoriented 2-tangles in 4 dimensions as the `free semistrict braided monoidal 2-category with duals on one unframed self-dual object'. A forthcoming paper will contain a proof of this result using the movie moves of Carter, Rieger and Saito. We comment on how one might use this result to construct invariants of 2-tangles.

Review text

In the note under review, by semistrict braided monoidal \(2\)-categories are meant those defined by \textit{J. C. Baez} and \textit{M. Neuchl} [Adv. Math. 121, No. 2, 196-244 (1996; Zbl 0855.18008)], but satisfying certain extra axioms introduced by \textit{S. Crans} [Generalized centers of braided and sylleptic monoidal \(2\)-categories. To appear in Adv. Math.]. The note is in fact an announcement of a theorem claiming that the \(2\)-category of unframed unoriented \(2\)-tangles in four dimensions can be characterized as the ``free semistrict braided monoidal \(2\)-category with duals on one unframed self-dual object. A proof using the movie moves of Carter, Rieger, and Saito is promised to be given in a forthcoming paper. The authors have hopes that there are interesting examples of semistrict braided monoidal \(2\)-categories. They comment on how the above mentioned characterization might be used to construct invariants of \(2\)-tangles in four dimensions.

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Cited in

(13)

• Spherical 2-categories and 4-manifold invariants
• 2-categories and 2-knots
• Higher-dimensional algebra. IV: 2-tangles.
• Finite groups, spherical 2-categories, and 4-manifold invariants
• Quandle cohomology and state-sum invariants of knotted curves and surfaces
• State-sum invariants of knotted curves and surfaces from quandle cohomology
• A remarkable 20-crossing tangle
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 218194 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 885014 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1443245 (Why is no real title available?)
• Crossing with the circle in Dijkgraaf–Witten theory and applications to topological phases of matter
• Computations of quandle cocycle invariants of knotted curves and surfaces
• Reidemeister's theorem using transversality

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