Coherence theorems via knot theory (Q1183358)

A connection between monoidal (or ``tensor'') categories and low dimensional topology was established (May 1985) by André Joyal and the reviewer who showed that the free braided monoidal category on a single generating object was the disjoint union of the braid groups (with addition of braids as tensor product), and proved a coherence theorem for braided monoidal categories in terms of braids. The authors observed that tangles were introduced into the topology if one imposed on the braided monoidal categories the existence of dual (or ``adjoint'') objects; this condition is variously called ``compactness'', ``rigidity'', and ``autonomy''. They identified [Adv. Math. 77, 156-182 (1989; Zbl 0679.57003)] the arrows of certain free braided autonomous monoidal categories as tangles. The present paper supplements that work by providing coherence theorems for these categorical structures in knot theoretical terms. The case where the braiding is a symmetry is combinatorial rather than three-dimensional, and was dealt with by \textit{G. M. Kelly} and \textit{M. L. Laplaza} [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 19, 193-213 (1980; Zbl 0447.18005)]. The subject of this paper has received a great deal of attention in the time taken for publication; some aspects of this are explained by \textit{A. Joyal} and the reviewer in ``An introduction to Tannaka duality and quantum groups'' [Lect. Notes Math. 1488, 413-492 (1991)].