Spherical categories (Q1290947)

A pivotal category in the sense of \textit{P. J. Freyd} and \textit{D. N. Yetter} [Adv. Math. 77, No. 2, 156-182 (1989; Zbl 0679.57003)] is an autonomous (also called compact or rigid -- but not necessarily symmetric or even braided) monoidal category, with a distinguished natural isomorphism between each object and its second dual, subject to suitable conditions. In such a category one is able to define two versions of the trace of an endomorphism -- a left trace and a right trace -- each being an endomorphism of the unit for tensor product. The present paper, which provides the categorical necessities for the authors' paper [\textit{J. W. Barrett} and \textit{B. W. Westbury}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 348, No. 10, 3997-4022 (1996; Zbl 0865.57013)] on 3-manifold invariants, defines a spherical category to be a pivotal one in which the two traces coincide. Categories of representations of spherical Hopf algebras (which they also define) provide examples of spherical categories.