Structures and diagrammatics of four dimensional topological lattice field theories (Q1306826)

The authors define a state sum invariant of triangulated 4-manifolds using Crane-Yetter cocycles as Boltzmann weights. Their invariant is analogous to the 3-dimensional invariants defined by Dijkgraaf and Witten and invariants defined via Hopf algebras. They present diagrammatic methods for studying these invariants that illustrate connections between Hopf categories and moves to triangulations. In particular, invariance under Pachner moves of Crane-Frenkel invariants for cocycles constructed by Crane and Yetter is proved using graphs. They also show direct relations among algebraic structures (Hopf categories), triangulations, and graph diagrams in dimension 4, generalizing spin network theory in dimension 3.