Higher-dimensional algebra. IV: 2-tangles. (Q1421391)

It has been shown that the category of tangles in \(3\) dimensions is the free braided monoidal category with duals on one object. The tangle hypothesis is a conjectural generalisation; it says that framed oriented \(n\)-tangles in \((n+k)\)-dimensional space should be the \(n\)-morphisms of the free weak \(k\)-tuply monoidal \(n\)-category with duals on one object, provided that the concepts involved are made precise in a suitable way. In this paper the authors make precise and prove a related result for the case \(n=k=2\): the \(2\)-category of unframed unoriented \(2\)-tangles in \(4\) dimensions is the free semistrict braided monoidal \(2\)-category with duals on one unframed selfdual object.