The singular Temperley-Lieb category (Q2511177)

Summary: We introduce and study the singular Temperley-Lieb category over \(\mathbb Z[q, q^{-1}]\), which is a free pivotal category over two self-dual generators and is an extension of the (classical) Temperley-Lieb category. Our construction is motivated by a state model for the \(sl(2)\) polynomial of an oriented link and provides a categorical perspective to this link invariant. We also construct a couple of polynomial invariants for oriented tangles from category theory point of view.