Double braidings, twists and tangle invariants (Q2576920)

The paper is another example of the fact that certain categorical notions are closely related to low-dimensional topology. Here the author first introduces in an axiomatic form the notions of double braiding, the entwined category and twist. It is proved that the category of ribbon pure braids is a free category with twist. By considering categories with duality and twist, the author defines invariants of ribbon string links. To deal with a certain subcategory of tangles, the author defines a turban category which is a category with a twist and good duals, and which satisfies certain additional conditions. Concerning this notion of turban categories, it is shown that the category of turban tangles is a free turban category. As mentioned in the paper, there are related works of \textit{S. Lack} and \textit{M. D. Staic}, respectively, in which twist, pure braids, and others are discussed.