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arXiv · 2505.04761

On the Higher Categorical Structure of Topological Defects in Quantum Field Theories

Lukas Müller
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Abstract

We propose a unifying mathematical framework describing the higher categorical structures formed by topological defects in quantum field theory equipped with tangential structures, such as orientations, framings, or $\operatorname{Pin}^{\pm}$-structures, in terms of structured versions of higher dagger categories. This recovers all previously known results, including the description of oriented topological defects in 2-dimensional quantum field theories by pivotal bicategories. Assuming the stratified cobordism hypothesis, we prove our proposal for topological defects with stable tangential structures that admit a direct sum in fully extended topological quantum field theories.

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Lukas Müller. 2025-05-07. On the Higher Categorical Structure of Topological Defects in Quantum Field Theories. https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.04761

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