arXiv subjects

Ivelina Bobtcheva

Publications and source records attributed to Ivelina Bobtcheva.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Algebraic presentation of the bordism category of 2-dimensional CW-complexes

We prove that $S^1$ carries the structure of a unimodular cocommutative Hopf algebra in the bordism category 2CW of 2-equivalence classes of 2-dimensional CW-complexes and that 2CW is actually equivalent to the symmetric monoidal category freely generated by such a Hopf algebra. The proof proceeds by constructing an equivalence between 2CW and a category of finite relative group presentations. Finally, we show that the algebraic structure of the category 4HB of 2-equivalence classes of orientable 4-dimensional 2-handlebodies refines that of 2CW.

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arXiv2025

Algebraic Presentation of $4$-Dimensional $2$-Handlebodies and $3$-Dimensional Cobordisms

In this paper, we give a new direct proof of a result by Bobtcheva and Piergallini that provides finite algebraic presentations of two categories, denoted $3\mathrm{Cob}$ and $4\mathrm{HB}$, whose morphisms are manifolds of dimension $3$ and $4$, respectively. More precisely, $3\mathrm{Cob}$ is the category of connected oriented $3$-dimensional cobordisms between connected surfaces with connected boundary, while $4\mathrm{HB}$ is the category of connected oriented $4$-dimensional $2$-handlebodies up to $2$-deformations. For this purpose, we explicitly construct the inverse of the functor $Φ: 4\mathrm{Alg} \to 4\mathrm{HB}$, where $4\mathrm{Alg}$ denotes the free monoidal category generated by a Bobtcheva--Piergallini Hopf algebra. As an application, we deduce an algebraic presentation of $3\mathrm{Cob}$ and show that it is equivalent to the one conjectured by Habiro.

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arXiv2023

On the algebraic characterization of the category of 3-dimensional cobordisms

It is proved in \cite{BP} (arXiv:1108.2717) that the category of relative 3-dimensional cobordisms $\cal Cob^{2+1}$ is equivalent to the universal algebraic category $\overline{\overline{\cal H}}{}^r$ generated by a Hopf algebra object. A different algebraic category $\overline{\cal Alg}$ generated by a Hopf algebra object is defined in \cite{AS} and it conjectured to be equivalent to $\cal Cob^{2+1}$ as well. We prove that there exists a functor $\overline{\cal Alg}\to \overline{\overline{\cal H}}{}^r$, and use it to present an alternative set of axioms for $\overline{\overline{\cal H}}{}^r$.

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arXiv2011

On four-dimensional 2-handlebodies and three-manifolds

We show that for any n > 3 there exists an equivalence functor from the category of n-fold connected simple coverings of B^3 x [0, 1] branched over ribbon surface tangles up to certain local ribbon moves, to the category Chb^{3+1} of orientable relative 4-dimensional 2-handlebody cobordisms up to 2-deformations. As a consequence, we obtain an equivalence theorem for simple coverings of S^3 branched over links, which provides a complete solution to the long-standing Fox-Montesinos covering moves problem. This last result generalizes to coverings of any degree results by the second author and Apostolakis, concerning respectively the case of degree 3 and 4. We also provide an extension of the equivalence theorem to possibly non-simple coverings of S^3 branched over embedded graphs. Then, we factor the functor above through an equivalence functor from H^r to Chb^{3+1}, where H^r is a universal braided category freely generated by a Hopf algebra object H. In this way, we get a complete algebraic description of the category Chb^{3+1}. From this we derive an analogous description of the category Cob^{2+1} of 2-framed relative 3-dimensional cobordisms, which resolves a problem posed by Kerler.

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arXiv2007

Covering moves and Kirby calculus

We show that simple coverings of B^4 branched over ribbon surfaces up to certain local ribbon moves bijectively represent orientable 4-dimensional 2-handlebodies up to handle sliding and addition/deletion of cancelling handles. As a consequence, we obtain an equivalence theorem for simple coverings of S^3 branched over links, in terms of local moves. This result generalizes to coverings of any degree results by the second author and Apostolakis, concerning respectively the case of degree 3 and 4. We also provide an extension of our equivalence theorem to possibly non-simple coverings of S^3 branched over embedded graphs. This work represents the first part of our study of 4-dimensional 2-handlebodies. In the second part (arXiv:math.GT/0612806), we factor such bijective correspondence between simple coverings of B^4 branched over ribbon surfaces and orientable 4-dimensional 2-handlebodies through a map onto the closed morphisms in a universal braided category freely generated by a Hopf algebra object.

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arXiv2006

A universal invariant of four-dimensional 2-handlebodies and three-manifolds

This paper is the second part of our work on 4-dimensional 2-handlebodies. In the first part (arXiv:math.GT/0407032) it is shown that up to certain set of local moves, connected simple coverings of B^4 branched over ribbon surfaces, bijectively represent connected orientable 4-dimensional 2-handlebodies up to 2-deformations (handle slides and creations/cancellations of handles of index <= 2). We factor this bijective correspondence through a map onto the closed morphisms in a universal braided category freely generated by a Hopf algebra object H. In this way we obtain a complete algebraic description of 4-dimensional 2-handlebodies. This result is then used to obtain an analogous description of the boundaries of such handlebodies, i.e. 3-dimensional manifolds, which resolves for closed manifolds the problem posed by Kerler in "Towards an algebraic characterization of 3-dimensional cobordisms", Contemporary Mathematics 318 (2003). (cf. Problem 8-16 (1) in T. Ohtsuki, "Problems on invariants of knots and 3-manifolds", Geom. Topol. Monogr. 4 (2002).

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arXiv2003

HKR-type invariants of 4-thickenings of 2-dimensional CW complexes

The HKR (Hennings-Kauffman-Radford) framework is used to construct invariants of 4-thickenings of 2-dimensional CW complexes under 2-deformations (1- and 2- handle slides and creations and cancellations of 1-2 handle pairs). The input of the invariant is a finite dimensional unimodular ribbon Hopf algebra A and an element in a quotient of its center, which determines a trace function on A. We study the subset T^4 of trace elements which define invariants of 4-thickenings under 2-deformations. In T^4 two subsets are identified : T^3, which produces invariants of 4-thickenings normalizable to invariants of the boundary, and T^2, which produces invariants of 4-thickenings depending only on the 2-dimensional spine and the second Whitney number of the 4-thickening. The case of the quantum sl(2) is studied in details. We conjecture that sl(2) leads to four HKR-type invariants and describe the corresponding trace elements. Moreover, the fusion algebra of the semisimple quotient of the category of representations of the quantum sl(2) is identified as a subalgebra of a quotient of its center.

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arXiv2000

Relation between quantum invariants of 3-manifolds and 2-dimensional CW-complexes

We show that the Reshetikhin-Turaev-Walker invariant of 3-manifolds can be normalized to obtain an invariant of 4-dimensional thickenings of 2-complexes. Moreover when the underlying semisimple tortile category comes from the representations of a quantum group at a primitive prime root of unity, the 0-term in the Ohtsuki expansion of this invariant depends only on the spine and is the mod p invariant of 2-complexes defined previously from the second author. As a consequence it is shown that when the Euler characteristic is greater or equal to 1, the 2-complex invariant depends only on homology. The last statement doesn't hold for the negative Euler characteristic case.

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arXiv2000

On Quinn's Invariants of 2-dimensional CW-complexes

Given a semisimple stable autonomous tensor category over a field $K$, to any group presentation with finite number of generators we associate an element $Q(P)\in K$ invariant under the Andrews-Curtis moves. We show that in fact, this is the same invariant as the one produced by the algorithm of Frank Quinn. The new definition allows us to present a relatively simple proof of the invariance and to evaluate $Q(P)$ for some presentations. On the basis of some numerical calculations over different Gelfand-Kazhdan categories, we make a conjecture which relates the value of $Q(P)$ for two different classes of presentations.

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