On
October 31st at 4:15 p.m.
Karol Palka (IMPAN)
will give a talk on
"Categories & all that, part II..."
Abstract
While the
path integral is rarely mathematically well-defined, it is usually
assumed
to have some useful properties like sewing laws (relating the integral
over a domain
which decomposes into two subdomains to path integrals over the
subdomains). These
were included by Atiyah into the definition of the topological quantum
field theory
as a functor on the category of cobordisms. This is one of the many
ways the modern
mathematical language of categories and functors becomes relevant to
physicists.
In this lecture we will continue the introduction to categories, moving
into the direction of the ones used in topological quantum field
theories.
We will show how
various notions from different areas of mathematics get unified in the
categorial
framework. We will discuss categories with multiplication and some
geometric
functors (like homology or K-theory) arising whenever global effects of
the spacetime play a role.
Note: this
Colloquium
will take place at IMPAN, ul. Śniadeckich 8, room 403.
For more information, consult the Colloquium's webpage http://www.fuw.edu.pl/~psulkows/seminar/
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