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Full-Text Articles in Mathematics
From Loop Groups To 2-Groups, John C. Baez, Danny Stevenson, Alissa S. Crans, Urs Schreiber
From Loop Groups To 2-Groups, John C. Baez, Danny Stevenson, Alissa S. Crans, Urs Schreiber
Alissa Crans
We describe an interesting relation between Lie 2-algebras, the Kac-Moody central extensions of loop groups, and the group String(n). A Lie 2-algebra is a categorified version of a Lie algebra where the Jacobi identity holds up to a natural isomorphism called the "Jacobiator". Similarly, a Lie 2-group is a categorified version of a Lie group. If G is a simply-connected compact simple Lie group, there is a 1-parameter family of Lie 2-algebras g_k each having Lie(G) as its Lie algebra of objects, but with a Jacobiator built from the canonical 3-form on G. There appears to be no Lie 2-group …
Exotic Statistics For Strings In 4d Bf Theory, John C. Baez, Derek K. Wise, Alissa S. Crans
Exotic Statistics For Strings In 4d Bf Theory, John C. Baez, Derek K. Wise, Alissa S. Crans
Alissa Crans
After a review of exotic statistics for point particles in 3d BF theory, and especially 3d quantum gravity, we show that string-like defects in 4d BF theory obey exotic statistics governed by the 'loop braid group'. This group has a set of generators that switch two strings just as one would normally switch point particles, but also a set of generators that switch two strings by passing one through the other. The first set generates a copy of the symmetric group, while the second generates a copy of the braid group. Thanks to recent work of Xiao-Song Lin, we can …