Abstract:Following Boardman-Vogt, McDuff, Segal, and others, we construct a monoidal topological groupoid or space of finite subsets of the plane, and interpret the Burau representation of knot theory as a topological quantum field theory defined on it. Its determinant or writhe is an invertible braided monoidal TQFT which group completes to define a Hopkins-Mahowald model for integral homology as an
E
2
E_2
Thom spectrum. We use these ideas to construct an infinite cyclic (Alexander… Show more
Set email alert for when this publication receives citations?
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.