diff -r c5a43be00ed4 -r 18611e566149 text/ncat.tex --- a/text/ncat.tex Wed Jul 22 03:38:13 2009 +0000 +++ b/text/ncat.tex Wed Jul 22 17:37:45 2009 +0000 @@ -273,12 +273,74 @@ \medskip -\hrule +\nn{these examples need to be fleshed out a bit more} + +Examples of plain $n$-categories: +\begin{itemize} + +\item Let $F$ be a closed $m$-manifold (e.g.\ a point). +Let $T$ be a topological space. +For $X$ a $k$-ball or $k$-sphere with $k < n$, define $\cC(X)$ to be the set of +all maps from $X\times F$ to $T$. +For $X$ an $n$-ball define $\cC(X)$ to be maps from $X\times F$ to $T$ modulo +homotopies fixed on $\bd X$. +(Note that homotopy invariance implies isotopy invariance.) +For $a\in \cC(X)$ define the product morphism $a\times D \in \cC(X\times D)$ to +be $a\circ\pi_X$, where $\pi_X : X\times D \to X$ is the projection. + +\item We can linearize the above example as follows. +Let $\alpha$ be an $(n{+}m{+}1)$-cocycle on $T$ with values in a ring $R$ +(e.g.\ the trivial cocycle). +For $X$ of dimension less than $n$ define $\cC(X)$ as before. +For $X$ an $n$-ball and $c\in \cC(\bd X)$ define $\cC(X; c)$ to be +the $R$-module of finite linear combinations of maps from $X\times F$ to $T$, +modulo the relation that if $a$ is homotopic to $b$ (rel boundary) via a homotopy +$h: X\times F\times I \to T$, then $a \sim \alpha(h)b$. +\nn{need to say something about fundamental classes, or choose $\alpha$ carefully} + +\item Given a traditional $n$-category $C$ (with strong duality etc.), +define $\cC(X)$ (with $\dim(X) < n$) +to be the set of all $C$-labeled sub cell complexes of $X$. +For $X$ an $n$-ball and $c\in \cC(\bd X)$, define $\cC(X)$ to finite linear +combinations of $C$-labeled sub cell complexes of $X$ +modulo the kernel of the evaluation map. +Define a product morphism $a\times D$ to be the product of the cell complex of $a$ with $D$, +and with the same labeling as $a$. +\nn{refer elsewhere for details?} + +\item Variation on the above examples: +We could allow $F$ to have boundary and specify boundary conditions on $(\bd X)\times F$, +for example product boundary conditions or take the union over all boundary conditions. + +\end{itemize} + + +Examples of $A_\infty$ $n$-categories: +\begin{itemize} + +\item Same as in example \nn{xxxx} above (fiber $F$, target space $T$), +but we define, for an $n$-ball $X$, $\cC(X; c)$ to be the chain complex +$C_*(\Maps_c(X\times F))$, where $\Maps_c$ denotes continuous maps restricting to $c$ on the boundary, +and $C_*$ denotes singular chains. + +\item +Given a plain $n$-category $C$, +define $\cC(X; c) = \bc^C_*(X\times F; c)$, where $X$ is an $n$-ball +and $\bc^C_*$ denotes the blob complex based on $C$. + +\end{itemize} \medskip +Next we define [$A_\infty$] $n$-category modules (a.k.a.\ representations, +a.k.a.\ actions). + +\medskip +\hrule +\medskip + \nn{to be continued...} - +\medskip Stuff that remains to be done (either below or in an appendix or in a separate section or in