diff -r e47dcbf119e7 -r 2a9c637182f0 text/ncat.tex --- a/text/ncat.tex Thu Jun 24 14:21:20 2010 -0400 +++ b/text/ncat.tex Thu Jun 24 14:21:51 2010 -0400 @@ -1681,22 +1681,22 @@ In this subsection we define an $n{+}1$-category $\cS$ of ``sphere modules" whose objects are $n$-categories. When $n=2$ -this is a version of the familiar algebras-bimodules-intertwiners $2$-category. -It is clearly appropriate to call an $S^0$ module a bimodule, -but this is much less true for higher dimensional spheres, +this is closely related to the familiar $2$-category of algebras, bimodules and intertwiners. +While it is appropriate to call an $S^0$ module a bimodule, +this is much less true for higher dimensional spheres, so we prefer the term ``sphere module" for the general case. The results of this subsection are not needed for the rest of the paper, -so we will skimp on details in a couple of places. +so we will skimp on details in a couple of places. We have included this mostly for the sake of comparing our notion of a topological $n$-category to other definitions. For simplicity, we will assume that $n$-categories are enriched over $\c$-vector spaces. The $0$- through $n$-dimensional parts of $\cS$ are various sorts of modules, and we describe these first. The $n{+}1$-dimensional part of $\cS$ consists of intertwiners -of (garden-variety) $1$-category modules associated to decorated $n$-balls. +of $1$-category modules associated to decorated $n$-balls. We will see below that in order for these $n{+}1$-morphisms to satisfy all of -the duality requirements of an $n{+}1$-category, we will have to assume +the axioms of an $n{+}1$-category (in particular, duality requirements), we will have to assume that our $n$-categories and modules have non-degenerate inner products. (In other words, we need to assume some extra duality on the $n$-categories and modules.) @@ -1710,7 +1710,7 @@ We start with $0$-sphere modules, which also could reasonably be called (categorified) bimodules. (For $n=1$ they are precisely bimodules in the usual, uncategorified sense.) -Define a $0$-marked $k$-ball $(X, M)$, $1\le k \le n$, to be a pair homeomorphic to the standard +Define a $0$-marked $k$-ball, $1\le k \le n$, to be a pair $(X, M)$ homeomorphic to the standard $(B^k, B^{k-1})$. See Figure \ref{feb21a}. Another way to say this is that $(X, M)$ is homeomorphic to $B^{k-1}\times([-1,1], \{0\})$. @@ -1729,10 +1729,8 @@ Fix $n$-categories $\cA$ and $\cB$. These will label the two halves of a $0$-marked $k$-ball. -The $0$-sphere module we define next will depend on $\cA$ and $\cB$ -(it's an $\cA$-$\cB$ bimodule), but we will suppress that from the notation. -An $n$-category $0$-sphere module $\cM$ is a collection of functors $\cM_k$ from the category +An $n$-category $0$-sphere module $\cM$ over the $n$-categories $\cA$ and $\cB$ is a collection of functors $\cM_k$ from the category of $0$-marked $k$-balls, $1\le k \le n$, (with the two halves labeled by $\cA$ and $\cB$) to the category of sets. If $k=n$ these sets should be enriched to the extent $\cA$ and $\cB$ are. @@ -1740,8 +1738,8 @@ morphism sets $\cA_k(X_i)$ (if $X_i$ lies on the $\cA$-labeled side) or $\cB_k(X_i)$ (if $X_i$ lies on the $\cB$-labeled side) or $\cM_k(X_i)$ (if $X_i$ intersects the marking and is therefore a smaller 0-marked ball). -Corresponding to this decomposition we have an action and/or composition map -from the product of these various sets into $\cM_k(X)$. +Corresponding to this decomposition we have a composition (or `gluing') map +from the product (fibered over the boundary data) of these various sets into $\cM_k(X)$. \medskip @@ -1834,8 +1832,8 @@ For the time being, let's say they are.} A 1-marked $k$-ball is anything homeomorphic to $B^j \times C(S)$, $0\le j\le n-2$, where $B^j$ is the standard $j$-ball. -1-marked $k$-balls can be decomposed in various ways into smaller balls, which are either -smaller 1-marked $k$-balls or the product of an unmarked ball with a marked interval. +A 1-marked $k$-balls can be decomposed in various ways into smaller balls, which are either +smaller 1-marked $k$-balls or the product of an unmarked ball with a marked interval. \todo{I'm confused by this last sentence. By `the product of an unmarked ball with a marked internal', you mean a 0-marked $k$-ball, right? If so, we should say it that way. Further, there are also just some entirely unmarked balls. -S} We now proceed as in the above module definitions. \begin{figure}[!ht] @@ -1869,7 +1867,7 @@ the edges of $K$ are labeled by 0-sphere modules, and the 0-cells of $K$ are labeled by 1-sphere modules. We can now apply the coend construction and obtain an $n{-}2$-category. -If $Y$ has boundary then this $n{-}2$-category is a module for the $n{-}1$-manifold +If $Y$ has boundary then this $n{-}2$-category is a module for the $n{-}1$-category associated to the (marked, labeled) boundary of $Y$. In particular, if $\bd Y$ is a 1-sphere then we get a 1-sphere module as defined above. @@ -1882,19 +1880,19 @@ \medskip We can now define the $n$-or-less-dimensional part of our $n{+}1$-category $\cS$. -Choose some collection of $n$-categories, then choose some collections of bimodules for +Choose some collection of $n$-categories, then choose some collections of bimodules between these $n$-categories, then choose some collection of 1-sphere modules for the various possible marked 1-spheres labeled by the $n$-categories and bimodules, and so on. Let $L_i$ denote the collection of $i{-}1$-sphere modules we have chosen. (For convenience, we declare a $(-1)$-sphere module to be an $n$-category.) There is a wide range of possibilities. -$L_0$ could contain infinitely many $n$-categories or just one. +The set $L_0$ could contain infinitely many $n$-categories or just one. For each pair of $n$-categories in $L_0$, $L_1$ could contain no bimodules at all or it could contain several. The only requirement is that each $k$-sphere module be a module for a $k$-sphere $n{-}k$-category constructed out of labels taken from $L_j$ for $j