For a braided tensor category C and a subcategory K there is a notion of centralizer C_C(K), which is a full tensor subcategory of C. A pre-modular tensor category is known to be modular in the sense of Turaev iff the center Z_2(C):=C_C(C) (not to be confused with the center Z_1 of a tensor category, related to the quantum double) is trivial, i.e. equivalent to Vect, and dim(C)<>0. Here dim(C)=sum_i d(X_i)^2, the X_i being the simple objects. We prove the following double centralizer theorem: Let C be a modular category and K a full tensor subcategory closed w.r.t. direct sums, subobjects and duals. Then C_C(C_C(K))=K and dim(K)dim(C_C(K))=dim(C). We give several applications, the most important being the following. If C is modular and K is a full modular subcategory, then also L=C_C(K) is modular and C is equivalent as a ribbon category to the direct product of K and L. Thus every modular category factorizes (non-uniquely, in general) into prime ones. We study the prime factorizations of the categories D(G)-Mod, where G is a finite abelian group.
This is a review article on modular categories, extending an invited talk given at the workshop "Categorical (co)algebraic methods in quantum informatics and linguistics", Oxford, October 29-31, 2010. To appear in C. Heunen, M. Sadrzadeh, E. Grefenstette (eds.): Compositional methods in quantum physics and linguistics, Oxford University Press, 2012.
In this paper, we study modular categories whose Galois group actions on their simple objects are transitive. We show that such modular categories admit unique factorization into prime transitive factors. The representations of $SL_2(\mathbb{Z})$ associated with transitive modular categories are proven to be minimal and irreducible. Together with the Verlinde formula, we characterize prime transitive modular categories as the Galois conjugates of the adjoint subcategory of the quantum group modular category $\mathcal{C}(\mathfrak{sl}_2,p-2)$ for some prime $p > 3$. As a consequence, we complet…
We first prove an analogue of Lagrange theorem for global dimensions of fusion categories, then we give a complete classifications of pre-modular fusion categories of integer global dimensions less than or equal to $10$.
Arbitrarily many pairwise inequivalent modular categories can share the same modular data. We exhibit a family of examples that are module categories over twisted Drinfeld doubles of finite groups, and thus in particular integral modular categories.
In (B-Gran, 2004), was given a categorical formulation of the Shifting Lemma which is a characterization of the Congruence Modular Varieties among all the variety of Universal Algebra, introduced in (Gumm, 1983). Starting from a characterization of this Shifting Lemma by a property of the fibers of the fibration of points $¶\EE$ (B, 2005), on the model of what happens for Mal'tsev categories, we shall investigate three directions:\\ 1) a new one: in following the golden thread of abelian split epimorphisms naturally provided by this characterization;\\ 2) a more or less expected one: in measur…
We classify all modular categories of dimension $4m$, where $m$ is an odd square-free integer, and all ranks $6$ and $7$ weakly integral modular categories. This completes the classification of weakly integral modular categories through rank $7$. Our results imply that all integral modular categories of rank at most $7$ are pointed (that is, every simple object has dimension $1$). All strictly weakly integral (weakly integral but non-integral) modular categories of ranks $6$ and $7$ have dimension $4m$, with $m$ an odd square free integer, so their classification is an application of our main …
We study properties of relative modular categories and derive sufficient conditions for their existence. In particular, we derive sufficient conditions for relative pre-modular categories to be non-degenerate and relative modular, and for the quotient of categories taking a particular form by their ideal of negligible modules to be generically semi-simple.
In this short note we investigate the process of constructing auto-equivalences of modular tensor categories using invertible objects. We derive conditions on the invertible object for the resulting auto-equivalence to be either monoidal, braided, or pivotal. We also discuss the composition of these auto-equivalences constructed from invertible objects. To demonstrate the practicality of this construction, we construct auto-equivalences of several real-world examples of modular tensor categories.
We classify indecomposable commutative separable (special Frobenius) algebras and their local modules in (untwisted) group-theoretical modular categories. This gives a description of modular invariants for group-theoretical modular data. As a bi-product we provide an answer to the question when (and in how many ways) two group-theoretical modular categories are equivalent as ribbon categories.
We develop abstract nonsense for module categories over monoidal categories (this is a straightforward categorification of modules over rings). As applications we show that any semisimple monoidal category with finitely many simple objects is equivalent to the category of representations of a weak Hopf algebra (theorem of T. Hayashi) and classify module categories over the fusion category of $\hat{sl}(2)$ at a positive integer level where we meet once again ADE classification pattern.
Modular tensor categories are generalizations of the representation categories of quantum groups at roots of unity axiomatizing the properties necessary to produce 3-dimensional TQFTs. Although other constructions have since been found, quantum groups remain the most prolific source. Recently proposed applications to quantum computing have provided an impetus to understand and describe these examples as explicitly as possible, especially those that are "physically feasible." We survey the current status of the problem of producing unitary modular tensor categories from quantum groups, emphasiz…
Modular categories are important algebraic structures in a variety of subjects in mathematics and physics. We provide an explicit, motivated and elementary definition of a modular category over a field of characteristic 0 as an equivalence class of solutions to a set of polynomial equations. We conclude that within each class of solutions, there is one which consists entirely of algebraic numbers. These algebraic solutions make it possible to discuss defining algebraic number fields of modular categories and their Galois twists. One motivation for such a definition is an arithmetic theory of m…
We study integral almost square-free modular categories; i.e., integral modular categories of Frobenius-Perron dimension $p^nm$, where $p$ is a prime number, $m$ is a square-free natural number and ${\rm gcd}(p,m)=1$. We prove that if $n\leq 5$ or $m$ is prime with $m<p$ then they are group-theoretical. This generalizes several results in the literature and gives a partial answer to the question posed by the first author and H. Tucker. As an application, we prove that an integral modular category whose Frobenius-Perron dimensions is odd and less than $1125$ is group-theoretical.
Let $p\geq5$ be a prime, we show that a non-pointed modular fusion category $\mathcal{C}$ is Grothendieck equivalent to $\mathcal{C}(\mathfrak{sl}_2,2(p-1))_A^0$ if and only if $\dim(\mathcal{C})=p\cdot u$, where $u$ is a certain totally positive algebraic unit and $A$ is the regular algebra of the Tannakian subcategory $\text{Rep}(\mathbb{Z}_2)\subseteq\mathcal{C}(\mathfrak{sl}_2,2(p-1))$. As a direct corollary, we classify non-simple modular fusion categories of global dimensions $p^2$.
Let G be a finite group. Given a finite G-set X and a modular tensor category C, we construct a weak G-equivariant fusion category, called the permutation equivariant tensor category. The construction is geometric and uses the formalism of modular functors. As an application, we concretely work out a complete set of structure morphisms for Z/2-permutation equivariant categories, finishing thereby a program we initiated in an earlier paper arXiv:0812.0986 [math.CT].
This paper introduces a computational approach to classifying low rank modular categories up to their modular data. The modular data of a modular category is a pair of matrices, $(S,T)$. Virtually all the numerical information of the category is contained within or derived from the modular data. The modular data satisfy a variety of criteria that Bruillard, Ng, Rowell, and Wang call the admissibility criteria. Of note is the Galois group of the $S$ matrix is an abelian group that acts faithfully on the columns of the eigenvalue matrix, $s = (\frac{S_{ij}}{S_{0j}})$. This gives an injection fro…
Based on a weak action of a finite group J on a finite group G, we present a geometric construction of J-equivariant Dijkgraaf-Witten theory as an extended topological field theory. The construction yields an explicitly accessible class of equivariant modular tensor categories. For the action of a group J on a group G, the category is described as the representation category of a J-ribbon algebra that generalizes the Drinfel'd double of the finite group G.
We show that once-extended anomalous 3-dimensional topological quantum field theories valued in the 2-category of k-linear categories are in canonical bijection with modular tensor categories equipped with a square root of the global dimension in each factor.
This is a continuation of the paper "Modular tensor categories and orbifold theories", arXiv:math.QA/0104242. It discusses orbifold models of conformal filed theory, or, in mathematical language, question of constructing the category of representations of the fixed point algebra $V^G$ for a given vertex operator algebra $V$ with an action of a finite group $G$. The previous paper gave a proof of well-known conjecture of Dijkgraaf-Vafa-Verlinde-Verlinde giving a complete answer to this question in the holomorphic case (when $V$ has a unique simple module, $V$ itself) under the assumption that c…
We show that all isomorphism classes of even rank Tambara-Yamagami categories arise as $\mathbb{Z}_2$-twisted representations of conformal nets. As a consequence, we show that their Drinfel'd centers are realized by (generalized) orbifolds of conformal nets associated with (self-dual) lattices. The quantum double subfactors of even rank Tambara-Yamagami categories are Bisch-Haagerup subfactors and we describe their (dual) principal graphs. For every abelian group of odd order the Drinfel'd centers of the associated Tambara-Yamagami categories give a fusion ring generalizing the Verlinde ring $…
We prove a rank-finiteness conjecture for modular categories: up to equivalence, there are only finitely many modular categories of any fixed rank. Our technical advance is a generalization of the Cauchy theorem in group theory to the context of spherical fusion categories. For a modular category $\mathcal{C}$ with $N=ord(T)$, the order of the modular $T$-matrix, the Cauchy theorem says that the set of primes dividing the global quantum dimension $D^2$ in the Dedekind domain $\mathbb{Z}[e^{\frac{2πi}{N}}]$ is identical to that of $N$.
A formula for the modular data of $\mathcal{Z}(Vec^ωG)$ was given by Coste, Gannon and Ruelle in arXiv:hep-th/0001158, but without an explicit proof for arbitrary 3-cocycles. This paper presents a derivation using the representation category of the quasi Hopf algebra $D^ωG$. Further, we have written code to compute this modular data for many pairs of small finite groups and 3-cocycles. This code is optimised using Galois symmetries of the S and T matrices. We have posted a database of modular data for the Drinfeld center of every Morita equivalence class of pointed fusion categories of dimensi…
We construct a modular functor which takes its values in the monoidal bicategory of finite categories, left exact functors and natural transformations. The modular functor is defined on bordisms that are 2-framed. Accordingly we do not need to require that the finite categories appearing in our construction are semisimple, nor that the finite tensor categories that are assigned to two-dimensional strata are endowed with a pivotal structure. Our prescription can be understood as a state-sum construction. The state-sum variables are assigned to one-dimensional strata and take values in bimodule …
The definitions of the $n^{th}$ Gauss sum and the associated $n^{th}$ central charge are introduced for premodular categories $\mathcal{C}$ and $n\in\mathbb{Z}$. We first derive an expression of the $n^{th}$ Gauss sum of a modular category $\mathcal{C}$, for any integer $n$ coprime to the order of the T-matrix of $\mathcal{C}$, in terms of the first Gauss sum, the global dimension, the twist and their Galois conjugates. As a consequence, we show for these $n$, the higher Gauss sums are $d$-numbers and the associated central charges are roots of unity. In particular, if $\mathcal{C}$ is the Dri…
We give a proof of a formula for the trace of self-braidings (in an arbitrary channel) in UMTCs which first appeared in the context of rational conformal field theories (CFTs). The trace is another invariant for UMTCs which depends only on modular data, and contains the expression of the Frobenius-Schur indicator as a special case. Furthermore, we discuss some applications of the trace formula to the realizability problem of modular data and to the classification of UMTCs.
The two pillars of rational conformal field theory and rational vertex operator algebras are modularity of characters on the one hand and its interpretation of modules as objects in a modular tensor category on the other one. Overarching these pillars is the Verlinde formula. In this paper we consider the more general class of logarithmic conformal field theories and $C_2$-cofinite vertex operator algebras. We suggest that their modular pillar are trace functions with insertions corresponding to intertwiners of the projective cover of the vacuum, and that the categorical pillar are finite tens…
We show that a braided monoidal category C can be endowed with the structure of a right (and left) module category over C \times C. In fact, there is a family of such module category structures, and they are mutually isomorphic if and only if C allows for a twist. For the case that C is premodular we compute the internal End of the tensor unit of C, and we show that it is an Azumaya algebra if C is modular. As an application to two-dimensional rational conformal field theory, we show that the module categories describe the permutation modular invariant for models based on the product of two id…
We focus on the problem of producing new modular tensor categories from Hopf algebras. To do this, we first give a general method to construct factorizable Hopf algebras. Then we apply the method to construct two families of ribbon factorizable Hopf algebras which are not quantum groups or Drinfel'd double. One family are point Hopf algebras which give non-semisimple modular tensor categories, while the other family are C^*-Hopf algebras which give new unitary modular tensor categories. Lastly, we determine the fusion rings of these unitary modular tensor categories.
The modular data of a modular category $\mathcal{C}$, consisting of the $S$-matrix and the $T$-matrix, is known to be an incomplete invariant of $\mathcal{C}$. More generally, the invariants of framed links and knots defined by a modular category as part of a topological quantum field theory can be viewed as numerical invariants of the category. Among these invariants, we study the invariant defined by the Borromean link colored by three objects. Thus we obtain a tensor that we call $B$. We derive a formula for the Borromean tensor for the twisted Drinfeld doubles of finite groups. Along with …
In this paper, we study $G$-equivariant tensor categories for a finite group $G$. These categories were introduced by Turaev under the name of $G$-crossed categories; the motivating example of such a category is the category of twisted modules over a vertex operator algebra $V$ with a finite group of automorphisms $G$. We discuss the notion of "orbifold quotient" of such a category (in the example above, this quotient is the category of modules over the subalgebra of invariants $V^G$). We introduce an extended Verlinde algebra for a $G$-equivariant tensor category and give a simple description…
We consider algebras in a modular tensor category C. If the trace pairing of an algebra A in C is non-degenerate we associate to A a commutative algebra Z(A), called the full centre, in a doubled version of the category C. We prove that two simple algebras with non-degenerate trace pairing are Morita-equivalent if and only if their full centres are isomorphic as algebras. This result has an interesting interpretation in two-dimensional rational conformal field theory; it implies that there cannot be several incompatible sets of boundary conditions for a given bulk theory.
Motivated by ideas from string theory and quantum field theory new invariants of knots and 3-dimensional manifolds have been constructed from complex algebraic structures such as Hopf algebras (Reshetikhin and Turaev), monoidal categories with additional structure (Turaev and Yetter), and modular functors (Walker and Kontsevich). These constructions are very closely related. We take a unifying categorical approach based on a natural 2-dimensional generalization of a topological field theory in the sense of Atiyah and Segal, and show that the axioms defining these complex algebraic structures a…
Based on our previous work on an arithmetic analogue of Christol's theorem, this paper studies in more detail the structure of the lambda-ring $E_K = K \otimes W_{O_K}^a (O_{\bar{K}})$ of algebraic Witt vectors for number fields $K$. First developing general results concerning $E_K$, we apply them to the case when $K$ is an imaginary quadratic field. The main results include the "modularity theorem" for algebraic Witt vectors, which claims that certain deformation families $f: M_2(\widehat{\mathbb{Z}}) \times \mathfrak{H} \rightarrow \mathbb{C}$ of modular functions of finite level always defi…
A finite bosonic or fermionic symmetry can be described uniquely by a symmetric fusion category $\mathcal{E}$. In this work, we propose that 2+1D topological/SPT orders with a fixed finite symmetry $\mathcal{E}$ are classified, up to $E_8$ quantum Hall states, by the unitary modular tensor categories $\mathcal{C}$ over $\mathcal{E}$ and the modular extensions of each $\mathcal{C}$. In the case $\mathcal{C}=\mathcal{E}$, we prove that the set $\mathcal{M}_{ext}(\mathcal{E})$ of all modular extensions of $\mathcal{E}$ has a natural structure of a finite abelian group. We also prove that the set …
In this paper, we try to answer the following question: given a modular tensor category $\A$ with an action of a compact group $G$, is it possible to describe in a suitable sense the ``quotient'' category $\A/G$? We give a full answer in the case when $\A=\vec$ is the category of vector spaces; in this case, $\vec/G$ turns out to be the category of representation of Drinfeld's double $D(G)$. This should be considered as category theory analog of topological identity ${pt}//G=BG$. This implies a conjecture of Dijkgraaf, Vafa, E. Verlinde and H. Verlinde regarding so-called orbifold conformal fi…
We discuss algebraic and representation theoretic structures in braided tensor categories C which obey certain finiteness conditions. Much interesting structure of such a category is encoded in a Hopf algebra H in C. In particular, the Hopf algebra H gives rise to representations of the modular group SL(2,Z) on various morphism spaces. We also explain how every symmetric special Frobenius algebra in a semisimple modular category provides additional structure related to these representations.
We find a non-trivial representation of the symmetric group $S_n$ on the $n$-fold Deligne product $\mathcal{C}^{\boxtimes n}$ of a modular tensor category $\mathcal{C}$ for any $n \geq 2$. This is accomplished by checking that a particular family of $\mathcal{C}^{\boxtimes n}$-bimodule categories representing adjacent transpositions satisfies the symmetric group relations with respect to the relative Deligne product. The bimodule categories are based on a permutation action of $S_2$ on $\mathcal{C}\boxtimes\mathcal{C}$ discussed by Fuchs and Schweigert in hep-th/1310.1329 , for which we show t…
Given a braided tensor *-category C with conjugate (dual) objects and irreducible unit together with a full symmetric subcategory S we define a crossed product C\rtimes S. This construction yields a tensor *-category with conjugates and an irreducible unit. (A *-category is a category enriched over Vect_C with positive *-operation.) A Galois correspondence is established between intermediate categories sitting between C and C\rtimes S and closed subgroups of the Galois group Gal(C\rtimes S/C)=Aut_C(C\rtimes S) of C, the latter being isomorphic to the compact group associated to S by the dualit…
We define a symmetric monoidal (4,3)-category with duals whose objects are certain enriched multi-fusion categories. For every modular tensor category $\mathcal{C}$, there is a self enriched multi-fusion category $\mathfrak{C}$ giving rise to an object of this symmetric monoidal (4,3)-category. We conjecture that the extended 3D TQFT given by the fully dualizable object $\mathfrak{C}$ extends the 1-2-3-dimensional Reshetikhin-Turaev TQFT associated to the modular tensor category $\mathcal{C}$ down to dimension zero.
We establish an algebra-isomorphism between the complexified Grothendieck ring F of certain bimodule categories over a modular tensor category and the endomorphism algebra of appropriate morphism spaces of those bimodule categories. This provides a purely categorical proof of a conjecture by Ostrik concerning the structure of F. As a by-product we obtain a concrete expression for the structure constants of the Grothendieck ring of the bimodule category in terms of endomorphisms of the tensor unit of the underlying modular tensor category.
Let V be a simple vertex operator algebra satisfying the following conditions: (i) The homogeneous subspaces of V of weights less than 0 are 0, the homogeneous subspace of V of weight 0 is spanned by the vacuum and V' is isomorphic to V as a V-module. Every weak V-module gradable by nonnegative integers is completely reducible. (iii) V is C_2-cofinite. (In the presence of Condition (i), Conditions (ii) and (iii) are equivalent to a single condition, namely, that every weak V-module is completely reducible.) Using the results obtained by the author in the formulation and proof of the general ve…
We study the Witt classes of the modular categories $SO(2r)_{2r}$ associated with quantum groups of type $D_r$ at $4r-2$th roots of unity. From these classes we derive infinitely many Witt classes of order 2 that are linearly independent modulo the subgroup generated by the pointed modular categories. In particular we produce an example of a simple, completely anisotropic modular category that is not pointed whose Witt class has order 2, answering a question of Davydov, Müger, Nikshych and Ostrik. Our results show that the trivial Witt class $[Vec]$ has infinitely many square roots modulo the …
In this paper, we introduce the definitions of signatures of braided fusion categories, which are proved to be invariants of their Witt equivalence classes. These signature assignments define group homomorphisms on the Witt group. The higher central charges of pseudounitary modular categories can be expressed in terms of these signatures, which are applied to prove that the Ising modular categories have infinitely many square roots in the Witt group. This result is further applied to prove a conjecture of Davydov-Nikshych-Ostrik on the super-Witt group: the torsion subgroup generated by the co…
It has been conjectured that every $(2+1)$-TQFT is a Chern-Simons-Witten (CSW) theory labelled by a pair $(G,λ)$, where $G$ is a compact Lie group, and $λ\in H^4(BG;Z)$ a cohomology class. We study two TQFTs constructed from Jones' subfactor theory which are believed to be counterexamples to this conjecture: one is the quantum double of the even sectors of the $E_6$ subfactor, and the other is the quantum double of the even sectors of the Haagerup subfactor. We cannot prove mathematically that the two TQFTs are indeed counterexamples because CSW TQFTs, while physically defined, are not yet mat…
