Kick-off event: AI and the future of mathematics and physics - 21.10.2026
In light of recent developments, the incoming kick-off event at the Institut Henri Poincaré will take the form of a debate gathering mathematicians and theoretical physicists around the role of AI in the practice of research. More information will come soon.
Graphical calculus for twisted pivotal categories
byBenjamin Haïoun
Abstract:Graphical calculus provides a convenient way to represent objects and morphisms in a monoidal category using strands in the plane. This viewpoint extends naturally to more general surfaces and leads to constructions of TQFTs, such as the Turaev–Viro theories. In order to obtain oriented TQFTs, one usually uses a pivotal structure. In this talk, I will describe a more general approach based on a twisted pivotal structure, as predicted by the cobordism hypothesis. I will introduce a graphical calculus for these structures, which involves foliated surfaces and many drawings.