Higher Gauge Theory
Abstract
Description
Just as gauge theory describes the parallel transport of point particles using connections on bundles, higher gauge theory describes the parallel transport of 1-dimensional objects (e.g. strings) using 2-connections on 2-bundles. A 2-bundle is a categorified version of a bundle: that is, one where the fiber is not a manifold but a category with a suitable smooth structure. Where gauge theory uses Lie groups and Lie algebras, higher gauge theory uses their categorified analogues: Lie 2-groups and Lie 2-algebras. We describe a theory of 2-connections on principal 2-bundles and explain how this is related to Breen and Messing's theory of connections on nonabelian gerbes. The distinctive feature of our theory is that a 2-connection allows parallel transport along paths and surfaces in a parametrization-independent way. In terms of Breen and Messing's framework, this requires that the "fake curvature" must vanish. In this paper we summarize the main results of our theory without proofs.
10 encapsulated Postscript figures
10 encapsulated Postscript figures