Bordismuskategorien

This seminar will be an introduction to (co)bordism categories and topological quantum field theories (TQFT) with a special emphasis on the 2-dimensional case. One of the main goals will be a categorical characterization of 2-dimensional TQFTs as commutative Frobenius algebras. The seminar should be of interest to anyone interested in manifold topology and/or applications of categorical methods to geometry. Prerequisites Some familiarity with smooth manifolds will be assumed. Previous knowledge of category theory will be helpful but all necessary material will be briefly reviewed. Main references Books: J. Kock "Frobenius algebras and 2D topological quantum field theories" M. Hirsch "Differential topology" Research articles: M. Atiyah "Topological quantum field theories" L. Abrams "Two-dimensional topological quantum field theories and Frobenius algebras"