Reflections on topological quantum field theory (Q1387187)

The paper introduces the basic notions of topological quantum field theory (TQFT) in a pedagogical way. Accessible to physicists and mathematicians alike, this short paper builds up on a simple example (\(S^2\) with an appropriate symplectic form) to define \(d\)-dimensional TQFT categorically. Following a construction of Turaev, it proposes a new class of TQFTs appropriate for embedded manifolds.