Structured Topological Field Theories via Crossed Simplicial Groups

Abstract

We show how the framework of crossed simplicial groups may be used to provide a classification of topological field theories on open cobordism categories defined by reductions of the structure group to a planar Lie group. Such theories are equivalent to algebras equipped with a group action and a non-degenerate trace satisfying certain invariance requirements which generalize the notion of a frobenius algebra.