Paravortices: loop braid representations with both generators involutive

Abstract

We first motivate the study of a certain quotient of the loop braid category, both for the mathematics underpinning recent approaches to topological quantum computation; and as a key example in non-semisimple higher representation theory. For reasons that will become clear, we call this quotient the mixed doubles category, $MD$. Then our main result is a theorem classifying all mixed doubles representations in rank-2. Each representation yields a mixed doubles group representation for every loop braid group $LB_n$, and we are able to analyse the unified linear representation theory of many of these sequences of representations, using a mixture of very classical, classical, and new techniques. In particular this is a motivating example for the `glue' generalisation of charge-conserving representation theory (a form of rigid higher non-semisimplicity) introduced recently.