Three-dimensional TQFTs via string-nets and two-dimensional surgery
Bruce Bartlett · Quantum Topology · 2026
If C is a spherical fusion category, the string-net construction associates to each closed oriented surface \Sigma the vector space Z_{\mathrm{SN}}(\Sigma) of linear combinations of C -labeled graphs on \Sigma modulo local relations, in a way which is functorial with respect to orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of surfaces. We show how to extend this assignment to a 3-dimensional topological quantum field theory (TQFT) by defining how the surgery generators in Juhász’s presentation of the oriented 3-dimensional bordism category act on the string-net vector spaces. We show that the resulting TQFT, which is formulated completely in the two-dimensional graphical language of string-nets, is an alternative description of the Turaev–Viro state sum model.