Categorifying the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov Connection

Abstract: In the context of higher gauge theory, we construct a flat and fake flat 2-connection, in the configuration space of $n$ particles in the complex plane, categorifying the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov connection. To this end, we define the differential crossed module of horizontal 2-chord diagrams, categorifying the Lie algebra of horizontal chord diagrams in a set of $n$ parallel copies of the interval. This therefore yields a categorification of the 4-term relation. We carefully discuss the representation theory of differential crossed modules in chain-complexes of vector spaces, which makes it possible to formulate the notion of an infinitesimal 2-R matrix in a differential crossed module.