We prove that any “finite-type” component of a stability space of a triangulated category is contractible. The motivating example of such a component is the stability space of the Calabi–Yau–N category D(Gamma_N Q) associated to an ADE Dynkin quiver. In addition to showing that this is contractible we prove that the braid group Br(Q) acts freely upon it by spherical twists, in particular that the spherical twist group Br(Gamma_N Q) is isomorphic to Br(Q). This generalises the result of Brav–Thomas for the N=2 case. Other classes of triangulated categories with finite-type components in their stability spaces include locally finite triangulated categories with finite-rank Grothendieck group and discrete derived categories of finite global dimension.

A two-dimensional chiral conformal field theory can be viewed mathematically as the representation theory of its chiral algebra, a vertex operator algebra. Vertex operator algebras are especially well suited for studying logarithmic conformal field theory (in which correlation functions have logarithmic singularities arising from non-semisimple modules for the chiral algebra) because of the logarithmic tensor category theory of Huang, Lepowsky, and Zhang. In this paper, we study not-necessarily-semisimple or rigid braided tensor categories C of modules for the fixed-point vertex operator subalgebra V^G of a vertex operator (super)algebra V with finite automorphism group G. The main results are that every V^G-module in C with a unital and associative V-action is a direct sum of g-twisted V-modules for possibly several g∈G, that the category of all such twisted V-modules is a braided G-crossed (super)category, and that the G-equivariantization of this braided G-crossed (super)category is braided tensor equivalent to the original category C of V^G-modules. This generalizes results of Kirillov and Müger proved using rigidity and semisimplicity. We also apply the main results to the orbifold rationality problem: whether V^G is strongly rational if V is strongly rational. We show that V^G is indeed strongly rational if V is strongly rational, G is any finite automorphism group, and V^G is C_2-cofinite.

Let V⊆A be a conformal inclusion of vertex operator algebras and let C be a category of grading-restricted generalized V-modules that admits the vertex algebraic braided tensor category structure of Huang-Lepowsky-Zhang. We give conditions under which C inherits semisimplicity from the category of grading-restricted generalized A-modules in C, and vice versa. The most important condition is that A be a rigid V-module in C with non-zero categorical dimension, that is, we assume the index of V as a subalgebra of A is finite and non-zero. As a consequence, we show that if A is strongly rational, then V is also strongly rational under the following conditions: A contains V as a V-module direct summand, V is C_2-cofinite with a rigid tensor category of modules, and A has non-zero categorical dimension as a V-module. These results are vertex operator algebra interpretations of theorems proved for general commutative algebras in braided tensor categories. We also generalize these results to the case that A is a vertex operator superalgebra.

We relate commutative algebras in braided tensor categories to braid-reversed tensor equivalences, motivated by vertex algebra representation theory. First, for C a braided tensor category, we give a detailed construction of the canonical algebra in C⊠C^rev: if C is semisimple but not necessarily finite or rigid, then ⨁X∈Irr(C) X′⊠X is a commutative algebra, with X′ a representing object for Hom_C(∙⊗_C X,1_C). Conversely, let A=⨁i∈I U_i ⊠ V_i be a simple commutative algebra in U⊠V with U semisimple and rigid but not necessarily finite, and V rigid but not necessarily semisimple. If the unit objects of U and V form a commuting pair in A, we show there is a braid-reversed equivalence between subcategories of U and V sending U_i to (V_i)*. When U and V are module categories for simple vertex operator algebras U and V, we glue U and V along U⊠V via a map τ: Irr(U)→Obj(V) such that τ(U)=V to create A=⨁X∈Irr(U) X′⊗τ(X). Thus under certain conditions, τ extends to a braid-reversed equivalence between U and V if and only if A is a simple conformal vertex algebra extending U⊗V. As examples, we glue Kazhdan-Lusztig categories at generic levels to obtain new vertex algebras extending the tensor product of two affine vertex algebras, and we prove braid-reversed equivalences between certain module categories for affine vertex algebras and W-algebras at admissible levels.

Universal extensions arise naturally in the Auslander bijections. For an abelian category having Auslander-Reiten duality, we exploit a bijection triangle, which involves the Auslander bijections, universal extensions and the Auslander-Reiten duality. Some consequences are given, in particular, a conjecture by Ringel is verified.