This monograph is devoted to monoidal categories and their connections with 3-dimensional topological field theories. Starting with basic definitions, it proceeds to the forefront of current research.

Part 1 introduces monoidal categories and several of their classes, including rigid, pivotal, spherical, fusion, braided, and modular categories. It then presents deep theorems of Muger on the center of a pivotal fusion category. These theorems are proved in Part 2 using the theory of Hopf monads. In Part 3 the authors define the notion of a topological quantum field theory (TQFT) and...