+Before we introduce the relation between tensor diagrams and TQFTs, we sketch two required preliminaries, namely marked trivalent graphs and TQFTs. First, we define the objects and morphisms of the category of *marked trivalent graphs* $Tri$. A marked trivalent graph is intuitively described via its layout. Consider the 2d-disk $[0,1]\times [0,1]$ with a collection of marked points $\{i_1,\ldots,i_m\}$ at the bottom and a collection of marked points $\{j_1,\ldots,j_n\}$ at the top. A marked trivalent graph is a graph that is drawn inside the disk in such a way that all edges flow within the disk, connecting the marked points at the top with the marked points at the bottom, and meeting at each vertex with exactly three edges. In the category $Tri$, a trivalent graph with marked points $\{i_1,\ldots,i_m\}$ and $\{j_1,\ldots,j_n\}$ at the bottom and top, respectively, plays the role of a morphism between the object $\{i_1,\ldots,i_m\}$ and the object $\{j_1,\ldots,j_n\}$. The composition of two such morphisms, when admissible, is defined to be the vertical concatenation of their corresponding marked trivalent graphs. The vertical concatenation of marked trivalent graphs yields a marked trivalent graph. Finally, any trivalent graph can be built by concatenating horizontally and vertically three elementary trivalent graphs similar to the graph shown in Figure \@ref(fig:functor)(b), ignoring the labels in the figure.
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