Let $F(M,k)$ be the configuration space of ordered $k-$tuples of distinct points in the manifold $M$. Using the Fadell-Neuwirth fibration, we prove that the configuration spaces $F(M,k)$ are never contractible, for $k\geq 2$. As applications of our results, we will calculate the LS category and topological complexity for its loop space and suspension.
Numerably contractible spaces play an important role in the theory of homotopy pushouts and pullbacks. The corresponding results imply that a number of well known weak homotopy equivalences are genuine ones if numerably contractible spaces are involved. In this paper we give a first systematic investigation of numerably contractible spaces. We list the elementary properties of the category of these spaces. We then study simplicial objects in this category. In particular, we show that the topological realization functor preserves fibration sequences if the base is path-connected and numerably c…
For a fixed $N$, we analyze the space of all sequences $z=(z_1,\dots,z_N)$, approximating a continuous function on the circle, with a given persistence diagram $P$, and show that the typical components of this space are homotopy equivalent to $S^1$. We also consider the space of functions on $Y$-shaped (resp., star-shaped) trees with a 2-point persistence diagram, and show that this space is homotopy equivalent to $S^1$ (resp., to a bouquet of circles).
It is proved that the projective model structure of the category of topologically enriched diagrams of topological spaces over a topologically enriched locally contractible small category is Quillen equivalent to the standard Quillen model structure of topological spaces. We give a geometric interpretation of this fact in directed homotopy.
We study actions of discrete groups on contractible topological spaces in which either (1) all stabilizers lie in the family of subgroups of prime power order or (2) all stabilizers lie in the family of finite subgroups. We compare the classifying spaces for actions with stabilizers in these two families, the Kropholler hierarchies build on these two families, and group cohomology relative to these two families.
We introduce the notion of the "covering type" of a space, which is more subtle that the notion of Lusternik Schnirelman category. It measures the complexity of a space which arises from coverings by contractible subspaces whose non-empty intersections are also contractible.
We show that if $K$ is a nilpotent finite complex, then $ΩK$ can be built from spheres using fibrations and homotopy (inverse) limits. This is applied to show that if ${\mathrm {map}}_*(X,S^n)$ is weakly contractible for all $n$, then ${\mathrm {map}}_*(X,K)$ is weakly contractible for any nilpotent finite complex $K$.
This paper presents some partial answers to the following question. QUESTION. If a normal space X is the union of an increasing sequence of open sets U(1), U(2), U(3) ... such that each U(n) contracts to a point in X, must X be contractible? The main results of the paper are: THEOREM 1. If a normal space X is the union of a sequence of open subsets { U(n) } such that the closure of U(n) is contained in U(n+1) and U(n) contracts to a point in U(n+1) for each n > 0, then X is contractible. COROLLARY 2. If a locally compact sigma-compact normal space X is the union of an increasing sequence of op…
We study chain complexes of field configurations and observables for Abelian gauge theory on contractible manifolds, and show that they can be extended to non-contractible manifolds by using techniques from homotopy theory. The extension prescription yields functors from a category of manifolds to suitable categories of chain complexes. The extended functors properly describe the global field and observable content of Abelian gauge theory, while the original gauge field configurations and observables on contractible manifolds are recovered up to a natural weak equivalence.
According to Kiyoshi Igusa a generalized Morse function on an n-dimensional manifold M is a smooth function with only Morse and birth-death singularities and a framed function is a generalized Morse function with an additional structure: a framing of the negative eigenspace at each critical point of the function f. In his paper "The space of framed functions" (Trans. of Amer. Math. Soc., 301(1987), 431-477) Igusa proved that the space of framed generalized Morse functions is (n-1)-connected. In the paper "On the Classification of Topological Field Theories" (arXiv:0905.0465) Jacob Lurie gave a…
Denote by $M(P)$ the configuration space of a planar polygonal linkage, that is, the space of all possible planar configurations modulo congruences, including configurations with self-intersections. A particular interest attracts its subset $M^o(P) \subset M(P)$ of all configurations \emph{without} self-intersections. R. Connelly, E. Demaine, and G. Rote proved that $M^o(P)$ is contractible and conjectured that so is its closure $\bar{M^o(P)}$. We disprove this conjecture by showing that a special choice of $P$ makes the homologies $H_k(\bar{M^o(P)})$ non-trivial.
This paper expands on and refines some known and less well-known results about the finite subset spaces of a simplicial complex $X$ including their connectivity and their top homology groups. It also discusses the inclusion of the singletons into the three fold subset space and shows that this subspace is weakly contractible but generally non-contractible unless $X$ is a co-$H$ group. Some homological calculations are provided.
We show that the simplicial volume of a contractible 3-manifold not homeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}^3$ is infinite. As a consequence, the Euclidean space may be characterized as the unique contractible $3$-manifold with vanishing minimal volume, or as the unique contractible $3$-manifold supporting a complete finite-volume Riemannian metric with Ricci curvature uniformly bounded from below. On the contrary, we show that in every dimension $n\geq 4$ there exists a contractible $n$-manifold with vanishing simplicial volume not homeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}^n$. We also compute the spectrum of the simpl…
A classic result states that on any locally contractible and paracompact topological space, singular cohomology and sheaf cohomology are isomorphic. A result by Ramanan claims that the paracompactness assumption may be removed, but Ramanan's proof in fact implicitly relies on the assumption of paracompactness and does not work in the stated generality. This paper gives a modified proof that, in fact, singular cohomology and sheaf cohomology agree on any locally contractible topological space.
Vietoris--Rips Contractibility for Dense Subsets of Finite-Dimensional Normed Spaces
Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute, University of California San Diego(加州大学圣地亚哥分校哈奇奥格鲁数据科学研究所);Department of Mathematics, University of Oklahoma(俄克拉荷马大学数学系)
We define an algebro-geometric model for the space of rational maps from a smooth curve X to an algebraic group G, and show that this space is homologically contractible. As a consequence, we deduce that the moduli space Bun(G) of G-bundles on X is uniformized by the appropriate rational version of the affine Grassmannian, where the uniformizing map has contractible fibers.
As in the case of the associahedron and cyclohedron, the permutohedron can also be defined as an appropriate compactification of a configuration space of points on an interval or on a circle. The construction of the compactification endows the permutohedron with a projection to the cyclohedron, and the cyclohedron with a projection to the associahedron. We show that the preimages of any point via these projections might not be homeomorphic to (a cell decomposition of) a disk, but are still contractible. We briefly explain an application of this result to the study of knot spaces from the point…
We classify p-toral subgroups of U(n) that can have non-contractible fixed points under the action of U(n) on the complex of partitions of complex n-space into mutually orthogonal subspaces.
A point of a digital space is called simple if it can be deleted from the space without altering topology. This paper introduces the notion simple set of points of a digital space. The definition is based on contractible spaces and contractible transformations. A set of points in a digital space is called simple if it can be contracted to a point without changing topology of the space. It is shown that contracting a simple set of points does not change the homotopy type of a digital space, and the number of points in a digital space without simple points can be reduces by contracting simple se…
A toric origami manifold is a generalization of a symplectic toric manifold (or a toric symplectic manifold). The origami symplectic form is allowed to degenerate in a good controllable way in contrast to the usual symplectic form. It is widely known that symplectic toric manifolds are encoded by Delzant polytopes, and the cohomology and equivariant cohomology rings of a symplectic toric manifold can be described in terms of the corresponding polytope. Recently, Holm and Pires described the cohomology of a toric origami manifold $M$ in terms of the orbit space $M/T$ when $M$ is orientable and …