Homotopical connectivity

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In algebraic topology, homotopical connectivity is a property describing a topological space based on the dimension of its holes. In general, low homotopical connectivity indicates that the space has at least one low-dimensional hole. The concept of n-connectedness generalizes the concepts of path-connectedness and simple connectedness.

An equivalent definition of homotopical connectivity is based on the homotopy groups of the space. A space is n-connected (or n-simple connected) if its first n homotopy groups are trivial.

Homotopical connectivity is defined for maps, too. A map is n-connected if it is an isomorphism "up to dimension n, in homotopy".

Definition using holes[edit]

All definitions below consider a topological space X.

A hole in X is, informally, a thing that prevents some suitably-placed sphere from continuously shrinking to a point.[1]: 78  Equivalently, it is a sphere that cannot be continuously extended to a ball. Formally,

  • A d-dimensional sphere in X is a continuous function .
  • A d-dimensional ball in X is a continuous function .
  • A d-dimensional-boundary hole in X is a d-dimensional sphere that is not nullhomotopic (- cannot be shrunk continuously to a point). Equivalently, it is a d-dimensional sphere that cannot be continuously extended to a (d+1)-dimensional ball. It is sometimes called a (d+1)-dimensional hole (d+1 is the dimension of the "missing ball").
  • X is called n-connected if it contains no holes of boundary-dimension dn.[1]: 78, Sec.4.3 
  • The homotopical connectivity of X, denoted , is the largest integer n for which X is n-connected.
  • A slightly different definition of connectivity, which makes some computations simpler, is: the smallest integer d such that X contains a d-dimensional hole. This connectivity parameter is denoted by , and it differs from the previous parameter by 2, that is, .[2]

Examples[edit]

A 2-dimensional hole (a hole with a 1-dimensional boundary).
  • A 2-dimensional hole (a hole with a 1-dimensional boundary) is a circle (S1) in X, that cannot be shrunk continuously to a point in X. An example is shown on the figure at the right. The yellow region is the topological space X; it is a pentagon with a triangle removed. The blue circle is a 1-dimensional sphere in X. It cannot be shrunk continuously to a point in X; therefore; X has a 2-dimensional hole. Another example is the punctured plane - the Euclidean plane with a single point removed, . To make a 2-dimensional hole in a 3-dimensional ball, make a tunnel through it.[1] In general, a space contains a 1-dimensional-boundary hole if and only if it is not simply-connected. Hence, simply-connected is equivalent to 1-connected. X is 0-connected but not 1-connected, so . The lowest dimension of a hole is 2, so .
    A 3-dimensional hole.
  • A 3-dimensional hole (a hole with a 2-dimensional boundary) is shown on the figure at the right. Here, X is a cube (yellow) with a ball removed (white). The 2-dimensional sphere (blue) cannot be continuously shrunk to a single point. X is simply-connected but not 2-connected, so . The smallest dimension of a hole is 3, so .
A 1-dimensional hole.
  • For a 1-dimensional hole (a hole with a 0-dimensional boundary) we need to consider - the zero-dimensional sphere. What is a zero dimensional sphere? - For every integer d, the sphere is the boundary of the (d+1)-dimensional ball . So is the boundary of , which is the segment [0,1]. Therefore, is the set of two disjoint points {0, 1}. A zero-dimensional sphere in X is just a set of two points in X. If there is such a set, that cannot be continuously shrunk to a single point in X (or continuously extended to a segment in X), this means that there is no path between the two points, that is, X is not path-connected; see the figure at the right. Hence, path-connected is equivalent to 0-connected. X is not 0-connected, so . The lowest dimension of a hole is 1, so .
  • A 0-dimensional hole is a missing 0-dimensional ball. A 0-dimensional ball is a single point; its boundary is an empty set. Therefore, the existence of a 0-dimensional hole is equivalent to the space being empty. Hence, non-empty is equivalent to (-1)-connected. For an empty space X, and , which is its smallest possible value.
  • A ball has no holes of any dimension. Therefore, its connectivity is infinite: .

Homotopical connectivity of spheres[edit]

In general, for every integer d, (and )[1]: 79, Thm.4.3.2  The proof requires two directions:

  • Proving that , that is, cannot be continuously shrunk to a single point. This can be proved using the Borsuk–Ulam theorem.
  • Proving that , that is, that is, every continuous map for can be continuously shrunk to a single point.

Definition using groups[edit]

A space X is called n-connected, for n ≥ 0, if it is non-empty, and all its homotopy groups of order dn are the trivial group:

where denotes the i-th homotopy group and 0 denotes the trivial group.[3] The two definitions are equivalent. The requirement for an n-connected space consists of requirements for all dn:

  • The requirement for d=-1 means that X should be nonempty.
  • The requirement for d=0 means that X should be path-connected.
  • The requirement for any d ≥ 1 means that X contains no holes of boundary dimension d. That is, every d-dimensional sphere in X is homotopic to a constant map. Therefore, the d-th homotopy group of X is trivial. The opposite is also true: If X has a hole with a d-dimensional boundary, then there is a d-dimensional sphere that is not homotopic to a constant map, so the d-th homotopy group of X is not trivial. In short, X has a hole with a d-dimensional boundary, if-and-only-if .The homotopical connectivity of X is the largest integer n for which X is n-connected.[4]

The requirements of being non-empty and path-connected can be interpreted as (−1)-connected and 0-connected, respectively, which is useful in defining 0-connected and 1-connected maps, as below. The 0th homotopy set can be defined as:

This is only a pointed set, not a group, unless X is itself a topological group; the distinguished point is the class of the trivial map, sending S0 to the base point of X. Using this set, a space is 0-connected if and only if the 0th homotopy set is the one-point set. The definition of homotopy groups and this homotopy set require that X be pointed (have a chosen base point), which cannot be done if X is empty.

A topological space X is path-connected if and only if its 0th homotopy group vanishes identically, as path-connectedness implies that any two points x1 and x2 in X can be connected with a continuous path which starts in x1 and ends in x2, which is equivalent to the assertion that every mapping from S0 (a discrete set of two points) to X can be deformed continuously to a constant map. With this definition, we can define X to be n-connected if and only if

Examples[edit]

  • A space X is (−1)-connected if and only if it is non-empty.
  • A space X is 0-connected if and only if it is non-empty and path-connected.
  • A space is 1-connected if and only if it is simply connected.
  • An n-sphere is (n − 1)-connected.

n-connected map[edit]

The corresponding relative notion to the absolute notion of an n-connected space is an n-connected map, which is defined as a map whose homotopy fiber Ff is an (n − 1)-connected space. In terms of homotopy groups, it means that a map is n-connected if and only if:

  • is an isomorphism for , and
  • is a surjection.

The last condition is frequently confusing; it is because the vanishing of the (n − 1)-st homotopy group of the homotopy fiber Ff corresponds to a surjection on the nth homotopy groups, in the exact sequence:

If the group on the right vanishes, then the map on the left is a surjection.

Low-dimensional examples:

  • A connected map (0-connected map) is one that is onto path components (0th homotopy group); this corresponds to the homotopy fiber being non-empty.
  • A simply connected map (1-connected map) is one that is an isomorphism on path components (0th homotopy group) and onto the fundamental group (1st homotopy group).

n-connectivity for spaces can in turn be defined in terms of n-connectivity of maps: a space X with basepoint x0 is an n-connected space if and only if the inclusion of the basepoint is an n-connected map. The single point set is contractible, so all its homotopy groups vanish, and thus "isomorphism below n and onto at n" corresponds to the first n homotopy groups of X vanishing.

Interpretation[edit]

This is instructive for a subset: an n-connected inclusion is one such that, up to dimension n − 1, homotopies in the larger space X can be homotoped into homotopies in the subset A.

For example, for an inclusion map to be 1-connected, it must be:

  • onto
  • one-to-one on and
  • onto

One-to-one on means that if there is a path connecting two points by passing through X, there is a path in A connecting them, while onto means that in fact a path in X is homotopic to a path in A.

In other words, a function which is an isomorphism on only implies that any elements of that are homotopic in X are abstractly homotopic in A – the homotopy in A may be unrelated to the homotopy in X – while being n-connected (so also onto ) means that (up to dimension n − 1) homotopies in X can be pushed into homotopies in A.

This gives a more concrete explanation for the utility of the definition of n-connectedness: for example, a space where the inclusion of the k-skeleton is n-connected (for n > k) – such as the inclusion of a point in the n-sphere – has the property that any cells in dimensions between k and n do not affect the lower-dimensional homotopy types.

Lower bounds[edit]

Many topological proofs require lower bounds on the homotopical connectivity. There are several "recipes" for proving such lower bounds.

Homology[edit]

Hurewicz theorem relates the homotopical connectivity to the homological connectivity, denoted by . This is useful for computing homotopical connectivity, since the homological groups can be computed more easily.


Suppose first that X is simply-connected, that is, . Let ; so for all , and . Hurewicz theorem[5]: 366, Thm.4.32  says that, in this case, for all , and is isomorphic to , so too. Therefore:

If X is not simply-connected (), then
still holds. When this is trivial. When (so X is path-connected but not simply-connected), one should prove that .[clarification needed]

The inequality may be strict: there are spaces in which but .[6]

By definition, the k-th homology group of a simplicial complex depends only on the simplices of dimension at most k+1 (see simplicial homology). Therefore, the above theorem implies that a simplicial complex K is k-connected if and only if its (k+1)-dimensional skeleton (the subset of K containing only simplices of dimension at most k+1) is k-connected.:[1]: 80, Prop.4.4.2 

Join[edit]

Let K and L be non-empty cell complexes. Their join is commonly denoted by . Then:[1]: 81, Prop.4.4.3 

The identity is simpler with the eta notation:

As an example, let a set of two disconnected points. There is a 1-dimensional hole between the points, so the eta is 1. The join is a square, which is homeomorphic to a circle, so its eta is 2. The join of this square with a third copy of K is a octahedron, which is homeomorphic to , and its eta is 3. In general, the join of n copies of is homeomorphic to and its eta is n.

The general proof is based on a similar formula for the homological connectivity.

Nerve[edit]

Let K1,...,Kn be abstract simplicial complexes, and denote their union by K.

Denote the nerve complex of {K1, ... , Kn} (the abstract complex recording the intersection pattern of the Ki) by N.

If, for each nonempty , the intersection is either empty or (k−|J|+1)-connected, then for every jk, the j-th homotopy group of N is isomorphic to the j-th homotopy group of K.

In particular, N is k-connected if-and-only-if K is k-connected.[7]: Thm.6 

Homotopy principle[edit]

In geometric topology, cases when the inclusion of a geometrically-defined space, such as the space of immersions into a more general topological space, such as the space of all continuous maps between two associated spaces are n-connected are said to satisfy a homotopy principle or "h-principle". There are a number of powerful general techniques for proving h-principles.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Matoušek, Jiří (2007). Using the Borsuk-Ulam Theorem: Lectures on Topological Methods in Combinatorics and Geometry (2nd ed.). Berlin-Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-540-00362-5. Written in cooperation with Anders Björner and Günter M. Ziegler , Section 4.3
  2. ^ Aharoni, Ron; Berger, Eli (2006). "The intersection of a matroid and a simplicial complex". Transactions of the American Mathematical Society. 358 (11): 4895–4917. doi:10.1090/S0002-9947-06-03833-5. ISSN 0002-9947.
  3. ^ "n-connected space in nLab". ncatlab.org. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  4. ^ Frick, Florian; Soberón, Pablo (2020-05-11). "The topological Tverberg problem beyond prime powers". arXiv:2005.05251 [math.CO].
  5. ^ Hatcher, Allen (2001), Algebraic Topology, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-79160-1
  6. ^ See example 2.38 in Hatcher's book. See also this answer.
  7. ^ Björner, Anders (2003-04-01). "Nerves, fibers and homotopy groups". Journal of Combinatorial Theory. Series A. 102 (1): 88–93. doi:10.1016/S0097-3165(03)00015-3. ISSN 0097-3165.