arXiv research

Finite simply connected 2-complexes with nonpositive planar curvature are collapsible.

3D Schoenflies theorem for simply-connected 2-complexes.

The study characterizes embeddable 2-complexes in 3-space.

We characterise the embeddability of simply connected locally 3-connected 2-dimensional simplicial complexes in 3-space in a way analogous to Kuratowski's characterisation of graph planarity, by excluded minors. This answers questions of Lovász, Pardon and Wagner.

We prove that 2-dimensional simplicial complexes whose first homology group is trivial have topological embeddings in 3-space if and only if there are embeddings of their link graphs in the plane that are compatible at the edges and they are simply connected.

Fixed point sets of certain group actions are contractible.

3D analog of Whitney's planarity criterion for 2-complexes.

We introduce dual matroids of 2-dimensional simplicial complexes. Under certain necessary conditions, duals matroids are used to characterise embeddability in 3-space in a way analogous to Whitney's planarity criterion. We further use dual matroids to extend a 3-dimensional analogue of Kuratowski's theorem to the class…

We examine a condition on a simply connected 2-complex X ensuring that groups acting properly on X are coherent. This extends earlier work on 2-complexes with negative sectional curvature which covers the case that G acts freely. Our extension of these results involves a generalization of the notion of sectional curvat…

This paper is the last paper in a series of five papers. Building on earlier papers in this series, we prove an analogue of Kuratowski's characterisation of graph planarity for three dimensions. More precisely, a simply connected 2-dimensional simplicial complex embeds in 3-space if and only if it has no obstruction fr…

We show that every smooth closed oriented four-manifold admits a decomposition into two co- dimension zero submanifolds with common boundary. Each of these submanifolds carries a structure of a symplectic manifold with pseudo-convex boundary. This imply, in particular, that every smooth closed simply-connected four-man…

We consider collections of disjoint simple closed curves in a compact orientable surface which decompose the surface into pairs of pants. The isotopy classes of such curve systems form the vertices of a 2-complex, whose edges correspond to certain simple moves in which only one curve changes, and whose 2-cells correspo…

For a smooth oriented surface S, denote by M(S) the set of all ways to represent S as a result of gluing together standard spheres with holes (``the Lego game''). In this paper we give a full set of simple moves and relations which turn M(S) into a connected and simply-connected 2-complex. Results of this kind were fir…

Paper confirms Whitehead's conjecture for aspherical 2-complexes.

Study of knots and links in 2-complexes, defining linking numbers and polynomials.

A 2-complex requires at least 12 colours to avoid edge conflicts.

We study random 2-dimensional complexes in the Linial - Meshulam model and find torsion in their fundamental groups at various regimes. We find a simple algorithmically testable criterion for a subcomplex of a random 2-complex to be aspherical; this implies that any aspherical subcomplex of a random 2-complex satisfies…

New infinite family of 2-complexes intrinsically linked in 4D.

Proves universal pairing result for 2-complexes, showing lack of positivity.

Study 2-complexes' homology properties and torsion growth.

We investigate the Tits boundary of locally compact CAT(0) 2-complexes. In particular we show that away from the endpoints, a geodesic segment in the Tits boundary is the ideal boundary of an isometrically embedded Euclidean sector. As applications, we provide sufficient conditions for two points in the Tits boundary t…

New rational curvature measures for 2-complexes.

The paper shows examples of 2-complexes that can't be embedded in R^4, hiding obstructions in higher Milnor invariants.

We consider computational complexity of problems related to the fundamental group and the first homology group of (embeddable) $2$-complexes. We show, as an extension of an earlier work, that computing first homology of $2$-complexes is equivalent in computational complexity to matrix diagonalization. That is, the usua…

We prove a finiteness result for the systolic area of groups, answering a question of M. Gromov. Namely, we show that there are only finitely many possible unfree factors of fundamental groups of~2-complexes whose systolic area is uniformly bounded. Furthermore, we prove a uniform systolic inequality for all 2-complexe…

In the framework of homological characterizations of relative hyperbolicity, Groves and Manning posed the question of whether a simply connected $2$-complex $X$ with a linear homological isoperimetric inequality, a bound on the length of attaching maps of $2$-cells and finitely many $2$-cells adjacent to any edge must …

The paper shows geometric realisation over specific groups and knots.

Study L^2-Betti numbers in prime characteristic for a conjecture about 2-complex towers.

The study finds stably free modules and distinct 2-complexes for large ranks.

A complex disproves a curvature property.

We introduce a norm on the real 1-cohomology of finite 2-complexes determined by the Euler characteristics of graphs on these complexes. We also introduce twisted Alexander-Fox polynomials of groups and show that they give rise to norms on the real 1-cohomology of groups. Our main theorem states that for a finite 2-com…

Rationality proved for curvature invariants of 2-complexes.

Let $X$ be a contractible $2$-complex which is a union of two contractible subcomplexes $Y$ and $Z.$ Is the intersection $Y\cap Z$ contractible as well? In this note, we prove that the inclusion-induced map $π_{1}(Y\cap Z)\rightarrow π_{1}(Z)$ is injective if $Y$ is $π_{1}$-injective subcomplex in a locally CAT(0) 2-co…

We show that there can be no algorithm to decide whether infinite recursively described acyclic aspherical 2-complexes are contractible. We construct such a complex that is contractible if and only if the Collatz conjecture holds.

Let I(p,v) be Bourdon's building, the unique simply-connected 2-complex such that all 2-cells are regular right-angled hyperbolic p-gons and the link at each vertex is the complete bipartite graph K(v,v). We investigate and mostly determine the set of triples (p,v,g) for which there exists a uniform lattice Γ in Aut(I(…

Let X be a finite 2-complex with unfree fundamental group. We prove lower bounds for the area of a metric on X, in terms of the square of the least length of a noncontractible loop in X. We thus establish a uniform systolic inequality for all unfree 2-complexes. Our inequality improves the constant in M. Gromov's inequ…

The paper explores conditions for sections in Lefschetz fibrations and bundles over 2-complexes.

New tests detect asphericity in complex pairs, simplifying previous proofs.

It is known that all but finitely many leaves of a measured foliated 2-complex of thin type are quasi-isometric to an infinite tree with at most two topological ends. We show that if the foliation is cooriented, and the associated R-tree is self-similar, then a typical leaf has exactly one topological end. We also cons…

We prove a systolic inequality for the phi-relative 1-systole of a phi-essential 2-complex, where phi is a homomorphism from the fundamental group of the complex, to a finitely presented group G. Indeed we show that universally for any phi-essential Riemannian 2-complex, and any G, the area of X is bounded below by 1/8…

Kervaire's sphere-link is equivalent to a ribbon sphere-link, simplifying complex 2-complexes.

Random branched covers of groups are homotopy equivalent to geometrically small cancellation complexes.

We show that the Reshetikhin-Turaev-Walker invariant of 3-manifolds can be normalized to obtain an invariant of 4-dimensional thickenings of 2-complexes. Moreover when the underlying semisimple tortile category comes from the representations of a quantum group at a primitive prime root of unity, the 0-term in the Ohtsu…

Concerns decompositions of smooth 4-manifolds as the union of two handlebodies, each with handles of index <=2 (``Heegard'' decompositions).Sample result: Two 2-complexes are (up to 2-deformation) dual spines of a Heegard decomposition of the 4-sphere if and only if they satisfy the conclusions of the Alexander-Lefshet…

The vanishing of Van Kampen's obstruction is known to be necessary and sufficient for embeddability of a simplicial n-complex into $R^{2n}$ for $n\neq 2$, and it was recently shown to be incomplete for $n=2$. We use algebraic-topological invariants of four-manifolds with boundary to introduce a sequence of higher embed…

Scharlemann constructed a connected simplicial 2-complex $Γ$ with an action by the group ${\mathcal H_{2}}$ of isotopy classes of orientation preserving homeomorphisms of $S^3$ that preserve the isotopy class of an unknotted genus 2 handlebody $V$. In this paper we prove that the 2-complex $Γ$ is contractible. Therefor…

The image of the branch set of a PL branched cover between PL $n$-manifolds is a simplicial $(n-2)$-complex. We demonstrate that the reverse implication also holds: an open and discrete map $f \colon \mathbb{S}^n \to \mathbb{S}^n$ with the image of the branch set contained in a simplicial $(n-2)$-complex is equivalent …

The paper finds incommensurable lattices in complex models of Baumslag-Solitar groups.