Cobounding odd cycle colorings
We give a very short self-contained combinatorial proof of the Babson-Kozlov conjecture, by presenting a cochain whose coboundary is the desired power of the characteristic class.
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arXiv subjects
Dmitry N. Kozlov
Publications and source records attributed to Dmitry N. Kozlov.
Collapsing along monotone poset maps
We introduce the notion of nonevasive reduction, and show that for any monotone poset map $ϕ:P\to P$, the simplicial complex $Δ(P)$ {\tt NE}-reduces to $Δ(Q)$, for any $Q\supseteq{\text{\rm Fix}}ϕ$. As a corollary, we prove that for any order-preserving map $ϕ:P\to P$ satisfying $ϕ(x)\geq x$, for any $x\in P$, the simplicial complex $Δ(P)$ collapses to $Δ(ϕ(P))$. We also obtain a generalization of Crapo's closure theorem.
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Chromatic numbers, morphism complexes, and Stiefel-Whitney characteristic classes
Combinatorics, in particular graph theory, has a rich history of being a domain of successful applications of tools from other areas of mathematics, including topological methods. Here, we survey the study of the Hom-complexes, and the ways these can be used to obtain lower bounds for the chromatic numbers of graphs, presented in a recent series of papers \cite{BK03a,BK03b,BK03c,CK1,CK2,K4,K5}. The structural theory is developed and put in the historical context, culminating in the proof of the Lovász Conjecture, which can be stated as follows: For a graph G, such that the complex Hom(C_{2r+1},G) is k-connected for some integers r>0 and k>-2, we have χ(G)>k+3. Beyond the, more customary in this area, cohomology groups, the algebro-topological concepts involved are spectral sequences and Stiefel-Whitney characteristic classes. Complete proofs are included for all the new results appearing in this survey for the first time.
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The homotopy type of complexes of graph homomorphisms between cycles
In this paper we study the homotopy type of $\Hom(C_m,C_n)$, where $C_k$ is the cyclic graph with $k$ vertices. We enumerate connected components of $\Hom(C_m,C_n)$ and show that each such component is either homeomorphic to a point or homotopy equivalent to $S^1$. Moreover, we prove that $\Hom(C_m,L_n)$ is either empty or is homotopy equivalent to the union of two points, where $L_n$ is an $n$-string, i.e., a tree with $n$ vertices and no branching points.
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Simple homotopy types of Hom-complexes, neighborhood complexes, Lovász complexes, and atom crosscut complexes
In this paper we provide concrete combinatorial formal deformation algorithms, namely sequences of elementary collapses and expansions, which relate various previously extensively studied families of combinatorially defined polyhedral complexes. To start with, we give a sequence of elementary collapses leading from the barycentric subdivision of the neighborhood complex to the Lovász complex of a graph. Then, for an arbitrary lattice ${\mathcal L}$ we describe a formal deformation of the barycentric subdivision of the atom crosscut complex $Γ({\mathcal L})$ to its order complex $Δ(\bar{\mathcal L})$. We proceed by proving that the complex of sets bounded from below ${\mathcal J}({\mathcal L})$ can also be collapsed to $Δ(\bar{\mathcal L})$. Finally, as a pinnacle of our project, we apply all these results to certain graph complexes. Namely, by describing an explicit formal deformation, we prove that, for any graph $G$, the neighborhood complex ${\mathcal N}(G)$ and the polyhedral complex $\text{\tt Hom}(K_2,G)$ have the same simple homotopy type in the sense of Whitehead.
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Trends in Topological Combinatorics
This thesis opens with an introductory discussion, where the reader is gently led to the world of topological combinatorics, and, where the results of this Habilitationsschrift are portrayed against the backdrop of the broader philosophy of the subject. That introduction is followed by 5 chapters, where the main body of research is presented, and 4 appendices, where various standard tools and notations, which we use throughout the text, are collected.
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Proof of the Lovasz Conjecture
To any two graphs G and H one can associate a cell complex Hom(G,H) by taking all graph multihomorphisms from G to H as cells. In this paper we prove the Lovasz Conjecture which states that if Hom(C_{2r+1},G) is k-connected, then χ(G)\geq k+4, where r,k\in Z, r\geq 1, k\geq -1, and C_{2r+1} denotes the cycle with 2r+1 vertices. The proof requires analysis of the complexes Hom(C_{2r+1},K_n). For even n, the obstructions to graph colorings are provided by the presence of torsion in H^*(Hom(C_{2r+1},K_n);Z). For odd n, the obstructions are expressed as vanishing of certain powers of Stiefel-Whitney characteristic classes of Hom(C_{2r+1},K_n), where the latter are viewed as $\zz$-spaces with the involution induced by the reflection of C_{2r+1}.
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Discrete Morse Theory for free chain complexes
We extend the combinatorial Morse complex construction to the arbitrary free chain complexes, and give a short, self-contained, and elementary proof of the quasi-isomorphism between the original chain complex and its Morse complex. Even stronger, the main result states that, if $C_*$ is a free chain complex, and $\cm$ an acyclic matching, then $C_*=C_*^\cm\oplus T_*$, where $C_*^\cm$ is the Morse complex generated by the critical elements, and $T_*$ is an acyclic complex.
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Complexes of graph homomorphisms
$Hom(G,H)$ is a polyhedral complex defined for any two undirected graphs $G$ and $H$. This construction was introduced by Lovász to give lower bounds for chromatic numbers of graphs. In this paper we initiate the study of the topological properties of this class of complexes. We prove that $Hom(K_m,K_n)$ is homotopy equivalent to a wedge of $(n-m)$-dimensional spheres, and provide an enumeration formula for the number of the spheres. As a corollary we prove that if for some graph $G$, and integers $m\geq 2$ and $k\geq -1$, we have $\varpi_1^k(\thom(K_m,G))\neq 0$, then $χ(G)\geq k+m$; here $Z_2$-action is induced by the swapping of two vertices in $K_m$, and $\varpi_1$ is the first Stiefel-Whitney class corresponding to this action. Furthermore, we prove that a fold in the first argument of $Hom(G,H)$ induces a homotopy equivalence. It then follows that $Hom(F,K_n)$ is homotopy equivalent to a direct product of $(n-2)$-dimensional spheres, while $Hom(\bar{F},K_n)$ is homotopy equivalent to a wedge of spheres, where $F$ is an arbitrary forest and $\bar{F}$ is its complement.
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Higher connectivity of graph coloring complexes
The main result of this paper is a proof of the following conjecture of Babson & Kozlov: Theorem. Let G be a graph of maximal valency d, then the complex Hom(G,K_n) is at least (n-d-2)-connected. Here Hom(-,-) denotes the polyhedral complex introduced by Lovász to study the topological lower bounds for chromatic numbers of graphs. We will also prove, as a corollary to the main theorem, that the complex Hom(C_{2r+1},K_n) is (n-4)-connected, for $n\geq 3$.
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A desingularization of real differentiable actions of finite groups
We provide abelianizations of differentiable actions of finite groups on smooth real manifolds. De Concini-Procesi wonderful models for (local) subspace arrangements and a careful analysis of linear actions on real vector spaces are at the core of our construction. In fact, we show that our abelianizations have stabilizers isomorphic to elementary abelian 2-groups, a setting for which we suggest the term digitalization. As our main examples, we discuss the resulting digitalizations of the permutation actions of the symmetric group on real linear and projective spaces.
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A simple proof for folds on both sides in complexes of graph homomorphisms
In this paper we study implications of folds in both parameters of Lovász' Hom(-,-) complexes. There is an important connection between the topological properties of these complexes and lower bounds for chromatic numbers. We give a very short and conceptual proof of the fact that if G-v is a fold of G, then Bd(Hom(G,H)) collapses onto Bd Hom(G-v,H), whereas Hom(H,G) collapses onto Hom(H,G-v). We also give an easy inductive proof of the only nonelementary fact which we use for our arguments: if $ϕ$ is a closure operator on P, then $Δ(P)$ collapses onto $Δ(ϕ(P))$.
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Resonance Category
The main purpose of this paper is to introduce a new category, which we call a resonance category, whose combinatorics reflect that of canonical stratifications of $n$-fold symmetric smash products. The study of the stratifications can then be abstracted to the study of functors satisfying certain sets of axioms, which we name resonance functors. One frequently studied stratification is that of the set of all polynomials of degree $n$, defined by fixing the allowed multiplicities of roots. We apply our abstract combinatorial framework, in particular, the notion of direct product of relative resonances, to study the Arnold problem of computing the algebro-topological invariants of these strata.
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Group Actions on Posets
In this paper we study quotients of posets by group actions. In order to define the quotient correctly we enlarge the considered class of categories from posets to loopfree categories: categories without nontrivial automorphisms and inverses. We view group actions as certain functors and define the quotients as colimits of these functors. The advantage of this definition over studying the quotient poset (which in our language is the colimit in the poset category) is that the realization of the quotient loopfree category is more often homeomorphic to the quotient of the realization of the original poset. We give conditions under which the quotient commutes with the nerve functor, as well as conditions which guarantee that the quotient is again a poset.
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Abelianizing the real permutation action via blowups
We present an abelianization of the permutation action of the symmetric group S_n on R^n in analogy to the Batyrev abelianization construction for finite group actions on complex manifolds. The abelianization is provided by a particular De Concini-Procesi wonderful model for the braid arrangement. In fact, we show a stronger result, namely that stabilizers of points in the arrangement model are isomorphic to direct products of Z_2. To prove that, we develop a combinatorial framework for explicitly describing the stabilizers in terms of automorphism groups of set diagrams over families of cubes. We observe that the natural nested set stratification on the arrangement model is not stabilizer distinguishing with respect to the S_n-action, that is, stabilizers of points are not in general isomorphic on open strata. Motivated by this structural deficiency, we furnish a new stratification of the De Concini-Procesi arrangement model that distinguishes stabilizers.
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Topological obstructions to graph colorings
For any two graphs $G$ and $H$ Lovász has defined a cell complex $Hom(G,H)$ having in mind the general program that the algebraic invariants of these complexes should provide obstructions to graph colorings. Here we announce the proof of a conjecture of Lovász concerning these complexes with $G$ a cycle of odd length. More specifically, we show that: if $Hom(C_{2r+1},G)$ is $k$-connected, then $χ(G)\geq k+4$. Our actual statement is somewhat sharper, as we find obstructions already in the non-vanishing of powers of certain Stiefel-Whitney classes.
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Incidence combinatorics of resolutions
We introduce notions of combinatorial blowups, building sets, and nested sets for arbitrary meet-semilattices. This gives a common abstract framework for the incidence combinatorics occurring in the context of De Concini-Procesi models of subspace arrangements and resolutions of singularities in toric varieties. Our main theorem states that a sequence of combinatorial blowups, prescribed by a building set in linear extension compatible order, gives the face poset of the corresponding simplicial complex of nested sets. As applications we trace the incidence combinatorics through every step of the De Concini-Procesi model construction, and we introduce the notions of building sets and nested sets to the context of toric varieties. There are several other instances, such as models of stratified manifolds and certain graded algebras associated with finite lattices, where our combinatorial framework has been put to work; we present an outline in the end of this paper.
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Directed trees in a string, real polynomials with triple roots, and chain mails
This paper starts with an observation that two infinite series of simplicial complexes, which a priori do not seem to have anything to do with each other, have the same homotopy type. One series consists of the complexes of directed forests on a double directed string, while the other one consists of Shapiro-Welker models for the spaces of hyperbolic polynomials with a triple root. We explain this coincidence in the more general context by finding an explicit homotopy equivalence between complexes of directed forests on a double directed tree, and doubly disconnecting complexes of a tree.
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