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Mark Grant

Publications and source records attributed to Mark Grant.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

On Realisability of Twisted Homology

We discuss the question of when a homology or cohomology class with twisted integer coefficients of a manifold $X$ is realised by a submanifold. While this question is classical in nature, providing an answer requires relatively modern techniques from parametrised homotopy theory. More specifically, we introduce cobordism classes twisted by a coefficient system and then define a twisted Thom space $\operatorname{M^\mathrm{tw}O}(n)$ over $\operatorname{BO}(1)$, which serves as the classifying object for this cobordism theory under a twisted Pontryagin-Thom construction. As a result, a twisted homology class is realisable if and only if its Poincar\'e dual is the image of the twisted Thom class in $\operatorname{M^\mathrm{tw}O}(n)$ under a parametrised map $X \to \operatorname{M^\mathrm{tw}O}(n)$ over $\operatorname{BO}(1)$. Finally, we construct the parametrised Postnikov tower of $\operatorname{M^\mathrm{tw}O}(n)$ over $\operatorname{BO}(1)$ to derive obstructions to realisability and conclude by giving the first known examples of non-realisable integer homology classes in non-orientable manifolds.

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arXiv2025

Secondary cohomology operations and sectional category

We show how secondary cohomology operations in the total space of the fibred join can be used to give lower bounds for the sectional category of a fibration. This suggests a refinement of the module weight of Iwase--Kono, which we call the secondary module weight. Examples are given for which the secondary module weight at the prime $2$ detects sectional category while the module weight does not.

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arXiv2024

Immersed but not embedded homology classes

We provide the first documented examples of immersions of closed oriented manifolds which are not homologous to embeddings, thus answering a question posed by Zhenhua Liu. In these examples we show that for any representing self-transverse immersion the double points must represent a non-trivial homology class in the source manifold. We also provide examples of Steenrod representable integral homology classes which are not represented by immersions.

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arXiv2024

Equivariant topological complexities

Many mechanical systems have configuration spaces that admit symmetries. Mathematically, such symmetries are modelled by the action of a group on a topological space. Several variations of topological complexity have emerged that take symmetry into account in various ways, either by asking that the motion planners themselves admit compatible symmetries, or by exploiting the symmetry to motion plan between functionally equivalent configurations. We will survey the main definitions due to Colman-Grant, Lubawski-Marzantowicz, B\l{}aszczyk-Kaluba and Dranishnikov, and some related notions. We conclude with a short list of open problems.

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arXiv2023

Projective span of Wall manifolds

The projective span of a smooth manifold is defined to be the maximal number of linearly independent tangent line fields. We initiate a study of projective span, highlighting its relationship with the span, a more classical invariant. We calculate the projective span for all Wall manifolds, which are certain mapping tori of Dold manifolds.

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arXiv2023

Comparison of equivariant cohomological dimensions

We compare three definitions of the equivariant cohomological dimension of a group with operators, coming from Takasu, Adamson and Bredon relative group cohomologies, giving examples of strict inequality in all cases where it can occur. We prove and make use of Stallings--Swan type results which characterise the groups of equivariant cohomological dimension one. Some of our examples are relevant to Farber's problem which asks for an algebraic characterisation of the topological complexity of discrete groups. In particular, the topological complexity of a group is not in general given by a relative cohomological dimension of the product relative to the diagonal subgroup.

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arXiv2021

Parametrised topological complexity of group epimorphisms

We show that the parametrised topological complexity of Cohen, Farber and Weinberger gives an invariant of group epimorphisms. We extend various bounds for the topological complexity of groups to obtain bounds for the parametrised topological complexity of epimorphisms. Several applications are given, including an alternative computation of the parametrised topological complexity of the planar Fadell--Neuwirth fibrations which avoids calculations involving cup products. We also prove a homotopy invariance result for parametrised topological complexity of fibrations over different bases.

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arXiv2019

Equivariant dimensions of groups with operators

Let $\pi$ be a group equipped with an action of a second group $G$ by automorphisms. We define the equivariant cohomological dimension ${\sf cd}_G(\pi)$, the equivariant geometric dimension ${\sf gd}_G(\pi)$, and the equivariant Lusternik-Schnirelmann category ${\sf cat}_G(\pi)$ in terms of the Bredon dimensions and classifying space of the family of subgroups of the semi-direct product $\pi\rtimes G$ consisting of sub-conjugates of $G$. When $G$ is finite, we extend theorems of Eilenberg-Ganea and Stallings-Swan to the equivariant setting, thereby showing that all three invariants coincide (except for the possibility of a $G$-group $\pi$ with ${\sf cat}_G(\pi)={\sf cd}_G(\pi)=2$ and ${\sf gd}_G(\pi)=3$). A main ingredient is the purely algebraic result that the cohomological dimension of any finite group with respect to any family of proper subgroups is greater than one. This implies a Stallings-Swan type result for families of subgroups which do not contain all finite subgroups.

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arXiv2019

Morita Invariance of Equivariant Lusternik-Schnirelmann Category and Invariant Topological Complexity

We use the homotopy invariance of equivariant principal bundles to prove that the equivariant ${\mathcal A}$-category of Clapp and Puppe is invariant under Morita equivalence. As a corollary, we obtain that both the equivariant Lusternik-Schnirelmann category of a group action and the invariant topological complexity are invariant under Morita equivalence. This allows a definition of topological complexity for orbifolds.

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arXiv2019

Isotopy and homeomorphism of closed surface braids

The closure of a braid in a closed orientable surface $\Sigma$ is a link in $\Sigma\times S^1$. We classify such closed surface braids up to isotopy and homeomorphism (with a small indeterminacy for isotopy of closed sphere braids), algebraically in terms of the surface braid group. We find that in positive genus, braids close to isotopic links if and only if they are conjugate, and close to homeomorphic links if and only if they are in the same orbit of the outer action of the mapping class group on the surface braid group modulo its center.

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arXiv2018

An upper bound for topological complexity

In arXiv:1711.10132 a new approximating invariant ${\mathsf{TC}}^{\mathcal{D}}$ for topological complexity was introduced called $\mathcal{D}$-topological complexity. In this paper, we explore more fully the properties of ${\mathsf{TC}}^{\mathcal{D}}$ and the connections between ${\mathsf{TC}}^{\mathcal{D}}$ and invariants of Lusternik-Schnirelmann type. We also introduce a new $\mathsf{TC}$-type invariant $\widetilde{\mathsf{TC}}$ that can be used to give an upper bound for $\mathsf{TC}$, $$\mathsf{TC}(X)\le {\mathsf{TC}}^{\mathcal{D}}(X) + \left\lceil \frac{2\dim X -k}{k+1}\right\rceil,$$ where $X$ is a finite dimensional simplicial complex with $k$-connected universal cover $\tilde X$. The above inequality is a refinement of an estimate given by Dranishnikov.

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arXiv2018

Topological complexity of symplectic manifolds

We prove that the topological complexity of every symplectically atoroidal manifold is equal to twice its dimension. This is the analogue for topological complexity of a result of Rudyak and Oprea, who showed that the Lusternik--Schnirelmann category of a symplectically aspherical manifold equals its dimension. Symplectically hyperbolic manifolds are symplectically atoroidal, as are symplectically aspherical manifolds whose fundamental group does not contain free abelian subgroups of rank two. Thus we obtain many new calculations of topological complexity, including iterated surface bundles and symplectically aspherical manifolds with hyperbolic fundamental groups. Our result also applies in the greater generality of cohomologically symplectic manifolds.

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arXiv2018

The Topological Period-Index Conjecture for spin$^c$ 6-manifolds

The Topological Period-Index Conjecture is an hypothesis which relates the period and index of elements of the cohomological Brauer group of a space. It was identified by Antieau and Williams as a topological analogue of the Period-Index Conjecture for function fields. In this paper we show that the Topological Period-Index Conjecture holds and is in general sharp for spin$^c$ 6-manifolds. We also show that it fails in general for 6-manifolds.

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arXiv2017

Bredon cohomology and robot motion planning

In this paper we study the topological invariant ${\sf {TC}}(X)$ reflecting the complexity of algorithms for autonomous robot motion. Here, $X$ stands for the configuration space of a system and ${\sf {TC}}(X)$ is, roughly, the minimal number of continuous rules which are needed to construct a motion planning algorithm in $X$. We focus on the case when the space $X$ is aspherical; then the number ${\sf TC}(X)$ depends only on the fundamental group $\pi=\pi_1(X)$ and we denote it ${\sf TC}(\pi)$. We prove that ${\sf TC}(\pi)$ can be characterised as the smallest integer $k$ such that the canonical $\pi\times\pi$-equivariant map of classifying spaces $$E(\pi\times\pi) \to E_{\mathcal D}(\pi\times\pi)$$ can be equivariantly deformed into the $k$-dimensional skeleton of $E_{\mathcal D}(\pi\times\pi)$. The symbol $E(\pi\times\pi)$ denotes the classifying space for free actions and $E_{\mathcal D}(\pi\times\pi)$ denotes the classifying space for actions with isotropy in a certain family $\mathcal D$ of subgroups of $\pi\times\pi$. Using this result we show how one can estimate ${\sf TC}(\pi)$ in terms of the equivariant Bredon cohomology theory. We prove that ${\sf TC}(\pi) \le \max\{3, {\rm cd}_{\mathcal D}(\pi\times\pi)\},$ where ${\rm cd}_{\mathcal D}(\pi\times\pi)$ denotes the cohomological dimension of $\pi\times\pi$ with respect to the family of subgroups $\mathcal D$. We also introduce a Bredon cohomology refinement of the canonical class and prove its universality. Finally we show that for a large class of principal groups (which includes all torsion free hyperbolic groups as well as all torsion free nilpotent groups) the essential cohomology classes in the sense of Farber and Mescher are exactly the classes having Bredon cohomology extensions with respect to the family $\mathcal D$.

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arXiv2017

Symmetrized topological complexity

We present upper and lower bounds for symmetrized topological complexity $TC^\Sigma(X)$ in the sense of Basabe-Gonz\'alez-Rudyak-Tamaki. The upper bound comes from equivariant obstruction theory, and the lower bounds from the cohomology of the symmetric square $SP^2(X)$. We also show that symmetrized topological complexity coincides with its monoidal version, where the path from a point to itself is required to be constant. Using these results, we calculate the symmetrized topological complexity of all odd spheres.

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arXiv2016

The Poincar\'e-Hopf Theorem for line fields revisited

A Poincar\'e-Hopf Theorem for line fields with point singularities on orientable surfaces can be found Hopf's 1956 Lecture Notes on Differential Geometry. In 1955 Markus presented such a theorem in all dimensions, but Markus' statement only holds in even dimensions $2k \geq 4$. In 1984 J\"{a}nich presented a Poincar\'{e}-Hopf theorem for line fields with more complicated singularities and focussed on the complexities arising in the generalised setting. In this expository note we review the Poincar\'e-Hopf Theorem for line fields with point singularities, presenting a careful proof which is valid in all dimensions.

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arXiv2016

Hopf invariants, topological complexity, and LS-category of the cofiber of the diagonal map for two-cell complexes

Let $X$ be a two-cell complex with attaching map $\alpha\colon S^q\to S^p$, and let $C_X$ be the cofiber of the diagonal inclusion $X\to X\times X$. It is shown that the topological complexity (${\rm TC}$) of $X$ agrees with the Lusternik-Schnirelmann category (${\rm cat}$) of $C_X$ in the (almost stable) range $q\leq2p-1$. In addition, the equality ${\rm TC}(X)={\rm cat}(C_X)$ is proved in the (strict) metastable range $2p-1<q\leq3(p-1)$ under fairly mild conditions by making use of the Hopf invariant techniques recently developed by the authors in their study of the sectional category of arbitrary maps.

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