arXiv subjects

Petar Pavešić

Publications and source records attributed to Petar Pavešić.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Parametrized LS category and group actions

We introduce a new invariant associated to an action of a group $G$ on a (possibly non-commutative) group $K$. The invariant is based on the $G$-parametrized LS-category of the semi-direct product $K\rtimes G$ but it also depends on a choice of a derivation $d\colon G\to K$. The invariant is thus denoted $\operatorname{tc}(d)$ and it takes integer values between $\operatorname{cd}(K)$ and $\operatorname{cd}(K)+\operatorname{cd}(G)$ (where $\operatorname{cd}(G)$ stands for the cohomological dimension of a group). We develop a general theory and then compute its values for a number of important examples, including fundamental groups of mapping tori, of pure braid groups and of iterated semi-direct products of free groups. To achieve this, we relate $\operatorname{tc}(d)$ to the cohomological dimension of its factors, to the sectional category of the inclusion of $G$ in $K\rtimes G$, and to the properties of torsors that are associated to the derivation $d$.

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arXiv2025

Fundamental groups of small simplicial complexes

The number of nonisomorphic simplicial complexes with up to $n$ vertices increases super-exponentially with $n$, which makes exhaustive computation of invariants associated with such complexes a daunting task. In this paper we provide a complete list of groups that arise as fundamental groups of simplicial complexes with at most $8$ vertices. In addition we give many examples of fundamental groups of complexes with $9$ vertices although the complete classification seems to be beyond reach at the moment. Our results lead to many applications, including progress on the Björner-Lutz conjecture regarding vertex-minimal triangulations of the Poincaré homology sphere, improved recognition criteria for PL triangulations of manifolds and computation of the Karoubi-Weibel invariant for many groups.

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arXiv2021

Universal covering spaces, a footnote

We give a short proof that, for nice $X$, the based fundamental groupoid of $X$ with topology induced by the compact open topology on the space of paths, is indeed the universal covering space of $X$.

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arXiv2020

Topological complexity of real Grassmannians

We use some detailed knowledge of the cohomology ring of real Grassmann manifolds $G_k(\mathbb{R}^n)$ to compute zero-divisor cup-length and estimate topological complexity of motion planning for $k$-linear subspaces in $\mathbb{R}^n$. In addition, we obtain results about monotonicity of Lusternik-Schnirelmann category and topological complexity of $G_k(\mathbb{R}^n)$ as a function of $n$.

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arXiv2020

Manifolds with small topological complexity

We study closed orientable manifolds whose topological complexity is at most 3 and determine their cohomology rings. For some of admissible cohomology rings we are also able to identify corresponding manifolds up to homeomorphism.

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arXiv2020

General theory of lifting spaces

In his classical textbook on algebraic topology Edwin Spanier developed the theory of covering spaces within a more general framework of lifting spaces (i.e., Hurewicz fibrations with unique path-lifting property). Among other, Spanier proved that for every space $X$ there exists a universal lifting space, which however need not be simply connected, unless the base space $X$ is semi-locally simply connected. The question on what exactly is the fundamental group of the universal space was left unanswered. The main source of lifting spaces are inverse limits of covering spaces over $X$, or more generally, over some inverse system of spaces converging to $X$. Every metric space $X$ can be obtained as a limit of an inverse system of polyhedra, and so inverse limits of covering spaces over the system yield lifting spaces over $X$. They are related to the geometry (in particular the fundamental group) of $X$ in a similar way as the covering spaces over polyhedra are related to the fundamental group of their base. Thus lifting spaces appear as a natural replacement for the concept of covering spaces over base spaces with bad local properties. In this paper we develop a general theory of lifting spaces and prove that they are preserved by products, inverse limits and other important constructions. We show that maps from $X$ to polyhedra give rise to coverings over $X$ and use that to prove that for a connected, locally path connected and paracompact $X$, the fundamental group of the above-mentioned Spanier's universal space is precisely the intersection of all Spanier groups associated to open covers of $X$, and that the later coincides with the shape kernel of $X$. Furthermore, we examine in more detail lifting spaces over $X$ that arise as inverse limits of coverings over some approximations of $X$.

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arXiv2020

How many simplices are needed to triangulate a Grassmannian?

We compute a lower bound for the number of simplices that are needed to triangulate the Grassmann manifold $G_k(\mathbb{R}^n)$. In particular, we show that the number of top-dimensional simplices grows exponentially with $n$. More precise estimates are given for $k=2,3,4$. Our method can be used to estimate the minimal size of triangulations for other spaces, like Lie groups, flag manifolds, Stiefel manifolds etc.

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arXiv2019

Topological complexity of a map

We study certain topological problems that are inspired by applications to autonomous robot manipulation. Consider a continuous map $f\colon X\to Y$, where $f$ can be a kinematic map from the configuration space $X$ to the working space $Y$ of a robot arm or a similar mechanism. Then one can associate to $f$ a number $\mathrm{TC}(f)$, which is, roughly speaking, the minimal number of continuous rules that are necessary to construct a complete manipulation algorithm for the device. Examples show that $\mathrm{TC}(f)$ is very sensitive to small perturbations of $f$ and that its value depends heavily on the singularities of $f$. This fact considerably complicates the computations, so we focus here on estimates of $\mathrm{TC}(f)$ that can be expressed in terms of homotopy invariants of spaces $X$ and $Y$, or that are valid if $f$ satisfy some additional assumptions like, for example, being a fibration. Some of the main results are the derivation of a general upper bound for $\mathrm{TC}(f)$, invariance of $\mathrm{TC}(f)$ with respect to deformations of the domain and codomain, proof that $\mathrm{TC}(f)$ is a FHE-invariant, and the description of a cohomological lower bound for $\mathrm{TC}(f)$. Furthermore, if $f$ is a fibration we derive more precise estimates for $\mathrm{TC}(f)$ in terms of the Lusternik-Schnirelmann category and the topological complexity of $X$ and $Y$. We also obtain some results for the important special case of covering projections.

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arXiv2019

Estimates of covering type and the number of vertices of minimal triangulations

The covering type of a space $X$ is defined as the minimal cardinality of a good cover of a space that is homotopy equivalent to $X$. We derive estimates for the covering type of $X$ in terms of other invariants of $X$, namely the ranks of the homology groups, the multiplicative structure of the cohomology ring and the Lusternik-Schnirelmann category of $X$. By relating the covering type to the number of vertices of minimal triangulations of complexes and combinatorial manifolds, we obtain, within a unified framework, several estimates which are either new or extensions of results that have been previously obtained by ad hoc combinatorial arguments. Moreover, our methods give results that are valid for entire homotopy classes of spaces.

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arXiv2019

Geometry of compact lifting spaces

We study a natural generalization of inverse systems of finite regular covering spaces. A limit of such a system is a fibration whose fibres are profinite topological groups. However, as shown in a previous paper (Conner-Herfort-Pavesic: Some anomalous examples of lifting spaces), there are many fibrations whose fibres are profinite groups, which are far from being inverse limits of coverings. We characterize profinite fibrations among a large class of fibrations and relate the profinite topology on the fundamental group of the base with the action of the fundamental group on the fibre, and develop a version of the Borel construction for fibrations whose fibres are profinite groups.

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arXiv2019

Monotonicity of the Schwarz genus

Schwarz genus $\mathsf{g}(ξ)$ of a fibration $ξ\colon E\to B$ is defined as the minimal integer $n$, such that there exists a cover of $B$ by $n$ open sets that admit partial section to $ξ$. Many important concepts, including Lusternik-Schnirelmann category, Farber's topological complexity and Smale-Vassiliev's complexity of algorithms can be naturally expressed as Schwarz genera of suitably chosen fibrations. In this paper we study Schwarz genus in relation with certain type of morphisms between fibrations. Our main result is the following: if there exist a fibrewise map $f\colon E\to E'$ between fibrations $ξ\colon E\to B$ and $ξ'\colon E'\to B$ which induces an $n$-equivalence between respective fibres for a sufficiently big $n$, then $\mathsf{g}(ξ)=\mathsf{g}(ξ')$. From this we derive several interesting results relating the topological complexity of a space with the topological complexities of its skeleta and subspaces (and similarly for the category). For example, we show that if a CW-complexes has high topological complexity (with respect to its dimension and connectivity), then the topological complexity of its skeleta is an increasing function of the dimension.

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arXiv2018

Triangulations with few vertices of manifolds with non-free fundamental group

We study lower bounds for the number of vertices in a PL-triangulation of a given manifold $M$. While most of the previous estimates are based on the dimension and the connectivity of $M$, we show that further information can be extracted by studying the structure of the fundamental group of $M$ and applying techniques from the Lusternik-Schnirelmann category theory. In particular, we prove that every PL-triangulation of a $d$-dimensional manifold ($d\ge 3$) whose fundamental group is not free has at least $3d+1$ vertices. As a corollary, every $d$-dimensional ($\mathbb{Z}_p$-)homology sphere that admits a PL-triangulation with less than $3d$ vertices is homeomorphic to $S^d$. Another important consequence is that every triangulation with small links of $M$ is combinatorial.

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arXiv2017

Some anomalous examples of lifting spaces

An inverse limit of a sequence of covering spaces over a given space $X$ is not, in general, a covering space over $X$ but is still a lifting space, i.e. a Hurewicz fibration with unique path lifting property. Of particular interest are inverse limits of finite coverings (resp. finite regular coverings), which yield fibrations whose fiber is homeomorphic to the Cantor set (resp. profinite topological group). To illustrate the breadth of the theory, we present in this note some curious examples of lifting spaces that cannot be obtained as inverse limits of covering spaces.

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arXiv2017

Complexity of the forward kinematic map

The main objective of this paper is to introduce a new method for qualitative analysis of various designs of robot arms. To this end we define the complexity of a map, examine its main properties and develop some methods of computation. In particular, when applied to a forward kinematic map associated to some robot arm structure, the complexity measures the inherent discontinuities that arise when one attempts to solve the motion planning problem for any set of input data. In the second part of the paper, we consider instabilities of motion planning in the proximity of singular points, and present explicit computations for several common robot arm configurations.

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arXiv2017

A Topologist's View of Kinematic Maps and Manipulation Complexity

In this paper we combine a survey of the most important topological properties of kinematic maps that appear in robotics, with the exposition of some basic results regarding the topological complexity of a map. In particular, we discuss mechanical devices that consist of rigid parts connected by joints and show how the geometry of the joints determines the forward kinematic map that relates the configuration of joints with the pose of the end-effector of the device. We explain how to compute the dimension of the joint space and describe topological obstructions for a kinematic map to be a fibration or to admit a continuous section. In the second part of the paper we define the complexity of a continuous map and show how the concept can be viewed as a measure of the difficulty to find a robust manipulation plan for a given mechanical device. We also derive some basic estimates for the complexity and relate it to the degree of instability of a manipulation plan.

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arXiv2016

Loop near-rings and unique decompositions of H-spaces

For every H-space $X$ the set of homotopy classes $[X,X]$ possesses a natural algebraic structure of a loop near-ring. Albeit one cannot say much about general loop near-rings, it turns out that those that arise from H-spaces are sufficiently close to rings to have a viable Krull--Schmidt type decomposition theory, which is then reflected into decomposition results of H-spaces. In the paper we develop the algebraic theory of local loop near-rings and derive an algebraic characterization of indecomposable and strongly indecomposable H-spaces. As a consequence, we obtain unique decomposition theorems for products of H-spaces. In particular, we are able to treat certain infinite products of H-spaces, thanks to a recent breakthrough in the Krull--Schmidt theory for infinite products. Finally, we show that indecomposable finite $p$-local H-spaces are automatically strongly indecomposable, which leads to an easy alternative proof of classical unique decomposition theorems of Wilkerson and Gray.

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arXiv2013

Lower bounds for topological complexity

We introduce fibrewise Whitehead- and fibrewise Ganea definitions of monoidal topological complexity. We then define several lower bounds for the topological complexity, which improve on the standard lower bound in terms of nilpotency of the cohomology ring. The relationships between these lower bounds are studied.

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arXiv2012

Spaces with high topological complexity

By a formula of Farber the topological complexity TC(X) of a (p-1)-connected, m-dimensional CW-complex X is bounded above by (2m+1)/p+1. There are also various lower estimates for TC(X) such as the nilpotency of the ring $H^*(X\times X,Δ(X))$, and the weak and stable topological compexity wTC(X) and $σ\TC(X)$. In general the difference between these upper and lower bounds can be arbitrarily large. In this paper we investigate spaces whose topological complexity is close to the maximal value given by Farber's formula and show that in these cases the gap between the lower and upper bounds is narrow and that TC(X) often coincides with the lower bounds.

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