arXiv subjects

Richard Hepworth

Publications and source records attributed to Richard Hepworth.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Bigraded path homology and the magnitude-path spectral sequence

Two important invariants of directed graphs, namely magnitude homology and path homology, have recently been shown to be intimately connected: there is a 'magnitude-path spectral sequence' or 'MPSS' in which magnitude homology appears as the first page, and in which path homology appears as an axis of the second page. In this paper we study the homological and computational properties of the spectral sequence, and in particular of the full second page, which we now call 'bigraded path homology'. We demonstrate that every page of the MPSS deserves to be regarded as a homology theory in its own right, satisfying excision and Kunneth theorems (along with a homotopy invariance property already established by Asao), and that magnitude homology and bigraded path homology also satisfy Mayer-Vietoris theorems. We construct a homotopy theory of graphs (in the form of a cofibration category structure) in which weak equivalences are the maps inducing isomorphisms on bigraded path homology, strictly refining an existing structure based on ordinary path homology. And we provide complete computations of the MPSS for two important families of graphs - the directed and bi-directed cycles - which demonstrate the power of both the MPSS, and bigraded path homology in particular, to distinguish graphs that ordinary path homology cannot.

math.AT↗

arXiv2025

The reachability homology of a directed graph

The last decade has seen the development of path homology and magnitude homology -- two homology theories of directed graphs, each satisfying classic properties such as Kunneth and Mayer-Vietoris theorems. Recent work of Asao has shown that magnitude homology and path homology are related, appearing in different pages of a certain spectral sequence. Here we study the target of that spectral sequence, which we call reachability homology. We prove that it satisfies appropriate homotopy invariance, Kunneth, excision, and Mayer-Vietoris theorems, these all being stronger than the corresponding properties for either magnitude or path homology.

math.AT↗

arXiv2024

The homology of the partition algebras

We show that the homology of the partition algebras, interpreted as appropriate Tor-groups, is isomorphic to that of the symmetric groups in a range of degrees that increases with the number of nodes. Furthermore, we show that when the defining parameter $δ$ of the partition algebra is invertible, the homology of the partition algebra is in fact isomorphic to the homology of the symmetric group in all degrees. These results parallel those obtained for the Brauer algebras in the authors' earlier work, but with significant differences and difficulties in the inductive resolution and high acyclicity arguments required to prove them. Our results join the growing literature on homological stability for algebras, which now encompasses the Temperley-Lieb, Brauer and partition algebras, as well as the Iwahori-Hecke algebras of types A and B.

math.AT↗

arXiv2022

The homology of the Temperley-Lieb algebras

This paper studies the homology and cohomology of the Temperley-Lieb algebra TL_n(a), interpreted as appropriate Tor and Ext groups. Our main result applies under the common assumption that a=v+v^{-1} for some unit v in the ground ring, and states that the homology and cohomology vanish up to and including degree (n-2). To achieve this we simultaneously prove homological stability and compute the stable homology. We show that our vanishing range is sharp when n is even. Our methods are inspired by the tools and techniques of homological stability for families of groups. We construct and exploit a chain complex of 'planar injective words' that is analogous to the complex of injective words used to prove stability for the symmetric groups. However, in this algebraic setting we encounter a novel difficulty: TL_n(a) is not flat over TL_m(a) for m<n, so that Shapiro's lemma is unavailable. We resolve this difficulty by constructing what we call 'inductive resolutions' of the relevant modules. Vanishing results for the homology and cohomology of Temperley-Lieb algebras can also be obtained from the existence of the Jones-Wenzl projector. Our own vanishing results are in general far stronger than these, but in a restricted case we are able to obtain additional vanishing results via existence of the Jones-Wenzl projector. We believe that these results, together with the second author's work on Iwahori-Hecke algebras, are the first time the techniques of homological stability have been applied to algebras that are not group algebras.

math.AT↗

arXiv2022

Homological stability for Iwahori-Hecke algebras

We show that the Iwahori-Hecke algebras H_n of type A_{n-1} satisfy homological stability, where homology is interpreted as an appropriate Tor group. Our result precisely recovers Nakaoka's homological stability result for the symmetric groups in the case that the defining parameter is equal to 1. We believe that this paper, and our joint work with Boyd on Temperley-Lieb algebras, are the first time that the techniques of homological stability have been applied to algebras that are not group algebras.

math.AT↗

arXiv2022

Groups of convex bodies

In this paper we introduce and study a topological abelian group of convex bodies, analogous to the scissors congruence group and McMullen's polytope algebra, with the universal property that continuous valuations on convex bodies correspond to continuous homomorphisms on the group of convex bodies. To study this group, we first obtain a version of McMullen polynomiality for valuations that take values not in fields or vector spaces, but in abelian groups. Using this, we are able to equip the group of convex bodies with a grading that consists of real vector spaces in all positive degrees, mirroring one of the main structural properties of the polytope algebra. It is hoped that this work can serve as the starting point for a K-theoretic interpretation of valuations on convex bodies.

math.MG↗

arXiv2022

Magnitude cohomology

Magnitude homology was introduced by Hepworth and Willerton in the case of graphs, and was later extended by Leinster and Shulman to metric spaces and enriched categories. Here we introduce the dual theory, magnitude cohomology, which we equip with the structure of an associative unital graded ring. Our first main result is a 'recovery theorem' showing that the magnitude cohomology ring of a finite metric space completely determines the space itself. The magnitude cohomology ring is non-commutative in general, for example when applied to finite metric spaces, but in some settings it is commutative, for example when applied to ordinary categories. Our second main result explains this situation by proving that the magnitude cohomology ring of an enriched category is graded-commutative whenever the enriching category is cartesian. We end the paper by giving complete computations of magnitude cohomology rings for several large classes of graphs.

math.AT↗

arXiv2021

The homology of the Brauer algebras

This paper investigates the homology of the Brauer algebras, interpreted as appropriate Tor-groups, and shows that it is closely related to the homology of the symmetric group. Our main results show that when the defining parameter of the Brauer algebra is invertible, then the homology of the Brauer algebra is isomorphic to the homology of the symmetric group, and that when the parameter is not invertible, this isomorphism still holds in a range of degrees that increases with n.

math.AT↗

arXiv2021

Combinatorics of injective words for Temperley-Lieb algebras

This paper studies combinatorial properties of the 'complex of planar injective words', a chain complex of modules over the Temperley-Lieb algebra that arose in our work on homological stability. Despite being a linear rather than a discrete object, our chain complex nevertheless exhibits interesting combinatorial properties. We show that the Euler characteristic of this complex is the n-th Fine number. We obtain an alternating sum formula for the representation given by its top-dimensional homology module and, under further restrictions on the ground ring, we decompose this module in terms of certain standard Young tableaux. This trio of results - inspired by results of Reiner and Webb for the complex of injective words - can be viewed as an interpretation of the n-th Fine number as the 'planar' or 'Dyck path' analogue of the number of derangements of n letters. This interpretation has precursors in the literature, but here emerges naturally from considerations in homological stability. Our final result shows a surprising connection between the boundary maps of our complex and the Jacobsthal numbers.

math.AT↗

arXiv2020

Persistent Magnitude

In this paper we introduce the persistent magnitude, a new numerical invariant of (sufficiently nice) graded persistence modules. It is a weighted and signed count of the bars of the persistence module, in which a bar of the form $[a,b)$ in degree $d$ is counted with weight $(e^{-a}-e^{-b})$ and sign $(-1)^d$. Persistent magnitude has good formal properties, such as additivity with respect to exact sequences and compatibility with tensor products, and has interpretations in terms of both the associated graded functor, and the Laplace transform. Our definition is inspired by Otter's notion of blurred magnitude homology: we show that the magnitude of a finite metric space is precisely the persistent magnitude of its blurred magnitude homology. Turning this result on its head, we obtain a strategy for turning existing persistent homology theories into new numerical invariants by applying the persistent magnitude. We explore this strategy in detail in the case of persistent homology of Morse functions, and in the case of Rips homology.

math.AT↗

arXiv2016

On the edge of the stable range

We prove a general homological stability theorem for certain families of groups equipped with product maps, followed by two theorems of a new kind that give information about the last two homology groups outside the stable range. (These last two unstable groups are the "edge" in our title.) Applying our results to automorphism groups of free groups yields a new proof of homological stability with an improved stable range, a description of the last unstable group up to a single ambiguity, and a lower bound on the rank of the penultimate unstable group. We give similar applications to the general linear groups of the integers and of the field of order 2, this time recovering the known stablility range. The results can also be applied to general linear groups of arbitrary principal ideal domains, symmetric groups, and braid groups. Our methods require us to use field coefficients throughout.

math.AT↗

arXiv2015

Categorifying the magnitude of a graph

The magnitude of a graph can be thought of as an integer power series associated to a graph; Leinster introduced it using his idea of magnitude of a metric space. Here we introduce a bigraded homology theory for graphs which has the magnitude as its graded Euler characteristic. This is a categorification of the magnitude in the same spirit as Khovanov homology is a categorification of the Jones polynomial. We show how properties of magnitude proved by Leinster categorify to properties such as a Kunneth Theorem and a Mayer-Vietoris Theorem. We prove that joins of graphs have their homology supported on the diagonal. Finally, we give various computer calculated examples.

math.CO↗

arXiv2015

On string topology of classifying spaces

Let G be a compact Lie group. By work of Chataur and Menichi, the homology of the space of free loops in the classifying space of G is known to be the value on the circle in a homological conformal field theory. This means in particular that it admits operations parameterized by homology classes of classifying spaces of diffeomorphism groups of surfaces. Here we present a radical extension of this result, giving a new construction in which diffeomorphisms are replaced with homotopy equivalences, and surfaces with boundary are replaced with arbitrary spaces homotopy equivalent to finite graphs. The result is a novel kind of field theory which is related to both the diffeomorphism groups of surfaces and the automorphism groups of free groups with boundaries. Our work shows that the algebraic structures in string topology of classifying spaces can be brought into line with, and in fact far exceed, those available in string topology of manifolds. For simplicity, we restrict to the characteristic 2 case. The generalization to arbitrary characteristic will be addressed in a subsequent paper.

math.AT↗

arXiv2015

Homological stability for families of Coxeter groups

We prove that certain families of Coxeter groups and inclusions $W_1\hookrightarrow W_2\hookrightarrow...$ satisfy homological stability, meaning that in each degree the homology $H_\ast(BW_n)$ is eventually independent of $n$. This gives a uniform treatment of homological stability for the families of Coxeter groups of type $A_n$, $B_n$ and $D_n$, recovering existing results in the first two cases, and giving a new result in the third. The key step in our proof is to show that a certain simplicial complex with $W_n$-action is highly connected. To do this we show that the barycentric subdivision is an instance of the 'basic construction', and then use Davis's description of the basic construction as an increasing union of chambers to deduce the required connectivity.

math.AT↗

arXiv2012

Configurations spaces and Theta_n

We demonstrate that Joyal's category Theta_n, which is central to numerous definitions of (infinity,n)-categories, naturally encodes the homotopy type of configuration spaces of marked points in R^n. This article is largely self-contained and uses only elementary techniques in combinatorics and homotopy theory.

math.AT↗

arXiv2010

Groups, cacti and framed little discs

Let G be a topological group. Then the based loopspace of G is an algebra over the cacti operad, while the double loopspace of the classifying space of G is an algebra over the framed little discs operad. This paper shows that these two algebras are equivalent, in the sense that they are weakly equivalent E-algebras, where E is an operad weakly equivalent to both framed little discs and cacti. We recover the equivalence between cacti and framed little discs, and Menichi's isomorphism between the BV-algebras obtained by taking the homology of the loopspace of G and of the double loopspace of BG.

math.AT↗