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A classical result in Morse theory is the determination of the homotopy type of the loop space of a manifold. In this paper, we study this result through the lens of discrete Morse theory. This requires a suitable simplicial model for the loop space. Here, we use Milnor's $\textrm{F}^+\textrm{K}$ construction to model the loop space of the sphere $S^2$, describe a discrete gradient on it, and identify a collection of critical cells. We also compute the action of the boundary operator in the Morse complex on these critical cells, showing that they are potential homology generators. A careful analysis allows us to recover the calculation of the first homology of $\Omega S^2$., Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure

We develop a discrete Morse theory for open simplicial complexes $K=X\setminus T$ where $X$ is a simplicial complex and $T$ a subcomplex of $X$. A discrete Morse function $f$ on $K$ gives rise to a discrete Morse function on the order complex $S_K$ of $K$, and the topology change determined by $f$ on $K$ can be understood by analyzing the the topology change determined by the discrete Morse function on $S_K$. This topology change is given by a structure theorem on the level subcomplexes of $S_K$. Finally, we show that the Borel-Moore homology of $K$, a homology theory for locally compact spaces, is isomorphic to the homology induced by a gradient vector field on $K$ and deduce corresponding weak Morse inequalities.

We define the notion of an approximate triangulation for a manifold $M$ embedded in euclidean space. The basic idea is to build a nested family of simplicial complexes whose vertices lie in $M$ and use persistent homology to find a complex in the family whose homology agrees with that of $M$. Our key examples are various Grassmann manifolds $G_k({\mathbb R}^n)$., Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures

In the study of smooth functions on manifolds, min-max theory provides a mechanism for identifying critical values of a function. In this paper we introduce a discretized version of this theory associated to a discrete Morse function on a (regular) cell complex. As applications we prove a discrete version of the Mountain Pass Lemma and give an alternate proof of a discrete Lusternik-Schnirelmann Theorem., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures

In recent decades, state legislatures have often drawn U.S. Congressional voting districts that look---to the human eye---to be rather twisted. In this paper, we propose a method to measure how much districts "meander" via a computation of the medial axis of the region. We then compare this to the medial axis of the convex hull of the district to obtain the {\em medial-hull ratio}: a dimensionless quantity that captures the district's irregularity. We compute this quantity for many example Congressional districts., Comment: 32 pages, 28 figures

Inspired by the works of Forman on discrete Morse theory, which is a combinatorial adaptation to cell complexes of classical Morse theory on manifolds, we introduce a discrete analogue of the stratified Morse theory of Goresky and MacPherson. We describe the basics of this theory and prove fundamental theorems relating the topology of a general simplicial complex with the critical simplices of a discrete stratified Morse function on the complex. We also provide an algorithm that constructs a discrete stratified Morse function out of an arbitrary function defined on a finite simplicial complex; this is different from simply constructing a discrete Morse function on such a complex. We then give simple examples to convey the utility of our theory. Finally, we relate our theory with the classical stratified Morse theory in terms of triangulated Whitney stratified spaces., Comment: Full and updated version of an extended abstract previously published at International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SOCG), 2018

We use the theory of persistent homology to analyze a data set arising from the study of various aspects of democracy. Our results show that most "mature" democracies look more or less the same, in the sense that they form a single connected component in the data set, while more authoritarian countries cluster into groups depending on various factors. For example, we find several distinct $2$-dimensional homology classes in the set, uncovering connections among the countries representing the vertices in the representative cycles., Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures

We show that the group $H_2(\slzti;\zz)$ is not finitely generated, answering a question mentioned by Bux and Wortman in \cite{bux}., Comment: 8 pages

Suppose $M$ is a finite simplicial complex and that for $0=t_0,t_1,...,t_r=1$ we have a discrete Morse function $F_{t_i}:M\to \zr$. In this paper, we study the births and deaths of critical cells for the functions $F_{t_i}$ and present an algorithm for pairing the cells that occur in adjacent slices. We first study the case where the triangulation of $M$ is the same for each $t_i$, and then generalize to the case where the triangulations may differ. This has potential applications in data imaging, where one has function values at a sample of points in some region in space at several different times or at different levels in an object., Comment: 24 pages, final version to appear in J. Symbolic Computation

We study the multi-dimensional persistence of Carlsson and Zomorodian and obtain a finer classification based upon the higher tor-modules of a persistence module. We propose a variety structure on the set of isomorphism classes of these modules, and present several examples. We also provide a geometric interpretation for the higher tor-modules of homology modules of multi-filtered simplicial complexes., Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures

We compute the completion of the special linear group over the coordinate ring of a curve over a number field $k$ relative to its representation in $\slnk$, and relate this to the study of $K_2$ of the curve., Comment: 6 pages

For a finite group G and a finite G-CW-complex X, we construct groups H_\bullet(G,X) as the homology groups of the G-invariants of the cellular chain complex C_\bullet(X). These groups are related to the homology of the quotient space X/G via a norm map, and therefore provide a mechanism for calculating H_\bullet(X/G). We compute several examples and provide a new proof of ``Smith theory": if G=Z/p and X is a mod p homology sphere on which G acts, then the subcomplex X^G is empty or a mod $p$ homology sphere. We also get a new proof of the Conner conjecture: If G=Z/p acts on a Z-acyclic space X, then X/G is Z-acyclic., Comment: 14 pages

We study the Gassner representation of the pure braid group $P_n$ by considering its restriction to a free subgroup $F$. The kernel of the restriction is shown to lie in the subgroup $[\Gamma^3 F,\Gamma^2 F]$, sharpening a result of Lipschutz., Comment: 9 pages, final version to appear in Arch. Math. (Basel)

We construct two families of representations of the braid group $B_n$ by considering conjugation actions on congruence subgroups of $GL_{n-1}(Z[t^{\pm 1},q^{\pm 1}])$. We show that many of these representations are faithful modulo the center of $B_n$., Comment: 15 pages

Let G be an algebraic group and let X be a smooth integral scheme over a field k. In this paper we construct homology-type groups $H_i(X,G)$ by considering cycles in the simplicial scheme $BG\times X (an idea suggested by Andrei Suslin). We discuss the basic properties of these groups and construct a spectral sequence, beginning with the groups $H_i(\Delta^j,G)$, which converges to the etale cohomology of the simplicial group BG. These groups are therefore connected with the study of Friedlander's generalized isomorphism conjecture. We also compute some examples, focusing in particular on the case X=Spec(k). In the case where k is the real numbers, there is a connection between the groups $H_i$ and the Z/2-equivariant cohomology of the classifying space of the discrete group $G(\mathbb R)$., Comment: 15 pages

If $Q$ is a group acting as a group of automorphisms of another group $G$ (with finite orbits), denote by $C_*(G)^Q$ the subcomplex of $Q$-invariant chains in the bar complex $C_*(G)$. In this paper, we study the homology of the complex $C_*(G)^Q$ and compute several examples., Comment: 18 pages

We study the completion of a group relative to a Zariski dense representation in a reductive algebraic group over a field $k$. The characteristic zero case was worked out previously by R. Hain; we extend his results to arbitrary characteristic. The primary application is to the study of the cohomology of groups such as $SL_n(k[[T]])$., Comment: 24 pages

Let A be the coordinate ring of an affine elliptic curve (over an infinite field k) of the form X-{p}, where X is projective and p is a closed point on X. Denote by F the function field of X. We show that the image of H_*(GL_2(A),Z) in H_*(GL_2(F),Z) coincides with the image of H_*(GL_2(k),Z). As a consequence, we obtain numerous results about the K-theory of A and X. For example, if k is a number field, we show that r_2(K_2> (A) x Q)=0, where r_m denotes the m-th level of the rank filtration., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, to appear in J. reine angew. Math

We show that if R is an integral domain with many units, then the inclusion E_2(R) --> E_2(R[t]) induces an isomorphism in integral homology. This is a consequence of the existence of an amalgamated free product decomposition for E_2(R[t]). We also use this decomposition to study the homology of E_2(Z[t]). We show that H_i(E_2(Z[t]),Z) contains a countable rank free summand for each i>0 and that this summand maps nontrivially into H_i(SL_2(Z[t]),Z); hence, the latter is not finitely generated. This improves on a result of Grunewald, et.al., which states that SL_2(Z[t]) has free quotients of countable rank (and hence, H_1(SL_2(Z[t]) is not finitely generated)., Comment: 13 pages

Let E be an elliptic curve defined via a Weierstrass equation F(x,y)=0 over an infinite field k. Denote by A the coordinate ring of E. In this note we compute the integral homology of PGL_2(A). We obtain a rigidity result as a corollary., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

Let F be a field of characteristic zero and let V be an irreducible representation of SL_n(F). In this paper, we compute the first cohomology of SL_n(F[t]) with coefficients in V. It agrees with H^1(SL_n(F),V) if V is not the adjoint representation, while if V = Ad, the two groups differ by an F-vector space X. We show that if n=2, X is infinite dimensional, while if n>2, dim X = 1. We also study the abelianization of the kernel of the map SL_n(F[t])-->SL_n(F) given by setting t=0, where now F is any field. We conjecture that this abelianization is the adjoint representation sl_n(F) if n>2 and F is finite, and prove this in the case n=3, F=F_2, F_3., Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Journal of Algebra

We prove that if R is a Hensel local ring with infinite residue field k, the natural map H_i(GL(n,R),Z/p) ---> H_i(GL(n,k),Z/p) is an isomorphism for i <=3, p distinct from char(k). This implies rigidity for H_i(GL_n), i <=3, which in turn implies the Friedlander-Milnor conjecture in positive characteristic in degrees <=3., Comment: 15 pages

We compute the completion of the groups SL_n(Z[t]) and SL_n(Z[t,t^{-1}]) relative to the obvious homomorphisms to SL_n(Q); this is a generalization of the classical Malcev completion. We also make partial computations of the rational second cohomology of these groups., Comment: 13 pages