English

Iterated magnitude homology

Algebraic Topology 2025-03-27 v2 Category Theory Group Theory Metric Geometry

Abstract

Magnitude homology is an invariant of enriched categories which generalizes ordinary categorical homology -- the homology of the classifying space of a small category. The classifying space can also be generalized in a different direction: it extends from categories to bicategories as the geometric realization of the geometric nerve. This paper introduces a hybrid of the two ideas: an iterated magnitude homology theory for categories with a second- or higher-order enrichment. This encompasses, for example, groups equipped with extra structure such as a partial ordering or a bi-invariant metric. In the case of a strict 2-category, iterated magnitude homology recovers the homology of the classifying space; we investigate its content and behaviour when interpreted for partially ordered groups, normed groups, and strict nn-categories for n>2n > 2.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2309.00577,
  title  = {Iterated magnitude homology},
  author = {Emily Roff},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2309.00577},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

41 pages. Version 2: an error in Prop. 6.2 has been corrected, some typos corrected, references updated. This is the final version, to appear in Advances in Mathematics

R2 v1 2026-06-28T12:10:34.644Z