English

Morse theory for loop-free categories

Algebraic Topology 2021-07-14 v1

Abstract

We extend discrete Morse-Bott theory to the setting of loop-free (or acyclic) categories. First of all, we state a homological version of Quillen's Theorem A in this context and introduce the notion of cellular categories. Second, we present a notion of vector field for loop-free categories. Third, we prove a homological collapsing theorem in the absence of critical objects in order to obtain the Morse inequalities. Examples are provided through the exposition. This answers partially a question by T. John: whether there is a Morse theory for loop-free (or acyclic) categories? [14].

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2107.06202,
  title  = {Morse theory for loop-free categories},
  author = {Michał Lipiński and David Mosquera-Lois and Mateusz Przybylski},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2107.06202},
  year   = {2021}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-24T04:09:36.140Z