English

Relative topological complexity of a pair

Algebraic Topology 2017-10-18 v1

Abstract

For a pair of spaces XX and YY such that YXY \subseteq X, we define the relative topological complexity of the pair (X,Y)(X,Y) as a new variant of relative topological complexity. Intuitively, this corresponds to counting the smallest number of motion planning rules needed for a continuous motion planner from XX to YY. We give basic estimates on the invariant, and we connect it to both Lusternik-Schnirelmann category and topological complexity. In the process, we compute this invariant for several example spaces including wedges of spheres, topological groups, and spatial polygon spaces. In addition, we connect the invariant to the existence of certain types of axial maps.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1710.06201,
  title  = {Relative topological complexity of a pair},
  author = {Robert Short},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1710.06201},
  year   = {2017}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-22T22:16:42.434Z