Related papers: Collapsibility to a subcomplex of a given dimensio…
A simplicial complex is d-collapsible if it can be reduced to an empty complex by repeatedly removing (collapsing) a face of dimension at most d-1 that is contained in a unique maximal face. We prove that the algorithmic question whether a…
We prove that it is NP-complete to decide whether a given (3-dimensional) simplicial complex is collapsible. This work extends a result of Malgouyres and Franc\'{e}s showing that it is NP-complete to decide whether a given simplicial…
We prove that for every $d\geq 2$, deciding if a pure, $d$-dimensional, simplicial complex is shellable is NP-hard, hence NP-complete. This resolves a question raised, e.g., by Danaraj and Klee in 1978. Our reduction also yields that for…
We prove a sufficient condition for a finite clique complex to collapse to a $k$-dimensional complex, and use this to exhibit thresholds for $(k+1)$-collapsibility in a sparse random clique complex. In particular, if every strongly…
In this paper we determine the threshold for collapsibility in the probabilistic model $X_d(n,p)$ of $d$-dimensional simplicial complexes. A lower bound for this threshold $p=\frac{c_d}{n}$ was established in \cite{ALLM}. Here we show that…
In general a contractible complex need not be collapsible. Moreover, there exist complexes which are collapsible but even so admit a collapsing sequence where one "gets stuck", that is one can choose the collapses in such a way that one…
A simplicial complex K is called d-representable if it is the nerve of a collection of convex sets in R^d; K is d-collapsible if it can be reduced to an empty complex by repeatedly removing a face of dimension at most d-1 that is contained…
We show that the decision problem of determining whether a given (abstract simplicial) $k$-complex has a geometric embedding in $\mathbb R^d$ is complete for the Existential Theory of the Reals for all $d\geq 3$ and $k\in\{d-1,d\}$. This…
Let K be a simplicial complex with vertex set V = {v_1,..., v_n}. The complex K is d-representable if there is a collection {C_1,...,C_n} of convex sets in R^d such that a subcollection {C_{i_1},...,C_{i_j}} has a nonempty intersection if…
This thesis addresses the question of the maximal number of $d$-simplices for a simplicial complex which is embeddable into $\mathbb{R}^r$ for some $d \leq r \leq 2d$. A lower bound of $f_d(C_{r + 1}(n)) =…
A classical question in PL topology, asked among others by Hudson, Lickorish, and Kirby, is whether every linear subdivision of the d-simplex is simplicially collapsible. The answer is known to be positive for d<4. We solve the problem up…
A map $f: K \to \mathbb{R}^d$ of a simplicial complex is an almost embedding if $f(\sigma) \cap f(\tau) = \varnothing$ whenever $\sigma, \tau$ are disjoint simplices of $K$. Fix integers $d,k \geqslant 2$ such that $k+2 \leqslant d…
The main goal of this paper is to show that shellability is NP-hard for triangulated d-balls (this also gives hardness for triangulated d-manifolds/d-pseudomanifolds with boundary) as soon as d is at least 3. This extends our earlier work…
A well-known conjecture of Simon (1994) states that any pure $d$-dimensional shellable complex on $n$ vertices can be extended to $\Delta_{n-1}^{(d)}$, the $d$-skeleton of the $(n-1)$-dimensional simplex, by attaching one facet at a time…
In 1975 Wegner conjectured that the nerve of every finite good cover in R^d is d-collapsible. We disprove this conjecture. A good cover is a collection of open sets in R^d such that the intersection of every subcollection is either empty or…
Shellings of simplicial complexes have long been a useful tool in topological and algebraic combinatorics. Shellings of a complex expose a large amount of information in a helpful way, but are not easy to construct, often requiring deep…
A map $f\colon K\to \mathbb R^d$ of a simplicial complex is an almost embedding if $f(\sigma)\cap f(\tau)=\emptyset$ whenever $\sigma,\tau$ are disjoint simplices of $K$. Theorem. Fix integers $d,k\ge2$ such that $d=\frac{3k}2+1$. (a)…
Let Y be a random d-dimensional subcomplex of the (n-1)-dimensional simplex S obtained by starting with the full (d-1)-dimensional skeleton of S and then adding each d-simplex independently with probability p=c/n. We compute an explicit…
A set $D \subseteq \mathbb{N}$ is called $r$-large if every $r$-coloring of $\mathbb{N}$ admits arbitrarily long monochromatic arithmetic progressions $a,a+d,...,a+(k-1)d$ with gap $d \in D$. Closely related to largeness is accessibility; a…
This paper discusses advances, due to the work of Cai, Naik, and Sivakumar and Glasser, in the complexity class collapses that follow if NP has sparse hard sets under reductions weaker than (full) truth-table reductions.