Survey article: an elementary illustrated introduction to simplicial sets (Q422031)

The purpose of this paper is to give a hands-on, intuitive introduction to simplicial sets and the beginnings of simplicial homotopy theory. While it is not hard to define a simplicial set as a functor from from \(\Delta^{op}\) to the category of sets, or even to write down the simplicial identities that face and degeneracy maps must satisfy, the intuition behind the definition can be hard to grasp for a beginner. The author instead develops the notion of simplicial set organically, beginning with geometric simplicial complexes and increasing in generality to abstract complexes, ordered simplicial complexes, Delta-sets, and finally to simplicial sets. Motivation is given for the need for this level of abstraction based on properties we expect for topological spaces. After developing this definition, some of the essential topics in simplicial homotopy theory are introduced: geometric realization, internal homs, and defining simplicial objects in categories other than that of sets. Kan complexes are defined, followed by the definition of homotopy groups of simplicial sets. This paper would be an excellent starting point for a graduate student beginning in the subject, and numerous references are given for further reading, including the standard texts by May and Goerss-Jardine.