Discrete Morse theory on graphs (Q1032958)

Discrete Morse theory is originally introduced by R. Forman as a discrete analogue of classical Morse theory to study homotopy properties of finite CW-complexes. In [\textit{R. Ayala}, \textit{L. M. Fernández}, and \textit{J. A. Vilches}, ``Discrete Morse inequalities on infinite graphs'', Electron. J. Comb. 16, No. 1, Research Paper R38, 11p. (2009; Zbl 1182.05088)], three of the authors of this paper extend Forman's ideas to the most simple infinite case: the 1-dimensional case. Morse inequalities and the possible number of critical elements of a Morse function are studied in that article in which a particular kind of rays of the graph play the same role as the critical vertices. In this paper, those results are recalled and a deeper analysis is carried out. It is considered the case in which the Morse inequalities are equalities and it is studied how the Betti numbers of the level subcomplexes can change.