The van Kampen obstruction and its relatives (Q1048452)

For a long time the following has been known: If \(v_i, i= 1,2,\dots,k\), are the vertices of a triangulation of an \(n\)-dimensional polyhedron \(P,\) then the assignment \(v_i \to (i,i^2,\dots,i^{2n+1})\in \mathbb R^{2n+1}\) extended linearly over each simplex produces an embedding of \(P\) into \(\mathbb R^{2n+1}\). Soon, examples of \(n\)-polyhedra were found that can't be embedded into \(\mathbb R^{2n}.\) What is preventing the embedding? Consequently, there is an obstruction to embedding an \(n\)-polyhedron into \(\mathbb R^{2n}\). E. R. van Kampen has plainly geometrically found this obstacle, today called the van Kampen obstruction. Of course it did not have today's formulation. At his time cohomology theory was not yet developed, so it did not have today's formulation as a cohomology class \(\vartheta(P)\in H^{2n}(\overline{P}),\) where \(\overline{P}=(P\times P \setminus \Delta)/\mathbb Z_2\) (see p. 151). Now at the age of 80 years of the van Kampen obstruction, it got many relatives and applicable versions. The paper is a review of the cochain-free treatment of \(\vartheta\) and contains a series of related new results and new modern proofs of some previously proved results. The author connects (relates) the terminology of different authors and also points out the errors that have occured in some references. Let us mention some results: (1) A proof that the mod\,2 reduction of \(\vartheta\) is incomplete. (2) An odd-dimensional analog of \(\vartheta\) is a complete obstruction to intrinsic unlinking in \(\mathbb R^{2n+1}\) of a given \(n\) polyhedron. (3) A ``blow-up'' one parameter version of \(\vartheta\) is a universal 1 invariant of singular knots. (4) An embedding of an \(n\)-polyhedron \(P\) extends to an embedding of the cone \(C(P)\) over \(P\) if and only if \(\vartheta(P)=0.\) (5) \(n\)-polyhedron \(P\) embeds in \(\mathbb R^m\) with \(m>3(n+1)/2\) iff and only if \(\Theta^m(P)=0,\) where \(\Theta^m(P)\) is the extraordinary van Kampen obstruction. (6) An isotopy classification of embeddings of \(n\)-polyhedron within the metastable range of dimensions is given using a generalized cohomology. (7) Every \(n\) polyhedron \(P\) with \(H^{n-d}(P\setminus x)\) for each \(x\in P\) and \(d\leq k,\) where \(k<(n-3)/2,\) embeds into \(\mathbb R^{2n-k}.\) The paper also contains some alternate proofs of some theorems and illustrating examples.