Complexity of triangulations of the projective space. (Q1403825)

A positive integer \(c\) is found such that any two triangulations of \(\mathbb RP^3\) with at most \(t\) \(3\)-simplices are related by a sequence of at most \(c^{t^2}\) edge contractions and inverse operations. A simplicial complex \(L\) is said to be the result of an \textit{edge contraction} of a simplicial complex \(K\), if, for some \(1\)-simplex \(e\) of \(K\) with \(\partial e=\{\partial_+,\partial_-\}\), \(L\) is obtained from \(K\) by removing \(e*\sigma\) and identifying \(\partial_+*\sigma\) with \(\partial_-*\sigma\) for each simplex \(\sigma\) of the link of \(e\). From the introduction: ``This paper is thought of as a first step towards a study of more general \(3\)-dimensional manifolds, e.g.~ (atoroidal) Haken manifolds''.