Integral homology of random simplicial complexes (Q1702348)

The authors prove that the 1-dimensional homology over \(\mathbb Z\) of the random 2-dimensional simplicial complex on \(n\) vertices vanishes asymptotically almost surely (a.a.s.), i.e. with probability 1 as \( n \rightarrow \infty\), at the moment when each edge is covered by a triangular face. The complex in question is constructed from the complete graph on \(n\) vertices by adding a new triangular face uniformly with probability \(p\). This extends a result of \textit{M. Kahle} and \textit{B. Pittel} [Random Struct. Algorithms 48, No. 1, 102--124 (2016; Zbl 1333.05272)] who proved the analogous result for the 1-dimensional homology over \(\mathbb Z_2\). The desired property is equivalent to the vanishing of the homology over \(\mathbb Z_p\) for each prime. The authors first observe that a result of \textit{G. Kalai} [Isr. J. Math. 45, 337--351 (1983; Zbl 0535.57011)] allows them to restrict their attention to only a finite set of primes \(p\). They then observe that the desired result is equivalent to the property that each triangular face has a null-homotopic boundary. They then carefully study the set of such triangles, the so-called shadow, and show that with very high probability, the size of the shadow increases quickly in the random complex. This result allows them to completely conclude their desired result.