Path homology theory of multigraphs and quivers (Q1791241)

A finite quiver is a quadruple \(Q=(V,E,s,t)\) where \(V\) is a finite set of vertices, \(E\) is a finite set of arrows, and \(s,t: E\longrightarrow V\) are two maps. For each \(a\in E\), \(s(a)\) is the start vertex of \(a\) and \(t(a)\) is the target vertex of \(a\). For example, in a digraph \(G\), if we equip the directed edges with weights in positive integers, then we obtain a quiver. A quiver \(Q\) is called complete of power \(N\) if for any two vertices \(v,w\), there are exactly \(N\) arrows with the start vertex \(v\) and the target vertex \(w\). An elementary \(r\)-path in a quiver \(Q\) is a non-empty sequence \(a_0,a_1,\dots,a_{r-1}\in E\) such that \(t(a_i)=s(a_{i+1})\) for each \(0\leq i\leq r-2\). The set of all elementary \(r\)-paths of \(Q\) is denoted by \(P_rQ\). The union of all \(P_rQ\) for \(r\geq 0\) is denoted by \(PQ\). Let \(K\) be a commutative ring with unity such that no positive integer in \(K\) is a zero divisor. The graded path algebra \(\Lambda _r(Q)=K[P_rQ]\), \(r\geq 0\), and \(\Lambda _*(Q)=K[PQ]\) is the free \(K\)-module spanned by all elementary paths in \(Q\). The multiplication in \(\Lambda_*(Q)\) is defined as a \(K\)-linear extension of concatenation of any two elementary paths in \(Q\). In Section 3, the paper proves that if \(Q\) is a complete quiver of power \(N\), then there is a path chain complex \(\{\Lambda_n(Q),\partial\}_{n\geq 0}\) and hence a path homology. Here the boundary map is given by the alternating sum of faces \(\partial=\sum_{i=0}^n \partial_i,\) where the faces are \[ \begin{aligned} &\partial_0(a_0)=Nt(a_0), \partial_1(a_0)=Ns(a_0),\\ &\partial_0(a_0a_1\dots a_n)=N(a_1\dots a_n), \partial_{n+1}(a_0a_1\dots a_n)=N(a_0a_1\dots a_{n-1}),\\ &\partial_i(a_0a_1\dots a_n)=\sum_{\substack{ c\in E\\ s(c)=s(a_{i-1})\\ t(c)=t(a_i)}} a_0a_1\dots a_{i-2} c a_{i+1} \dots a_n, \end{aligned} \] \(n\geq 1\), \(0\leq i\leq n\). The boundary map \(\partial\) depends on \(N\). In Section 4, the paper studies the path homology of general quivers by considering the graded subgroups \[ \Omega_n^N(Q)=\{v\in \Lambda_n(Q)\mid \partial v\in \Lambda_{n-1}(Q)\} \] of \(\Lambda_n(Q)\), \(n\geq 0\). It is proved that \(\{\Omega^N_n(Q),\partial\}_{n\geq 0}\) is a chain complex. The path homology of \(Q\) is defined as \[ H^N_n(Q,K)=H_n(\Omega_*^N(Q)). \] It is proved in Theorem 4.4 that when \(N\) is greater than the power of \(Q\), \(\Omega^N_n(Q)\) does not depend on \(N\). Nevertheless, \(H^N_n(Q,K)\) may depend on \(N\). The functorial properties of \(H^N_n(Q,K)\) are studied in the remaining part of Section 4. In Section 5, the paper defines homotopic morphisms and one-step homotopic morphisms between quivers. Strong homotopy equivalences between quivers are also defined. It is proved in Theorem 5.5 that under certain conditions, homotopic morphisms of quivers induce the same homomorphism between the path homology groups. Moreover, under certain conditions, mutually inverse morphisms of quivers induce mutually inverse isomorphisms between the path homology groups. In Section 6, the paper illustrates multigraphs as an example.