Cross-ratio and groupoids. (Q1911499)

Goncharov's work on the Zagier conjecture emphasized the importance of geometric configurations and generalized cross-ratios for the understanding of classical polylogarithms and their connections with algebraic \(K\)-theory (motivic cohomology, characteristic classes, zeta functions...) [\textit{A. B. Goncharov}, Math. Res. Lett. 2, No. 1, 95-112 (1995; Zbl 0836.14005); Adv. Math. 114, No. 2, 197-318 (1995; Zbl 0863.19004); Proc. Symp. Pure Math. 55, Pt. 2, 43-96 (1994; Zbl 0842.11043)]. This motivated the present paper, which investigates generalized cross-ratios by means of certain geometric groupoids. These groupoids provide a presentation by generators and relations of various objects such as the multiplicative group of a field or, more generally, the linear groups. They are defined using Grassmannian configurations: for example, for the usual cross-ratio, the corresponding groupoid is defined as follows: the objects are the pints of the projective \(n\)-space; the generating set for arrows from \(x\) to \(y\) is given by points on the punctured line \(\langle x,y\rangle -\{x,y\}\); relations between arrows are given by Menelaus configurations. The connections with Goncharov's configuration invariants are explained in detail. Analogous constructions do provide an acyclic resolution of \(\mathbb{Z}\) as a \(GL(\ell,F)\)-module, hence a Grassmannian complex computing the homology of the linear groups.