Topological complexity and the homotopy cofibre of the diagonal map (Q1955720)

Topological complexity of a space \(X\), denoted \(TC(X)\), was introduced by \textit{M. Farber} [Discrete Comput. Geom. 29, No. 2, 211--221 (2003; Zbl 1038.68130)] to measure the discontinuity of any motion planning in a space. This homotopy invariant coincides with the Schwarz genus of the end-points evaluation fibration, \(\pi_{X}: X^{[0,1]}\to X\times X\), and therefore many methods of the classical Lusternik-Schnirelmann category can be used for the study of \(TC(X)\). In the paper under review, the authors compare \(TC(X)\) and the LS-category, \(\text{cat}(C_{{\Delta}_{X}})\), of the cofibre of the diagonal map, \(\Delta_{X}: X\times X\times X\). In a previous paper [J. Lond. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 82, No. 3, 621--642 (2010; Zbl 1228.55003)] the two authors have proved that the weak versions of \(TC(X)\) and \(\text{cat}(C_{{\Delta}_{X}})\) coincide for all spaces \(X\). Here, they establish the equality \(TC(X)=\text{cat}(C_{{\Delta}_{X}})\) when \(X\) is a sphere, an \(H\)-space, a compact orientable surface, a complex or real projective space, or some lens spaces.