Strong discrete Morse theory and simplicial L-S category: a discrete version of the Lusternik-Schnirelmann theorem (Q1985296)

The simplicial Lusternik-Schnirelmann category of a simplicial complex is a variant of the well-known Lusternik-Schnirelmann category that was introduced in [\textit{D. Fernández-Ternero} et al., Topology Appl. 194, 37--50 (2015; Zbl 1327.55004)]. It relies on the notion of contiguous maps and is invariant under strong homotopy equivalences [\textit{J. A. Barmak} and \textit{E. G. Minian}, Discrete Comput. Geom. 47, No. 2, 301--328 (2012; Zbl 1242.57019)]. In the article under consideration, the authors introduce the notion of \textit{critical objects} of a discrete Morse function \(f\) defined on a simplicial complex \(K\). These critical objects are the critical simplices of \(f\) (in the sense of \textit{R. Forman} [Adv. Math. 134, No. 1, 90--145 (1998; Zbl 0896.57023)]) together with \textit{critical pairs} of simplices of \(K\) which are induced by the gradient vector field of \(f\). This notion of critical objects permits them to obtain a simplicial version of the Lusternik-Schnirelmann theorem, which is the main result of the article and states that if \(K\) is a simplicial complex and \(f\colon K\to \mathbb{R}\) is a discrete Morse function then the simplicial Lusternik-Schnirelmann category of \(K\) is less than the cardinality of the set of critical objects of \(f\). In addition, the authors give many examples which illustrate several concepts and results of the article.