Higher dimensional simplicial complexity (Q2006020)

Topological complexity was introduced by \textit{M. Farber} [Discrete Comput. Geom. 29, No. 2, 211--221 (2003; Zbl 1038.68130)] to measure how far is a topological space from admitting a motion planner. Let \(X\) be a topological space, its topological complexity, denoted \(TC(X)\), can be defined as the sectional category (Schwarz genus) of the path space fibration \(\pi\colon X^{[0,1]}\to X\times X\), \(\pi(\gamma)=(\gamma(0),\gamma(1))\). For a topological space \(X\), even a smooth manifold or a complex, its topological complexity \(TC(X)\) is very difficult to compute. That is the reason why several discretizations of the concept were introduced. \textit{K. Tanaka} [Algebr. Geom. Topol. 18, No. 2, 779--796 (2018; Zbl 1394.55005)] developed a combinatorial approach from the point of view of finite \(T_0\)-spaces. Both \textit{D. Fernández-Ternero} et al. [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 146, No. 10, 4535--4548 (2018; Zbl 1402.55007)] and \textit{J. González} [New York J. Math. 24, 279--292 (2018; Zbl 1394.55004)] adressed the problem in the simplicial setting. However, note that the discrete topological complexity defined by Fernández-Ternero et al. is different from the simplicial complexity by González. The notion of topological complexity was generalised by \textit{Y. B. Rudyak} [Topology Appl. 157, No. 5, 916--920 (2010; Zbl 1187.55001)] to define the higher dimensional topological complexity of a space \(X\), denoted \(TC_{n}(X)\), as the Schwarz genus of the map \(\pi\colon X^{[0,1]}\to X^n\), where \(\pi\) assigns \(n\) intermediate points to a path \(\gamma\). As a consequence, \(TC_2(X)=TC(X)\). In the paper under review, the author introduces the notion of higher dimensional simplicial complexity, as an analogue of Rudyak's generalisation of topological complexity in the simplicial setting. This analogy is made concrete by Theorem 2.9, which guarantees that for a finite simplicial complex \(K\), its higher dimensional simplicial complexity is equal to the higher dimensional topological complexity of the geometric realization of \(K\). Then, some properties of the higher dimensional simplicial complexity are studied. Finally, a fully worked-out example is provided. It may be also of interest to read, due to its relation with the paper under review, the work on higher analogs of simplicial and combinatorial complexity by \textit{A. K. Paul} [Topology Appl. 267, Article ID 106859, 12 p. (2019; Zbl 1425.57015)].