A combinatorial-topological shape category for polygraphs (Q2182786)

This paper is concerned with a new combinatorial formalism for \(\omega\)-categories, in view of applications in higher dimensional rewriting theory based on polygraphs. As formalized by [\textit{Y. Lafont} et al., Adv. Math. 224, No. 3, 1183--1231 (2010; Zbl 1236.18017)], polygraphs can be understood as those \(\omega\)-categories that can be built by freely attaching a new cell along an existing boundary, analogously to the way that CW-complexes are those spaces that are built by freely attaching disks. Based on Grothendieck's homotopy hypothesis, weak higher groupoids should model all spaces, so strict \(\omega\)-categories and in particular polygraphs should contribute to modelling spaces, too. In realizing to spaces, polygraphs should correspond to CW-complexes. Previous combinatorial approaches to formalize interesting classes of \(\omega\)-categories and some flavors of polygraphs include Johnson-Power's ``pasting schemes'' [\textit{M. Johnson}, J. Pure Appl. Algebra 62, No. 3, 211--225 (1989; Zbl 0694.18007); \textit{A. J. Power}, Lect. Notes Math. 1488, 326--358 (1991; Zbl 0736.18004)], Street's ``parity complexes'' [\textit{R. Street}, Cah. Topologie Géom. Différ. Catégoriques 32, No. 4, 315--343 (1991; Zbl 0760.18011)], Steiner's ``directed complexes'' [\textit{C. Simpson}, Homotopy theory of higher categories. From Segal categories to \(n\)-categories and beyond. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2012; Zbl 1232.18001)] and ``augmented directed complexes'' [\textit{R. Steiner}, Homology Homotopy Appl. 6, No. 1, 175--200 (2004; Zbl 1071.18005)]. In this paper, the author introduces and studies ``constructible polygraphs''. This approach has the advantage of having a more direct access to the generators of an \(\omega\)-category given in the form of a constructible polygraph. The definition of constructible polygraphs borrows many ideas from poset topology. Inspired by the notion of ``constructible complexes'' in poset topology, the author defines ``constructible directed complexes'' as oriented graded posets satisfying conditions that axiomatize the behaviour of posets arising from certain \(\omega\)-categories. Amongst the constructible directed complexes, those which have a maximal element are called ``constructible atoms''. Finally, ``constructible polygraphs'' are defined as presheaves over the indexing category of constructible atoms. The author shows that any constructible polygraph gives an \(\omega\)-category (which is even, conjecturally, a polygraph), and gives an explicit construction that realizes any constructible polygraph as a CW-complex with one cell for each of its elements. An analog result is proven by Henry [\textit{A. Hadzihasanovic}, The algebra of entanglement and the geometry of composition. University of Oxford (Ph.D. Thesis) (2017)] with different techniques in the context or regular polygraphs. Moreover, the author defines constructions that implement the join and tensor products of constructible polygraphs, conjecturally in a compatible way with the analog constructions for \(\omega\)-categories. It is also shown that many basic shapes, such as cells, globes, cubes, oriented simplices, opetopes, are recovered as constructible atoms, and that any constructible directed complex is a directed complex in the sense of Steiner, and as such it can be realized as an \(\omega\)-category. The nature of constructible directed complexes allows for explicit constructions for suspension, duals, tensor product and join of constructible directed complexes and constructible atoms.