Random simplicial complexes in the medial regime (Q2295658)

Random simplicial complexes are simplicial complexes whose definition involves probability parameters which describe the way in which the simplices of various dimensions are attached. The study of random simplicial complexes has been recently motivated by applications in complex systems, in particular in engineering and computer science. In the paper under review, the authors are interested in the topology of random simplicial complexes in the lower and upper models in the medial regime, that is, under the assumption that the probability parameters approach neither \(0\) nor \(1\). They show that nontrivial Betti numbers of typical lower and upper random simplicial complexes in this regime lie in a narrow range of dimensions. They prove in particular that an upper random simplicial complex on \(n\) vertices in the medial regime with high probability has non-vanishing Betti numbers only for \(k+c<n-j<\log_2 k +c'\) where \(k= \log_2 \ln n\) and \(c,c'\) are constants. A lower random simplicial complex on \(n\) vertices in the medial regime is, with high probability, \((k+a)\)-connected and its dimension is of the order \(k+\log_2 k+a'\) where \(a,a'\) are constants. The proof of the main results concerning the lower model are based on Garland's method which was already used in stochastic topology, and, concerning the upper model, Alexander duality, which is a new tool in probabilistic topology and which relates the lower and upper models.