The homotopy theory of diffeological spaces (Q2339304)

This paper explores the homotopy properties of the category of diffeological spaces. A diffeological space is a set \(X\) together with a set \({\mathcal D}_{X}\) of functions \(U \rightarrow X\) (called \textit{plots}) for each open set \(U\) in \({\mathbb R}^{n}\), such that for all open subsets \(U \subseteq {\mathbb R}^{n}\) and \(V \subseteq {\mathbb R}^{m}\) {\parindent=6mm \begin{itemize} \item[(1)] (Covering) Every constant map \(U \rightarrow X\) is a plot; \item [(2)] (Smooth Compatibility) If \(U \rightarrow X\) is a plot and \(V \rightarrow U\) is smooth then the composition \(V \rightarrow U \rightarrow X\) is a plot; \item [(3)] (Sheaf Condition) If \(U = \cup_{i} U_{i}\) is an open cover and \(U \rightarrow X\) is a set map such that each restriction \(U_{i} \rightarrow X\) is a plot, then \(U \rightarrow X\) is a plot. \end{itemize}} The authors prove a number of basic results on the homotopy of these spaces, specifically they show that the smooth homotopy groups of a fibrant diffeological space coincide with the simplicial homotopy groups of its smooth singular simplicial set. They also show that a map \(f : X \rightarrow Y\) between fibrant diffeological spaces is a weak equivalence if and only if it induces an isomorphism on all smooth homotopy groups for all basepoints. The paper gives detailed proofs of its results and has many examples and counter-examples.