Simplicial collapsibility, discrete Morse theory, and the geometry of nonpositively curved simplicial complexes (Q2427424)

Any geodesic metric space satisfying globally the CAT(0)-property is known to be contractible. In the paper the special case of a finite simplicial complex of dimension at most three is considered, equipped with the piecewise flat metric induced by regular Euclidean simplices, i.e., under the assumption that all edges have the same length. Under the assumption of CAT(0) it is shown that such a complex collapses to a point, a stronger statement in view of complexes like the dunce hat or Bing's house with two rooms. The key ingredient of the proof is Forman's discrete Morse theory. It is shown that such a complex admits a discrete Morse function with no critical edges.