Small models of graph colouring manifolds and the Stiefel manifolds \(\Hom(C_{5},K_n)\) (Q2469199)

The main result of this article is the following: The graph homomorphism complex \(\Hom(C_5, K_{n+2})\) is homeomorphic with the space of all unit tangent vectors on the \(n\)-sphere \(S^n\). This settles a conjecture made by \textit{P. Csorba} in his PhD thesis at ETH Zürich 2005. In particular these Hom complexes are manifolds. Other cases where Hom complexes are manifolds were studied by \textit{P. Cscorba} and \textit{F. H. Lutz} in a paper reviewed in [Graph coloring manifolds, Contemporary Mathematics 423, 51--69 (2006; Zbl 1121.05046)]. An important tool in proving this result is to replace the full Hom complexes by smaller complexes of type \(\Hom_I(C_5,K_{n+2})\) where \(I\) denotes an independent set of vertices in the graph. This method works if the Hom complex is a manifold.