Graph approach to the computation of the homology of continuous maps (Q2505643)

This paper describes an efficient algorithm that can be used to compute the homomorphism induced in (relative) homology by a continuous map. The algorithm is based upon using an approximation to a continuous map that is a multivalued map -- so that the image of a point is a subset of the range, more particularly a cube. This allows the continuous map to be replaced by a more combinatorial object which is a map of cubical spaces. The efficiency of the algorithm is based on the use of a number of preliminary reductions and collapses of the cubical spaces to obtain complexes that are more manageable in size. An implementation of the algorithm is available at http://www.math.gatech.edu/\(\sim\)chomp/software/. Performance figures are given for a number of problems as well as for the effect of omitting some of the reduction steps.