Homology of planar polygon spaces (Q2642382)

The subject of the paper is the topology of the moduli space of all closed planar \(n\)-gons with given side lengths. As an example, in the case of equilateral pentagons the moduli space is a closed orientable surface of genus 4. In robotics, this question is of importance since such positions of closed polygons describe closed kinematic chains of robot arms. In particular, the authors determine the Betti numbers of this moduli space and investigate an upper bound. Morse theory on manifolds with involutions is used as an important tool.