Combinatorial properties of the G-degree (Q668265)

The Gurau degree (or G-degree for short) $\omega_G(\Gamma)$ of colored graphs $(\Gamma,\gamma)$ is a key concept in the approach to Quantum Gravity via tensor models. ``In the last decade, the strong interaction between the topology of edge-colored graphs and random tensor models has been deeply investigated, bringing insights in both research fields.'' A singular (PL) $d$-manifold $(d > 1)$ is a compact connected $d$-dimensional polyhedron admitting a simplicial triangulation where the links of vertices are closed connected $(d-1)$-manifolds, while the links of all $h$-simplices with $h > 0$ are PL $(d - h - 1)$-spheres. In the present article the authors prove the following. \par Theorem 1. For each bipartite $(d + 1)$-colored graph $(\Gamma,\gamma)$, with $d$ even, $d \geq 4$, $\omega_G(\Gamma) \equiv 0 \bmod (d-1)!$. \par Theorem 2. For each (bipartite or non-bipartite) $(d + 1)$-colored graph $(\Gamma,\gamma)$ representing a singular $d$-manifold, with $d$ even, $d \geq 4$, $\omega_G(\Gamma) \equiv 0$ mod ($d - 1)!$. \par The G-degree of the involved graphs drives the $1/N$ expansion in the tensor models context. As a consequence of the above two results, in even dimensions, the terms of the $1/N$ expansion corresponding to odd powers of $1/N$ are null in the complex context, and do not involve colored graphs representing singular manifolds in the real context. In particular, in the 4-dimensional case, the G-degree is shown to depend only on the regular genera with respect to an arbitrary pair of ``associated'' cyclic permutations. This fact yields relations between these two genera and the Euler characteristic of the associated PL 4-manifold. Moreover, two interesting classes of crystallizations arise in a natural way, whose intersection consists in the known class of semi-simple crystallizations.