Persistent homotopy groups of metric spaces (Q6949635)

This paper defines notions of persistent homotopy groups for compact metric spaces, that is, for every compact metric space \(X\) and every \(\epsilon>0\) it defines groups \(\Pi_n^\epsilon(X,x_0)\) with morphisms \(\Pi_n^\epsilon(X,x_0)\to \Pi_n^{\epsilon^\prime}(X,x_0)\) for \(\epsilon\le \epsilon^\prime\). (The first section of the paper contains an extensive overview of existing work on persistence for homotopy groups.)\N\NRecall that discrete fundamental groups \(\pi_1^\epsilon(X,x_0)\) have been defined by \textit{C. Plaut} and \textit{J. Wilkins} [Adv. Math. 232, No. 1, 271--294 (2013; Zbl 1260.57039)] using notions of \(\epsilon\)-loops (sequences \(x_0,x_1,\ldots,x_n=x_0\) with \(d(x_i,x_{i+1})\le\epsilon\) for all \(i\)) and \(\epsilon\)-homotopies (sequences of \(\epsilon\)-chains that differ by removal or addition of a point that is not an endpoint) and defining \(\pi_1^\epsilon(X,x_0)\) as the group of \(\epsilon\)-chains modulo \(\epsilon\)-homotopy. For example, the discrete fundamental group \(\pi_1^\epsilon(S^1)\) of the unit circle is \(\mathbb{Z}\) for \(\epsilon < \frac{2\pi}{3}\) and \(0\) for \(\epsilon\ge \frac{2\pi}{3}\). Thinking of the group elements drawn over the interval \((0,\infty)\), one has \(\mathbb{Z}\)-many intervals which meet at \(\epsilon=\frac{2\pi}{3}\) and continue for larger \(\epsilon\) as one interval. This defines a tree-like structure (a dendrogram) on the persistence set \(P\Pi_1(X,x_0)\) formed by all \(\pi_1^\epsilon(X,x_0)\). The authors show that such a tree-like structure always exists if \(X\) is a uniformly locally path connected, semi-locally simply connected, compact geodesic space.\N\NDendrograms over a set correspond to ultra-metrics, which allows to consider the map from \(X\) to its persistent fundamental group as a map from the Gromov-Hausdorff space of metric spaces to itself. The authors show that (under the above conditions for existence of a dendrogram on \(X\) and \(Y\)) the Gromov-Hausdorff distance of the persistent fundamental groups with these ultra-metrics is at most \(2d_{GH}(X,Y)\).\N\NThe authors define another notion of persistent fundamental groups by considering for each \(\epsilon>0\) the geometric realization of the Vietoris-Rips complex for \(\epsilon\) and taking its fundamental group. These persistent fundamental groups turn out to be isomorphic to the ones defined by Plaut and Wilkins.\N\NThe authors define a third notion of persistent fundamental groups via the Kuratowski embedding \(X\to L^\infty(X)\) and taking the fundamental groups of thickenings \(X^\epsilon\) of \(X\) in \(L^\infty(X)\).\N\NBoth, the definition via the Kuratowski embedding and the definition via the Vietoris-Rips complex have an obvious generalization by replacing the fundamental group with higher homotopy groups. This allows the authors to define families of persistent homotopy groups \(P\Pi^K_n\) and \(P\Pi^{VR}_n\). In the case of \(P\Pi^K_n\), the authors obtain that the map \(X\to P\Pi^K_n(X,x_0)\) is \(1\)-Lipschitz for the interleaving distance and they prove a persistent Hurewicz theorem for \(P\Pi_1^K(X,x_0)\to PH_1^K(X)\).\N\NThere are many other results, which we can not all mention in this review.