Lusternik-Schnirelmann category, complements of skeleta and a theorem of Dranishnikov (Q982403)

One of the quite early and basic homotopy results of Lusternik--Schnirelmann theory was a theorem of Grossman (1946): \[ \text{cat\,}X\leq \dim X/(c+1) \] where \(X\) is \(c\)-connected. Here \(\dim X\) is the dimension of a CW space \(X\), but, in view of homotopy invariance of Lusternik--Schnirelmann category, we get the inequality \(\text{cat\,}X\leq \text{hdim\,} X/(c+1)\) where hdim is the minimum of dimensions in the homotopy class of \(X\). Later \textit{A. Dranishnikov} [Algebr. Geom. Topol. 10, No.~2, 917--924 (2010; Zbl 1194.55008)] proved the following generalization: \[ \text{cat\,}X\leq\text{cd}(\pi_1(X)) +\left\lceil\frac{\text{hdim\,}X}{2}\right\rceil. \] Here \(\text{cd}(\tau)\) denotes the cohomological dimension of a group \(\tau\). The present paper clarifies and reproves Dranishnikov's result as follows: \[ \text{cat\,} X\leq\text{cd}(\pi_1(X))+\text{cat}_1 X \] where cat\(_1X\) is the minimal number \(k\) such that there exists an open cover \(A_0, A_1, \dots, A_k\) of \(X\) where each \(A_i\) can be deformed in \(X\) in the 1-skeleton of \(X\). It can be easily proved that cat\(_1 X\leq \left\lceil\frac{\text{hdim\,}X}{2}\right\rceil, \) so the paper under review really recovers Dranishnikov's one. It is also worth noticing that the authors' approach leads to interesting applications to symplectic topology.