Harmonic representatives in homology over arbitrary fields

DOI10.1007/S41468-023-00117-WMaRDI QIDQ6074060zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Michael J. Catanzaro, Brantley Vose

Publication date 18 September 2023

Published in Journal of Applied and Computational Topology (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.10885

Persistent homology and applications, topological data analysis (55N31) Chain complexes in algebraic topology (55U15) PL-topology (57Qxx)

Abstract: We introduce a notion of harmonic chain for chain complexes over fields of positive characteristic. A list of conditions for when a Hodge decomposition theorem holds in this setting is given and we apply this theory to finite CW complexes. An explicit construction of the harmonic chain within a homology class is described when applicable. We show how the coefficients of usual discrete harmonic chains due to Eckmann can be reduced to localizations of the integers, allowing us to compare classical harmonicity with the notion introduced here. We focus on applications throughout, including CW decompositions of orientable surfaces and examples of spaces arising from sampled data sets.

Review text

In this paper, the authors introduce a notion of harmonic chain for chain complexes over fields of positive characteristic. The authors prove some Hodge theorems for chain complexes over fields of positive characteristic. Theorem A. Let \(C_\bullet\) be a chain complex of finite dimensional vector spaces over a field \(\mathbb F\), where each \(C_k\) is equipped with a chosen basis and the induced symmetric bilinear form. The following are equivalent. (1) (Existence and uniqueness of harmonic representatives) Every homology class in \(H_k\) has a unique harmonic representative. (2) (Uniqueness of harmonic representatives) For every homology class in \(H_k\) with a harmonic representative, that representative is unique. (3) The only harmonic representative of the trivial homology class \([0] \in H_k\) is 0. (4) \(Z_k \cap Z^k\cong H_k\) via the quotient map \(z \longrightarrow [z]\). (5) \(B_k \cap Z^k = 0\). (6) \(B_k \oplus Z^k = C_k\). (7) \(\ker(\partial ^*_k \partial _k) = \ker(\partial _k)\). (8) \(im(\partial ^*_{k+1}\partial _{k+1}) = im(\partial^*_{k+1})\). (9) The Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse \(\pi^\dag\) of the projection map \(\pi: C_k \longrightarrow C_k/B_k\) exists. Furthermore, if these statements hold, then the pseudoinverse \(\pi^\dag\) of (9) takes every homology class to its unique harmonic representative. If the statements of Theorem A hold for a cochain complex \(C_\bullet\) at degree \(k\), we say that \(C_\bullet\) is homologically harmonic in degree \(k\). If the statements of Theorem A hold for a cochain complex \(C_\bullet\) at degree \(k\), we say that \(C_\bullet\) is cohomologically harmonic in degree \(k\). Theorem B (Hodge Decomposition over Arbitrary Fields). Let \(C_\bullet\) be a chain complex of finite-dimensional vector spaces with chosen bases, and let \(\mathcal{L}_k: C_k \longrightarrow C_k\) be the discrete Laplacian. The vector space \(C_k\) decomposes into a direct sum of subspaces \(C_k = \ker \mathcal{L}_k \oplus B_k \oplus B^k\) if and only if both \(C_\bullet\) is homologically harmonic in degree \(k\), and the dual complex \(C_\bullet\) is cohomologically harmonic in degree \(k\). In this case, the subspaces in the decomposition are orthogonal with respect to the symmetric bilinear form, and the component \(ker \mathcal{L}_k\) is equal to \(Z_k \cap Z^k\). Furthermore, \(\ker \mathcal{L}_k\) is isomorphic to both \(H_k\) and \(H^k\) through the natural maps sending (co)cycles to their respective (co)homology classes. The authors also prove some theorems for finite CW-complexes: Theorem C. For a finite CW complex \(X\), there exists an integer \(\Upsilon=\Upsilon (X, k)\) depending on the combinatorial structure of \(X\) so that, for any integral homology class in degree \(k\), its rational harmonic representative has coefficients in \(Z[\Upsilon^{-1}]\). Theorem D. If \(p\) does not divide \(\Upsilon(X, k)\), and \(H_k(X)\) has no \(p\)-torsion, then \(X\) is homologically harmonic over \(\mathbb F_p\) in degree \(k\). That is, every homology class in \(H_k(X; \mathbb F_p)\) has a unique harmonic representative. Furthermore, if \(k = 1\) and \(X\) is a CW structure on a connected orientable surface, \(\Upsilon\) is given by \[ \Upsilon = \det \hat{\mathcal L}_1/|X_2|, \] where \(\hat{\mathcal L}_1 = \mathcal L_1\vert_{B_1(X)} : B_1(X; \mathbb F_p) \longrightarrow B_1(X; \mathbb F_p)\), which is an isomorphism, is the Laplacian restricted to the 1-boundaries. Overall, the results are very interesting and are of significance.

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