Combinatorial fiber bundles and fragmentation of a fiberwise PL-homeomorphism

arXiv0708.4039MaRDI QIDQ6206624FDOQ6206624

Publication date: 30 August 2007

Abstract: With a compact PL manifold X we associate a category T(X). The objects of T(X) are all combinatorial manifolds of type X, and morphisms are combinatorial assemblies. We prove that the homotopy equivalence BT (X) approx BPL(X) holds, where PL(X) is the simplicial group of PL-homeomorphisms. Thus the space BT(X) is a canonical countable (as a CW-complex) model of BPL(X). As a result, we obtain functorial pure combinatorial models for PL fiber bundles with fiber X and a PL polyhedron B as the base. Such a model looks like a T(X)-coloring of some triangulation K of B. The vertices of K are colored by objects of T(X) and the arcs are colored by morphisms in such a way that the diagram arising from the 2-skeleton of K is commutative. Comparing with the classical results of geometric topology, we obtain combinatorial models of the real Grassmannian in small dimensions: BT(S^{n-1}) approx BO(n) for n=1,2,3,4. The result is proved in a sequence of results on similar models of BPL(X). Special attention is paid to the main noncompact case X=R^n and to the tangent bundle and Gauss functor of a combinatorial manifold. The trick that makes the proof possible is a collection of lemmas on "fragmentation of a fiberwise homeomorphism", a generalization of the folklore lemma on fragmentation of an isotopy.

This page was built for publication: Combinatorial fiber bundles and fragmentation of a fiberwise PL-homeomorphism

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q6206624)