Equivariant Topology and Derived Algebra

This volume contains eight research papers inspired by the 2019 'Equivariant Topology and Derived Algebra' conference, held at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim in honour of Professor J. P. C. Greenlees' 60th birthday. These papers, written by experts in the field, are intended to introduce complex topics from equivariant topology and derived algebra while also presenting novel research. As such this book is suitable for new researchers in the area and provides an excellent reference for established researchers. The inter-connected topics of the volume include: algebraic models for rational equivariant spectra; dualities and fracture theorems in chromatic homotopy theory; duality and stratification in tensor triangulated geometry; Mackey functors, Tambara functors and connections to axiomatic representation theory; homotopy limits and monoidal Bousfield localization of model categories.

A nonlinear Lazarev–Lieb theorem: L2-orthogonality via motion planning

Lazarev and Lieb showed that finitely many integrable functions from the unit interval to [Formula: see text] can be simultaneously annihilated in the [Formula: see text] inner product by a smooth function to the unit circle. Here, we answer a question of Lazarev and Lieb proving a generalization of their result by lower bounding the equivariant topology of the space of smooth circle-valued functions with a certain [Formula: see text]-norm bound. Our proof uses a variety of motion planning algorithms that instead of contractibility yield a lower bound for the [Formula: see text]-coindex of a space.

Chromatic Numbers of Stable Kneser Hypergraphs via Topological Tverberg-Type Theorems

Kneser’s 1955 conjecture—proven by Lovász in 1978—asserts that in any partition of the $k$-subsets of $\{1, 2, \dots , n\}$ into $n-2k+1$ parts, one part contains two disjoint sets. Schrijver showed that one can restrict to significantly fewer $k$-sets and still observe the same intersection pattern. Alon, Frankl, and Lovász proved a different generalization of Kneser’s conjecture for $r$ pairwise disjoint sets. Dolnikov generalized Lovász’ result to arbitrary set systems, while Kříž did the same for the $r$-fold extension of Kneser’s conjecture. Here we prove a common generalization of all of these results. Moreover, we prove additional strengthenings by determining the chromatic number of certain sparse stable Kneser hypergraphs, and further develop a general approach to establishing lower bounds for chromatic numbers of hypergraphs using a combination of methods from equivariant topology and intersection results for convex hulls of points in Euclidean space.

The equivariant topology of stable Kneser graphs

International audience Schrijver introduced the stable Kneser graph $SG_{n,k}, n \geq 1, k \geq 0$. This graph is a vertex critical graph with chromatic number $k+2$, its vertices are certain subsets of a set of cardinality $m=2n+k$. Björner and de Longueville have shown that its box complex is homotopy equivalent to a sphere, $\mathrm{Hom}(K_2,SG_{n,k}) \simeq \mathbb{S}^k$. The dihedral group $D_{2m}$ acts canonically on $SG_{n,k}$. We study the $D_{2m}$ action on $\mathrm{Hom}(K_2,SG_{n,k})$ and define a corresponding orthogonal action on $\mathbb{R}^{k+1} \supset \mathbb{S}^k$. We establish a close equivariant relationship between the graphs $SG_{n,k}$ and Borsuk graphs of the $k$-sphere and use this together with calculations in the $\mathbb{Z}_2$-cohomology ring of $D_{2m}$ to tell which stable Kneser graphs are test graphs in the sense of Babson and Kozlov. The graphs $SG_{2s,4}$ are test graphs, i.e. for every graph $H$ and $r \geq 0$ such that $\mathrm{Hom}(SG_{2s,4},H)$ is $(r-1)$-connected, the chromatic number $\chi (H)$ is at least $r+6$. On the other hand, if $k \notin \{0,1,2,4,8\}$ and $n \geq N(k)$ then $SG_{n,k}$ is not a homotopy test graph, i.e. there are a graph $G$ and an $r \geq 1$ such that $\mathrm{Hom}(SG_{n,k}, G)$ is $(r-1)$-connected and $\chi (G) < r+k+2$. The latter result also depends on a new necessary criterion for being a test graph, which involves the automorphism group of the graph. Schrijver a défini le graphe de Kneser stable $SG_{n,k}$, avec $n \geq 1$ et $k \geq 0$. Le graphe $SG_{n,k}$ est un graphe critique (par rapport aux sommets) de nombre chromatique $k+2$, dont les sommets correspondent à certains sous-ensembles d'un ensemble de cardinalité $m=2n+k$. Björner et de Longueville ont démontré que son complexe de boîtes et la sphère sont homotopiquement équivalents, c'est-à-dire $\mathrm{Hom}(K_2,SG_{n,k}) \simeq \mathbb{S}^k$. Le groupe diédral $D_{2m}$ agit sur $SG_{n,k}$ canoniquement. Nous étudions l'action de $D_{2m}$ sur $\mathrm{Hom}(K_2,SG_{n,k})$ et nous définissons une action orthogonale correspondante sur $\mathbb{R}^{k+1} \supset \mathbb{S}^k$. Par ailleurs, nous fournissons une relation équivariante étroite entre les graphes $SG_{n,k}$ et les graphes de Borsuk de la sphère de dimension $k$. Utilisant cette relation et certains calculs dans l'anneau de cohomologie de $D_{2m}$ sur $\mathbb{Z}_2$, nous décrivons quels graphes de Kneser stables sont des graphes de tests selon la notion de Babson et Kozlov. Les graphes $SG_{2s,4}$ sont des graphes de tests, c'est-à-dire que pour tout $H$ et $r \geq 0$ tels que $\mathrm{Hom}(SG_{2s,4},H)$ est $(r-1)$-connexe, le nombre chromatique $\chi (H)$ est au moins $r+6$. D'autre part, si $k \notin \{0,1,2,4,8\}$ et $n \geq N(k)$, alors $SG_{n,k}$ n'est pas un graphe de tests d'homologie: il existe un graphe $G$ et un entier $r \geq 1$ tels que $\mathrm{Hom}(SG_{n,k}, G)$ est $(r-1)$-connexe et $\chi (G) < r+k+2$. Ce dernier résultat dépend d'un nouveau critère nécessaire pour être un graphe de tests, qui implique le groupe d'automorphismes du graphe.