Remarks on the entropy of 3-manifolds

We give a simple combinatoric proof of an exponential upper bound on the number of distinct 3-manifolds that can be constructed by successively identifying nearest neighbour pairs of triangles in the boundary of a simplicial 3-ball and show that all closed simplicial manifolds that can be constructed in this manner are homeomorphic to $S^3$. We discuss the problem of proving that all 3-dimensional simplicial spheres can be obtained by this construction and give an example of a simplicial 3-ball whose boundary triangles can be identified pairwise such that no triangle is identified with any of its neighbours and the resulting 3-dimensional simplicial complex is a simply connected 3-manifold.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures available from author

Infinite systolic groups are not torsion

We study $k$-systolic complexes introduced by T. Januszkiewicz and J. \'{S}wi\k{a}tkowski, which are simply connected simplicial complexes of simplicial nonpositive curvature. Using techniques of filling diagrams we prove that for $k \geq 7$ the $1$-skeleton of a $k$-systolic complex is Gromov hyperbolic. We give an elementary proof of the so-called Projection Lemma, which implies contractibility of $6$-systolic complexes. We also present a new proof of the fact that an infinite group acting geometrically on a $6$-systolic complex is not torsion.Comment: Version 3, 27 pages, 10 figures. Major revision. Proof of Theorem 1.2 corrected, proof of Theorem 4.3 simplified, a reference to an alternative proof of Theorem 7.4 added. Several definitions and lemmas adjusted and few typos removed. Language and exposition improved. Version very similar to the published versio

Simplicial Structure on Complexes

While chain complexes are equipped with a differential $d$ satisfying $d^2 = 0$, their generalizations called $N$-complexes have a differential $d$ satisfying $d^N = 0$. In this paper we show that the lax nerve of the category of chain complexes is pointwise adjoint equivalent to the d\'ecalage of the simplicial category of $N$-complexes. This reveals additional simplicial structure on the lax nerve of the category of chain complexes which provides a categorfication of the triangulated homotopy category of chain complexes. We study this phenomena in general and present evidence that the axioms of triangulated categories have simplicial origin

Systolic geometry and simplicial complexity for groups

Twenty years ago Gromov asked about how large is the set of isomorphism classes of groups whose systolic area is bounded from above. This article introduces a new combinatorial invariant for finitely presentable groups called {\it simplicial complexity} that allows to obtain a quite satisfactory answer to his question. Using this new complexity, we also derive new results on systolic area for groups that specify its topological behaviour.Comment: 35 pages, 9 figure

Expoential bounds on the number of causal triangulations

We prove that the number of combinatorially distinct causal 3-dimensional triangulations homeomorphic to the 3-dimensional sphere is bounded by an exponential function of the number of tetrahedra. It is also proven that the number of combinatorially distinct causal 4-dimensional triangulations homeomorphic to the 4-sphere is bounded by an exponential function of the number of 4-simplices provided the number of all combinatorially distinct triangulations of the 3-sphere is bounded by an exponential function of the number of tetrahedra.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figure