On the Connectivity of Cobordisms and Half-Projective TQFT's

We consider a generalization of the axioms of a TQFT, so called half-projective TQFT's, with an anomaly, $x^{\mu}$, in the composition law. $\mu$ is a coboundary on the cobordism categories with non-negative, integer values. The element $x$ of the ring over which the TQFT is defined does not have to be invertible. In particular, it may be 0. This modification makes it possible to extend quantum-invariants, which vanish on $S^1\times S^2$, to non-trivial TQFT's. (A TQFT in the sense of Atiyah with this property has to be trivial all together). Under a few natural assumptions the notion of a half-projective TQFT is shown to be the only possible generalization. Based on separate work with Lyubashenko on connected TQFT's, we construct a large class of half-projective TQFT's with $x=0$. Their invariants vanish on $S^1\times S^2$, and they coincide with the Hennings invariant for non-semisimple Hopf algebras. Several toplogical tools that are relevant for vanishing properties of such TQFT's are developed. They are concerned with connectivity properties of cobordisms, as for example maximal non-separating surfaces. We introduce in particular the notions of ``interior'' homotopy and homology groups, and of coordinate graphs, which are functions on cobordisms with values in the morphisms of a graph category. For applications we will prove that half-projective TQFT's with $x=0$ vanish on cobordisms with infinite interior homology, and we argue that the order of divergence of the TQFT on a cobordism in the ``classical limit'' can be estimated by the rank of its maximal free interior group.Comment: 55 pages, Late

Bucolic Complexes

We introduce and investigate bucolic complexes, a common generalization of systolic complexes and of CAT(0) cubical complexes. They are defined as simply connected prism complexes satisfying some local combinatorial conditions. We study various approaches to bucolic complexes: from graph-theoretic and topological perspective, as well as from the point of view of geometric group theory. In particular, we characterize bucolic complexes by some properties of their 2-skeleta and 1-skeleta (that we call bucolic graphs), by which several known results are generalized. We also show that locally-finite bucolic complexes are contractible, and satisfy some nonpositive-curvature-like properties.Comment: 45 pages, 4 figure

On asymptotically hereditarily aspherical groups

We undertake a systematic study of asymptotically hereditarily aspherical (AHA) groups - the class of groups introduced by Tadeusz Januszkiewicz and the second author as a tool for exhibiting exotic properties of systolic groups. We provide many new examples of AHA groups, also in high dimensions. We relate AHA property with the topology at infinity of a group, and deduce in this way some new properties of (weakly) systolic groups. We also exhibit an interesting property of boundary at infinity for few classes of AHA groups.Comment: 36 pages, minor modifications to v

Chordal bipartite, strongly chordal, and strongly chordal bipartite graphs

AbstractRobert E. Jamison characterized chordal graphs by the edge set of every k-cycle being the symmetric difference of k−2 triangles. Strongly chordal (and chordal bipartite) graphs can be similarly characterized in terms of the distribution of triangles (respectively, quadrilaterals). These results motivate a definition of ‘strongly chordal bipartite graphs’, forming a class intermediate between bipartite interval graphs and chordal bipartite graphs

Characterizing 2-Trees Relative to Chordal and Series-Parallel Graphs

The 2-connected 2-tree graphs are defined as being constructible from a single 3-cycle by recursively appending new degree-2 vertices so as to form 3-cycles that have unique edges in common with the existing graph. Such 2-trees can be characterized both as the edge-minimal chordal graphs and also as the edge-maximal series-parallel graphs. These are also precisely the 2-connected graphs that are simultaneously chordal and series-parallel, where these latter two better-known types of graphs have themselves been both characterized and applied in numerous ways that are unmotivated by their interaction with 2-trees and with each other. Toward providing such motivation, the present paper examines several simple, very closely-related characterizations of chordal graphs and 2-trees and, after that, of series-parallel graphs and 2-trees. This leads to showing a way in which chordal graphs and series-parallel graphs are special---indeed, extremal---in this regard