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Abstract:
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In this dissertation we examine several important objects and concepts in combinatorialtopology, using both combinatorial and topological methods.The matching complexM(G) of a graphGis the complex whose vertex set is the setof all edges ofG, and whose faces are given by sets of pairwise disjoint edges. These com-plexes appear in many areas of mathematics. Our first approach to these complexes is newand structural - we give complete classification of all pairs (G,M(G)) for whichM(G) is ahomology manifold, with or without boundary. Our second approach focuses on determiningthe homotopy type or connectivity of matching complexes of several classes of graphs. Weuse a tool from discrete Morse theory called the Matching Tree Algorithm and inductiveconstructions of homotopy type.Two other complexes of interest are unavoidable complexes and threshold complexes.Simplicial complexK⊆2[n]is calledr-unavoidable if for each partitionA1t···tAr= [n] atleast one of the setsAiis inK. Inspired by the role of unavoidable complexes in the Tverbergtype theorems and Gromov-Blagojevi ́c-Frick-Ziegler reduction, we begin a systematic studyof their combinatorial properties. We investigate relations between unavoidable and thre-shold complexes. The main goal is to find unavoidable complexes which are unavoidable fordeeper reasons than containment of an unavoidable threshold complex. Our main examplesare constructed as joins of self-dual minimal triangulations ofRP2,CP2,HP2, and joins ofRamsey complex.The dissertation contains as well an application of the important “configuration space -test map” method. First, we prove a cohomological generalization of Dold’s theorem fromequivariant topology. Then we apply it to Yang’s case of Knaster’s problem, and obtain anew simpler proof. Also, we slightly improve few other cases of Knaster’s problem. |