Compact open topology and CW homotopy type

The class of spaces having the homotopy type of a CW complex is not closed under formation of function spaces. In 1959, Milnor proved the fundamental theorem that, given a space and a compact Hausdorff space X, the space Y^X of continuous functions X→Y, endowed with the compact open topology, belongs to . P.J. Kahn extended this in 1982, showing that if X has finite n-skeleton and π_k(Y)=0, k>n.

Using a different approach, we obtain a further generalization and give interesting examples of function spaces where is not homotopy equivalent to a finite complex, and has infinitely many nontrivial homotopy groups. We also obtain information about some topological properties that are intimately related to CW homotopy type.

As an application we solve a related problem concerning towers of fibrations between spaces of CW homotopy type.     

Convexoid and generalized derivations

Let E,F be two Banach spaces and let S be a symmetric norm ideal of L(E,F). For AL(F) and BL(E) the generalized derivation δ_S,A,B is the operator on S that sends X to AX−XB. A bounded linear operator is said to be convexoid if its (algebraic) numerical range coincides with the convex hull of its spectrum. We show that δ_S,A,B is convexoid if and only if A and B are convexoid.     

The homotopy Lie algebra of classifying spaces

Let X be a 1-connected CW-complex of finite type and L_x its rational homotopy Lie algebra. In this work, we show that there is a spectral sequence whose E² term is the Lie algebra Ext_ULx(Q, L_x), and which converges to the homotopy Lie algebra of the classifying space B autX. Moreover, some terms of this spectral sequence are related to derivations of L_x and to the Gottlieb group of X.     

Instabilities of robot motion

Instabilities of robot motion are caused by topological reasons. In this paper we find a relation between the topological properties of a configuration space (the structure of its cohomology algebra) and the character of instabilities, which are unavoidable in any motion planning algorithm. More specifically, let X denote the space of all admissible configurations of a mechanical system. A motion planner is given by a splitting X×X=F₁F₂F_k (where F₁,…,F_k are pairwise disjoint ENRs, see below) and by continuous maps s_j :F_j→PX, such that Es_j=1_Fj. Here PX denotes the space of all continuous paths in X (admissible motions of the system) and E :PX→X×X denotes the map which assigns to a path the pair of its initial–end points. Any motion planner determines an algorithm of motion planning for the system. In this paper we apply methods of algebraic topology to study the minimal number of sets F_j in any motion planner in X. We also introduce a new notion of order of instability of a motion planner; it describes the number of essentially distinct motions which may occur as a result of small perturbations of the input data. We find the minimal order of instability, which may have motion planners on a given configuration space X. We study a number of specific problems: motion of a rigid body in R³, a robot arm, motion in R³ in the presence of obstacles, and others.     

Some algebraic constructions in rational homotopy theory

In this note we describe constructions in the category of differential graded commutative algebras over the rational numbers Q which are analogs of the space F(X, Y) of continuous maps of X to Y, the component F(X, Y,ƒ) containing ƒ ε F(X, Y), fibrations, induced fibrations, the space Γ(π) of sections of a fibration π: E → X, and the component Γ(π,σ) containing σ ε Γ (π). As a focus, we address the problem of expressing π^*(F(X, Y, ƒ)) = Hom(π_*(F(X,Y, ƒ)),Q) in terms of differential graded algebra models for X and Y.     

Embeddings of the base and bundle isomorphisms

Let π_i :E_i→M, i=1,2, be oriented, smooth vector bundles of rank k over a closed, oriented n-manifold with zero sections s_i :M→E_i. Suppose that U is an open neighborhood of s₁(M) in E₁ and F :U→E₂ a smooth embedding so that π₂Fs₁ :M→M is homotopic to a diffeomorphism f. We show that if k>[(n+1)/2]+1 then E₁ and the induced bundle f^*E₂ are isomorphic as oriented bundles provided that f have degree +1; the same conclusion holds if f has degree −1 except in the case where k is even and one of the bundles does not have a nowhere-zero cross-section. For n≡0(4) and [(n+1)/2]+1<kn we give examples of nonisomorphic oriented bundles E₁ and E₂ of rank k over a homotopy n-sphere with total spaces diffeomorphic with orientation preserved, but such that E₁ and f^*E₂ are not isomorphic oriented bundles. We obtain similar results and counterexamples in the more difficult limiting case where k=[(n+1)/2]+1 and M is a homotopy n-sphere.     

Isomorphisms in pro-categories

A morphism of a category which is simultaneously an epimorphism and a monomorphism is called a bimorphism. In (Dydak and Ruiz del Portal (Monomorphisms and epimorphisms in pro-categories, preprint)) we gave characterizations of monomorphisms (resp. epimorphisms) in arbitrary pro-categories, pro-C, where C has direct sums (resp. weak push-outs). In this paper, we introduce the notions of strong monomorphism and strong epimorphism. Part of their significance is that they are preserved by functors. These notions and their characterizations lead us to important classical properties and problems in shape and pro-homotopy. For instance, strong epimorphisms allow us to give a categorical point of view of uniform movability and to introduce a new kind of movability, the sequential movability. Strong monomorphisms are connected to a problem of K. Borsuk regarding a descending chain of retracts of ANRs. If f : X→Y is a bimorphism in the pointed shape category of topological spaces, we prove that f is a weak isomorphism and f is an isomorphism provided Y is sequentially movable and X or Y is the suspension of a topological space. If f : X→Y is a bimorphism in the pro-category pro-H₀ (consisting of inverse systems in H₀, the homotopy category of pointed connected CW complexes) we show that f is an isomorphism provided Y is sequentially movable.     

Zero-term rank preservers

We obtain characterizations of those linear operators that preserve zero-term rank on the m×n matrices over antinegative semirings. That is, a linear operator T preserves zero-term rank if and only if it has the form T(X)=P(B∘X)Q, where P, Q are permutation matrices and B∘X is the Schur product with B whose entries are all nonzero and not zero-divisors.     

A characterization on n-critical economical generalized tic-tac-toe games

There is a so called generalized tic-tac-toe game playing on a finite set X with winning sets A₁, A₂,…, A_m. Two players, F and S, take in turn a previous untaken vertex of X, with F going first. The one who takes all the vertices of some winning set first wins the game. Erd s and Selfridge proved that if |A₁|=|A₂|==|A_m|=n and m<2ⁿ⁻¹, then the game is a draw. This result is best possible in the sense that once m=2ⁿ⁻¹, then there is a family A₁, A₂,…, A_m so that F can win. In this paper we characterize all those sets A₁,…, A_2n−1 so that F can win in exactly n moves. We also get similar result in the biased games.     

A matrix problem associated with computing Cohen-Macaulay type

Suppose A∈M_n×m(F), B∈M_n×t(F) for some field F. Define Г(AB) to be the set of n×n diagonal matrices D such that the column space of DA is contained in the column space of B. In this paper we determine dim Г(AB). For matrices AB of the same rank we provide an algorithm for computing dim Г(AB).     

Limiting values of the variance and the moments of the dimension of a sum or intersection of random vector subspaces

Let W be an n-dimensional vector space over a field F; for each positive integer m, let the m-tuples (U₁, …, U_m) of vector subspaces of W be uniformly distributed; and consider the statistics X_m,1 dim_F(∑_i=1^m U_i) and X_m,2 dim_F (∩_i=1^m U_i). If F is finite of cardinality q, we determine lim E(X_m,1^k), and lim E(X_m,2^k), and hence, lim var(X_m,1) and lim var(X_m,2), for any k > 0, where the limits are taken as q → ∞ (for fixed n). Further, we determine whether these, and other related, limits are attained monotonically. Analogous issues are also addressed for the case of infinite F.     

Additive Maps Preserving Nilpotent Perturbation of Scalars

Let X be a Banach space over F(= R or C) with dimension greater than 2. Let N(X) be the set of all nilpotent operators and B_0(X) the set spanned by N(X). We give a structure result to the additive maps on FI + B_0(X) that preserve rank-1 perturbation of scalars in both directions. Based on it, a characterization of surjective additive maps on FI + B_0(X) that preserve nilpotent perturbation of scalars in both directions are obtained. Such a map Φ has the form either Φ(T) = cAT A~(-1)+ φ(T)I for all T ∈ FI + B_0(X) or Φ(T) = cAT*A~(-1)+ φ(T)I for all T ∈ FI + B_0(X), where c is a nonzero scalar,A is a τ-linear bijective transformation for some automorphism τ of F and φ is an additive functional.In addition, if dim X = ∞, then A is in fact a linear or conjugate linear invertible bounded operator.     

A characterization of adding machine maps

Let f :X→X be a continuous map of a compact metric space to itself. We prove that f is topologically conjugate to an adding machine map if and only if X is an infinite minimal set for f and each point of X is regularly recurrent. Moreover, if X is an infinite minimal set for f and one point of X is regularly recurrent, then f is semiconjugate to an adding machine map.     

The equivariant Serre spectral sequence as an application of a spectral sequence of Spanier

E.H. Spanier (1992) has constructed, for a cohomology theory defined on a triangulated space and locally constant on each open simplex, a spectral sequence whose E₂-term consists of certain simplicial cohomology groups, converging to the cohomology of the space. In this paper we study a closed G-fibration ƒ: Y → X, where G is a finite group. We show that if the base-G-spaceX is equivariantly triangulated and Y is paracompact, then Spanier's spectral sequence yields an equivariant Serre spectral sequence for ƒ. The main point here is to identify the equivariant singular cohomology groups of X with appropriate simplicial cohomology groups of the orbit space X/G.     

The maximun of i(XAX-1+B)

Let F be an algebraically closed field. We denote by i(A) the number of invariant polynomials of a square matrix A, which are different from 1. For A,B any n×n matrices over F, we calculate the maximum of i(XAX^-1+B), where X runs over the set of all non-singular n×n matrices over F.     

Vectors with a prescribed minimal polynomial

Let V be a finite dimensional vector space over the field Fand φ (x)∈F[x].LetxV → V be a linear operator. Let S_φbe the set consisting of the vectors whose minimal polynomial φ(x)together with the zero vector We give necessary and sufficieni condition for S _φ to be a subspace.     

On sequences cat(f)

We prove that, for every decreasing sequence {a_k} of natural numbers, there exists a map f :X→X with catf^k=a_k.     

A new class of fuzzy implications. Axioms of fuzzy implication revisited

Many different fuzzy implication operators have been proposed; most of them fit into one of the two classes: implication operations that are based on an explicit representation of implication A → B in terms of &, , and ¬ (e.g., S-implications that are based on the formula B ¬ A), and R-implications that are based on an implicit representation of implication A → B as the weakest C for which C&B implies A. However, some fuzzy implication operations (such as b^a) cannot be naturally represented in this form. To describe such operations, we propose a new (third) class of implication operations called A-implications whose relation to &, , and ¬ is described by (implicit) axioms.     

Linear mappings which are rank-k nonincreasing, II

We prove the following result. Let F be an infinite field of characteristic other than two. Let k be a positive integer. Let S_n(F) denote the space of all n × n symmetric matrices with entries in F, and let T:S_n(F)→S_n(F) be a linear operator. Suppose that T is rank-k nonincreasing and its image contains a matrix with rank higher than K. Then, there exist λεF and PεF^n,n such that T(A)=λPAP^t for all AεS_n(F). λ can be chosen to be 1 if F is algebraically closed and ±1 if F=R, the real field.     

Coincidence of the upper Kuratowski topology with the co-compact topology on compact sets, and the Prohorov property

For a Hausdorff space X, let F be the hyperspace of all closed subsets of X and H a sublattice of F. Following Nogura and Shakhmatov, X is said to be H-trivial if the upper Kuratowski topology and the co-compact topology coincide on H. F-trivial spaces are the consonant spaces first introduced and studied by Dolecki, Greco and Lechicki. In this paper, we deal with K-trivial spaces and Fin-trivial space, where K and Fin are respectively the lattices of compact and of finite subsets of X. It is proved that if C_k(X) is a Baire space or more generally if X has ‘the moving off property’ of Gruenhage and Ma, then X is K-trivial. If X is countable, then C_p(X) is Baire if and only if X is Fin-trivial and all compact subsets of X are finite. As for consonant spaces, it turns out that every regular K-trivial space is a Prohorov space. This result remains true for any regular Fin-trivial space in which all compact subsets are scattered. It follows that every regular first countable space without isolated points, all compact subsets of which are countable, is Fin-nontrivial. Examples of K-trivial non-consonant spaces, of Fin-trivial K-nontrivial spaces and of countably compact Prohorov Fin-nontrivial spaces, are given. In particular, we show that all (generalized) Fréchet–Urysohn fans are K-trivial, answering a question by Nogura and Shakhmatov. Finally, we describe an example of a continuous open compact-covering mapping f :X→Y, where X is Prohorov and Y is not Prohorov, answering a long-standing question by Topsøe.