Saturday, February 10, 2018

Artin gluing a sheaf 4: a single sheaf in two ways

The goal of this post is to give an alternative perspective on making a sheaf over $X = \Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$, alternative to that of a previous post ("Artin gluing a sheaf 3: the Ran space," 2018-02-05). We will have one unique sheaf on all of $X$, valued either in simplicial complexes or simplicial sets.

Remark: Here we straddle the geometric category $SC$ of simplicial complexes and the algebraic category $\sSet$ of simplicial sets. There is a functor $[\ \cdot\ ]:SC\to \sSet$ for which every $n$-simplex in $S$ gets $(n+1)!$ elements in $[S]$, representing all the ways of ordering the vertices of $S$ (which we would like to view as unordered, to begin with).

Recall from previous posts:
• maps $f:X\to SC$ and $g = [f]:X\to \sSet$,
• the $SC_k$-stratification of $\Ran^k(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$,
• the point-counting stratification of $\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)$,
• the combined (via the product order) $SC_{\leqslant n}$-stratification of $\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$,
• an induced (by the $SC_k$-stratification) cover by nested open sets $B_{k,1},\dots,B_{k,N_k}$ of $\Ran^k(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$,
• a corresponding induced total order $S_{k,1},\dots,S_{k,N_k}$ on $f(\Ran^k(M)\times \R_{\geqslant0})$.
The product order also induces a cover by nested opens of all of $X$ and a total order on $f(X)$ and $g(X)$. We call a path $\gamma:I\to X$ a descending path if $t_1<t_2\in I$ implies $h(\gamma(t_1))\geqslant h(\gamma(t_2))$ in any stratified space $h:X\to A$. Below, $h$ is either $f$ or $g$.

Lemma: A descending path $\gamma:I\to X$ induces a unique morphism $h(\gamma(0))\to h(\gamma(1))$.

Proof: Write $\gamma(0) = \{P_1,\dots,P_n\}$ and $\gamma(1) = \{Q_1,\dots,Q_m\}$, with $m\leqslant n$. Since the path is descending, points can only collide, not split. Hence $\gamma$ induces $n$ paths $\gamma_i:I\to M$ for $i=1,\dots,n$, with $\gamma_i$ the path based at $P_i$. This induces a map $h(\gamma(0))_0\to h(\gamma(1))_0$ on 0-cells (vertices or 0-objects), which completely defines a map $h(\gamma(0))\to h(\gamma(1))$ in the desired category. $\square$

Our sheaves will be defined using colimits. Fortunately, both $SC$ and $\sSet$ have (small) colimits. Finally, we also need an auxiliary function $\sigma:\Op(X)\to SC$ that finds the correct simplicial complex. Define it by $\sigma(U) = \begin{cases} S_{k,\ell} & \text{ if } U\neq\emptyset, \text{ for } k = \max\{1\leqslant k'\leqslant n\ :\ U\cap \Ran^k(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}\neq \emptyset\}, \\ & \hspace{2.23cm} \ell = \max\{1\leqslant \ell'\leqslant N_k\ :\ U \cap B_{k,\ell'}\neq\emptyset\},\\ * & \text{ if }U= \emptyset. \end{cases}$

Proposition 1: Let $\mathcal F$ be the function $\Op(X)^{op}\to SC$ on objects given by $\mathcal F(U) = \colim\left(\sigma(U)\rightrightarrows S\ :\ \text{every }\sigma(U)\to S \text{ is induced by a descending }\gamma:I\to U\right).$ This is a functor and satisfies the sheaf gluing conditions.

Proof: We have a well-defined function, so we have to describe the restriction maps and show gluing works. Since $V\subseteq U\subseteq X$, every $S$ in the directed system defining $\mathcal F(V)$ is contained in the directed system defining $\mathcal F(U)$. As there are maps $\sigma(V)\to \mathcal F(V)$ and $S\to \mathcal F(V)$, for every $S$ in the directed system of $V$, precomposing with any descending path we get maps $\sigma (U)\to \mathcal F(V)$ and $S\to \mathcal F(V)$, for every $S$ in the directed system of $U$. Then universality of the colimit gives us a unique map $\mathcal F(U)\to \mathcal F(V)$. Note that if there are no paths (decending or otherwise) from $U$ to $V$, then the colimit over an empty diagram still exists, it is just the initial object $\emptyset$ of $SC$.

To check the gluing condition, first note that every open $U\subseteq X$ must nontrivially intersect $\Ran^n(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$, the top stratum (in the point-counting stratification). So for $W = U\cap V$, if we have $\alpha\in \mathcal F(U)$ and $\beta \in \mathcal F(V)$ such that $\alpha|_W = \beta|_W$ is a $k$-simplex, then $\alpha$ and $\beta$ must have been $k$-simplices as well. This is because a simplicial takes a simplex to a simplex, and we cannot collide points while remaining in the top stratum. Hence the pullback of $S\owns \alpha$ and $T\owns \beta$ via some induced maps (by descending paths) from $U$ to $W$ and $V$ to $W$, respectively, will restrict to the identity on the chosen $k$-simplex. Hence the gluing condition holds, and $\mathcal F$ is a sheaf. $\square$

Functoriality of $[\ \cdot\ ]$ allows us to extend the proof to build a sheaf valued in simplicial sets.

Proposition 2: Let $\mathcal G$ be the function $\Op(X)^{op}\to \sSet$ on objects given by $\mathcal G(U) = \colim\left([\sigma(U)]\rightrightarrows S\ :\ \text{every }[\sigma(U)]\to S \text{ is induced by a descending }\gamma:I\to U\right).$ This is a functor and satisfies the sheaf gluing conditions.

Remark: The sheaf $\mathcal G$ is non-trivial on more sets. For example, any path contained within one stratum of $X$ induces the identity map on simplicial sets (though not on simplicial complexes). Hence $\mathcal G$ is non-trivial on every open set contained within a single stratum.

References: nLab (article "Simplicial complexes"), n-category Cafe (post "Simplicial Sets vs. Simplicial Complexes," 2017-08-19)

Monday, February 5, 2018

Artin gluing a sheaf 3: the Ran space

The goal of this post is to extend earlier ideas, of a sheaf defined on $\Conf_n(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$, to a family of sheaves defined on $\bigcup_{k=1}^n \Conf_n(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0} = \Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$.

Recall our main map $f:\Conf_n(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0} \tov{VR(-)} SC_n \tov{\Hom(\Delta^\bullet,-)} \sSet$. Following Definition 1 and Proposition 2 in a previous post ("Artin gluing a sheaf 2: simplicial sets and configuration spaces," 2018-01-31), define a sheaf $\mathcal F_k$ on $X_k$ by $\mathcal F_k(U) = \begin{cases} S_{k,\max\{1\leqslant \ell\leqslant N_k\ :\ U\cap B_{\ell}\neq \emptyset\}} & \text{ if U is good,}\\ S_\emptyset & \text{ else if }U\neq\emptyset, \end{cases} \hspace{2cm} (1)$ for all $k=1,\dots,n$. We have assumed a total order on all simplicial complexes on $k$ vertices, induced by a cover $U_k,\dots,U_{k,N_k}$ of nested opens of $X_k$. This induces a total order $S_{k,1},\dots,S_{k,N_k}$ on the image of $\Ran^k(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$ in $\sSet$, and by the product order, a total order on all of $\sSet' := f(\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0})$.

A small example

Let $n=3$, so $X = \Ran^{\leqslant 3}(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$. We already have $\mathcal F_1,\mathcal F_2,\mathcal F_3$ on $X_1,X_2,X_3$, respectively, and we will extend them from the top down to sheaves over all of $X$, as in the diagram below.
The map $i$ will be the inclusion of an open set into a larger one, and $j$ the inclusion of a closed set into a larger one. Recall that the pullback of two sheaves is defined equivalently by a map of sheaves on the boundary of the open nd closed sets. With that in mind, for $U\subseteq X_2\cup X_3$ good, the pullback square
defines $\mathcal F_{d_0}$, where the $d_0$ indicates the face map that skips the $0$th spot. The sheaf $\mathcal F_{d_1}$ is defined similarly, but by the face map $d_1$, and $\mathcal F_{d_2}$ by the face map $d_2$. For each of these three sheaves on $X_3\cup X_2$, we have two other sheaves, based on where the single point maps to. However, we note that for $U\subseteq X$ good and $U\cap X_1\neq\emptyset$, $\left((i_*\mathcal F_{d_0}\times j_*\mathcal F_1)(U) \text{ defined by } d_0\right) \ \ =\ \ \left((i_*\mathcal F_{d_1}\times j_*\mathcal F_1)(U) \text{ defined by } d_0\right),$ where $\times$ denotes the pullback over the appropriate sheaf, and similarly for the other sheaves on good sets intersecting $X_1$. We now have 6 unique shaves on all of $X$.

Generalizing

Now let $n$ be any positive integer, and $X = \Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$. We reverse the indexation of the $\mathcal F_k$ and $X_k$ above to make notation less cumbersome (so now $\mathcal F_k$ is $\mathcal F_{n-k+1}$ from (1), over $X_k = \Ran^{n-k+1}(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$). Define pullback sheaves $\mathcal F_{d_{\ell_1}}$ for $\ell_1=0,\dots,n$ on $X_2\cup X_2$ by the diagram
At the $k$th step, for $1<k<n$, we have sheaves $\mathcal F_{d_{\ell_1}\cdots d_{\ell_{k-1}}}$ over $\bigcup_{m=1}^k X_m$, defined by sequences of face maps $d_{\ell_{k-1}}$ when going from $X_k$ to $X_{k-1}$ and so on, where $\ell_m\in \{0,\dots,n-m+1\}$. Define pullback sheaves $\mathcal F_{d_{\ell_1}\cdots d_{\ell_{k-1}}d_{\ell_k}}$, for $\ell_k = 0,\dots,n-k+1$ on $\bigcup_{m=1}^{k+1} X_k$ by the diagram
At the end of this inductive process, we have $n!$ distinct sheaves $\mathcal F_{d_{\ell_1}\cdots d_{\ell_{n-1}}}$ on all of $X$. Note there is a sheaf map $\mathcal F_{d_{\ell_1}\cdots d_{\ell_i}\cdots d_{\ell_{n-1}}} \to \mathcal F_{d_{\ell_1}\cdots d_{\ell_i'}\cdots d_{\ell_{n-1}}}$, given on $U$ good by $\mathcal F_{d_{\ell_1}\cdots d_{\ell_i}\cdots d_{\ell_{n-1}}}(U) = S \mapsto \begin{cases} S & \text{ if } |S_0| \leqslant n-i, \\ (\ell_i\ \ell_i')(S) & \text{ else,} \end{cases}$ where $(\ell_i\ \ell_i')\in \mathfrak S_n$ (the symmetric group on the numbers $0,\dots,n-1$) is the transposition swaps the $\ell_i$ and $\ell_i'$ indices of $S_0$, the 0-cells of $S$, inducing a map of simplicial sets. If the two sheaves differ in only two indices $\ell_i\neq \ell_i'$ and $\ell_j\neq \ell_j'$, with $i<j$, then we get $S\mapsto (\ell_j\ \ell_j')_{d_{\ell_{i-1}} \cdots d_{\ell_j}}(\ell_i\ \ell_i')(S)$. Here $(\ell_j\ \ell_j')_{d_{\ell_{i-1}} \cdots d_{\ell_j}}$ is the element of $\mathfrak S_{n-i}$ found by taking $(\ell_j\ \ell_j')$ from $\mathfrak S_{n-j}$ to $\mathfrak S_{n-i}$ by the sequence of group inclusion maps induced by the face maps $d_{\ell_j},\dots,d_{\ell_{i-1}}$.

Remark: This construction is not the most satisfying, for several reasons:
• we do not have a single sheaf, rather a family of sheaves, and
• the use of "good" sets leaves something to be desired, as we should be able to consider larger sets.
Both will hopefully be remedied in a later post.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Artin gluing a sheaf 2: simplicial sets and configuration spaces

The goal of this post is to extend the previous stratifying map to simplicial sets, and to generalize the sheaf construction to $X = \Conf_n(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$ for arbitrary integers $n$, where $M$ is a smooth, compact, connected manifold. We work with $\Conf_n(M)$ instead of $\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)$ because Lemma 1 and Proposition 2 have no chance of extending to $\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)$ without major modifications (see Remark 3 at the end of this post).

Recall $SC$ is the category of simplicial complexes and simplicial maps, with $SC_n$ the full subcategory of simplicial complexes on $n$ vertices. Our main function is $\begin{array}{r c c c l} f\ :\ X & \tov{f_1} & SC & \tov{f_2} & \sSet, \\ (P,a) & \mapsto & VR(P,a) & \mapsto & \Hom_{\Set}(\Delta^\bullet,VR(P,a)). \end{array}$ On $\Conf_n(M)$ we have a natural metric, the Hausdorff distance $d_H(P,Q) = \max_{p\in P}\min_{q\in Q}d(p,q)+\max_{q\in Q}\min_{p\in P}d(p,q)$. This induces the 1-product metric on $X$, as $d_X((P,a),(Q,b)) = d_H(P,Q) + d(a,b),$ where $d$ without a subscript is Euclidean distance. We could have chosen any other $p$-product metric, but $p=1$ makes computations easier. For a given $(P,t)\in X$, write $P = \{P_1,\dots,P_n\}$ and define its maximal neighborhood to be the ball $B_X(\min\{\delta_1,\delta_2,t\},P)$, where $\delta_1 = \min_{i<j}\{d(P_i,P_j)\}, \hspace{1cm} \delta_2 = \min_{i<j}\{|d(P_i,P_j)-t|\ :\ d(P_i,P_j)\neq t\}.$

Lemma 1:
Any path $\gamma:I\to X$ induces a unique morphism $f(\gamma(0))\to f(\gamma(1))$ of simplicial sets.

Proof: Write $\gamma(0) = \{P_1,\dots,P_n\}$ and $\gamma(1) = \{Q_1,\dots,Q_n\}$. The map $\gamma$ induces $n$ paths $\gamma_i:I\to M$ for $i=1,\dots,n$, with $\gamma_i$ the path based at $P_i$. Let $s:\gamma(0)\to \gamma(1)$ be the map on simplicial complexes defined by $P_i\mapsto \gamma_i(1)$. Since we are in the configuration space, where points cannot collide (as opposed to the Ran space), this is a well-defined map. Then $f_2(s)$ is a morphism of simplicial complexes. $\square$

Note the morphism of simplicial sets induced by any path in a maximal neighborhood of $x\in X$ is the identity morphism. We now move to describing a sheaf over all of $X$.

Definition: Let $X$ be any topological space and $\mathcal C$ a category with pullbacks. Let $A\subseteq X$ open and $B=X\setminus A \subseteq X$ closed, with $i:A\hookrightarrow X$ and $j:B\hookrightarrow X$ the inclusion maps. Let $\mathcal F$ be a $\mathcal C$-valued sheaf on $A$ and $\mathcal G$ a $\mathcal C$-valued sheaf on $B$. Then the \emph{Artin gluing} of $\mathcal F$ and $\mathcal G$ is the $\mathcal C$-valued sheaf $\mathcal H$ on $X$ defined as the pullback, or fiber product, of $i_*\mathcal F$ and $j_*\mathcal G$ over $j_*j^*i_*\mathcal F$ in the diagram below.
Note the definition requires a choice of sheaf map $\varphi:\mathcal G\to j^*i_*\mathcal F$. In the proof below, this sheaf map will be the morphism of simplicial sets from Lemma 1 through the functor $\Hom_\Set(\Delta^\bullet,-) = f_2(-)$.

Recall the ordering of $SC_n$ described by the only definition in a previous post ("Exit paths, part 2," 2017-09-28). Fix a cover $\{A_i\}_{i=1}^{N}$ of $SC_n$ by nested open subsets (so $N=|SC_n|$), with $B_i := f_1^{-1}(A_i)$ and $B_{\leqslant i} := \bigcup_{j=1}^i B_i$. We now have an induced order on and cover of $\im(f)=\sSet'$, as a full subcategory of $\sSet$. Even more, we now have an induced total order on $\sSet' = \{S_1,\dots,S_N\}$, with $S_i$ the unique simplicial set in $A_i\setminus A_{i-1}$. For example, $S_1=\Hom_\Set(\Delta^\bullet,\Delta^n)$ and $S_{N}=\Hom_\Set(\Delta^\bullet,\bigcup_{i=1}^n\Delta^0)$.

For ease of notation, we let $B_0 = \emptyset$ and write $S_\emptyset = \Hom(\Delta^\bullet,\emptyset)$, $S_0 = \Hom(\Delta^\bullet,\Delta^0)$.

Definition 1: Let $\mathcal F_i:\Op(B_i)^{op}\to \sSet$ be the locally constant sheaf given by $\mathcal F_i(U_x) = S_i$, where $U_x$ is a subset of the maximal neighborhood of $x\in B_i$. In general, $\mathcal F_i(U) = \begin{cases} S_i & \text{ if }\begin{array}[t]{l}U\neq \emptyset, \\U\text{ is path connected},\\\text{every loop }\gamma:I\to U\text{ induces }\id:f(\gamma(0))\to f(\gamma(1)),\end{array} \\ S_\emptyset & \text{ else if }U\neq\emptyset, \\ S_0 & \text{ else.} \end{cases}$ In general, we say $U\subseteq X$ is good if it is non-empty, path connected, and every loop $\gamma:I\to U$ induces the identity morphism on simplicial sets.

Proposition 2: Let $\mathcal F_{\leqslant 1} = \mathcal F_1$, and $\mathcal F_{\leqslant i}$ be the sheaf on $B_{\leqslant i}$ obtained by Artin gluing $\mathcal F_i$ onto $\mathcal F_{\leqslant i-1}$, for all $i=2,\dots,N$. Then $\mathcal F = \mathcal F_{\leqslant N}$ is the $SC_n$-constructible sheaf on $X$ described by $\mathcal F(U) = \begin{cases} S_{\max\{1\leqslant \ell\leqslant N\ :\ U\cap B_{\ell}\neq \emptyset\}} & \text{ if U is good,}\\ S_\emptyset & \text{ else if }U\neq\emptyset, \\ S_0 & \text{ else.} \end{cases} \hspace{2cm} (1)$

Proof: We proceed by induction. Begin with the constant sheaf $\mathcal F_1$ on $B_1$ and $\mathcal F_2$ on $B_2$, which we would like to glue together to get a sheaf $\mathcal F_{\leqslant2}$ on $B_{\leqslant 2}$. Since $f_1$ is continuous in the Alexandrov topology on the poset $SC_{\leqslant n}$, $B_1\subseteq B_{\leqslant 2}$ is open and $B_2 \subseteq B_{\leqslant 2}$ is closed. Let $i:B_1\hookrightarrow B_{\leqslant 2}$ and $j:B_2\hookrightarrow B_{\leqslant 2}$ be the inclusion maps. The sheaf $j^*i_*\mathcal F_1$ has support $\closure(B_1)\cap B_2 \neq \emptyset$ with $j^*i_*\mathcal F_1(U) = \colim_{V\supseteq j(U)}\left[i_*\mathcal F_1(V)\right] = \colim_{V\supseteq U}\left[\mathcal F_1(V\cap B_1)\right] = \begin{cases} S_1 & \text{ if }U\cap \closure(B_1)\text{ is good}, \\ S_\emptyset & \text{ else}, \end{cases}$ for any non-empty $U\subseteq B_2$. Let the sheaf map $\varphi:\mathcal F_2\to j^*i_*\mathcal F_1$ be the inclusion simplicial set morphism on good sets (it can be thought of as induced through Lemma 1 by a path starting in $U\cap B_2$ and ending in $V\cap B_1$, for $V$ a small enough set in the colimit above). Note that $S_2 = \Hom_\Set(\Delta^\bullet,\Delta^n\setminus \Delta^1)$, where $\Delta^n\setminus \Delta^1$ is the simplicial complex resulting from removing an edge from the complete simplicial complex on $n$ vertices. Let $\mathcal F_{\leqslant 2}$ be the pullback of $i_*\mathcal F_1$ and $j_*\mathcal F_2$ along $j_*j^*i_*\mathcal F_1$, and $U\subseteq B_{\leqslant 2}$ a good set. If $U\subseteq B_1$, then $\mathcal F_{\leqslant 2}(U) = \mathcal F_1(U)=S_1$, and if  $U\subseteq B_2$, then $\mathcal F_{\leqslant 2}(U) = \mathcal F_2(U) = S_2$. Now suppose that $U\cap B_1 \neq \emptyset$ but also $U\cap B_2\neq\emptyset$, which, since $U$ is good, implies that $U\cap \closure(B_1)\cap B_2\neq\emptyset$. Then we have the pullback square
If $U$ is not good, then the simplicial sets are $S_\emptyset$ or $S_0$, with nothing interesting going on. The pullback over a good set $U$ can be computed levelwise as $\mathcal F_{\leqslant 2}(U)_m = \{(\alpha,\beta)\in (S_1)_m\times (S_2)_m\ :\ \alpha=j_*\varphi(\beta)\}. \hspace{2cm} (2)$ Since $j_*\varphi$ is induced by the inclusion $\varphi$, it is the identity on its image. So $\alpha = j_*\varphi(\beta)$ means $\alpha=\beta$, or in other words, $\mathcal F_{\leqslant 2}(U)=S_2$. Hence for arbitrary $U\subseteq B_{\leqslant 2}$, we have $\mathcal F_{\leqslant 2}(U) = \begin{cases} S_{\max\{\ell=1,2\ :\ U\cap B_{\ell}\neq \emptyset\}} & \text{ if U is good,}\\ S_\emptyset & \text{ else if }U\neq\emptyset, \\ S_0 & \text{ else.} \end{cases}$

For the inductive step with $k>1$, let $\mathcal F_{\leqslant k}$ be the sheaf on $B_{\leqslant k}$ defined as in Equation (1), but with $k$ instead of $N$. We would like to glue $\mathcal F_{\leqslant k}$ to $\mathcal F_{k+1}$ on $B_{k+1}$ to get a sheaf $\mathcal F_{\leqslant k+1}$ on $B_{\leqslant k+1}$. As before, $B_k \subseteq B_{\leqslant k+1}$ is open and $B_{k+1}\subseteq B_{\leqslant k+1}$ is closed. For $i:B_k\hookrightarrow B_{\leqslant k+1}$ and $j:B_{k+1}\hookrightarrow B_{\leqslant k+1}$ the inclusion maps, the sheaf $j^*i_*\mathcal F_{\leqslant k}$ has support $\closure(B_{\leqslant k})\cap B_{k+1}$, with $j^*i_*\mathcal F_{\leqslant k}(U) = \colim_{V\supseteq j(U)}\left[i_*\mathcal F_{\leqslant k}(V)\right] = \colim_{V\supseteq U}\left[\mathcal F_{\leqslant k}(V\cap B_{\leqslant k})\right] = \begin{cases} S_{\max\{1\leqslant \ell\leqslant k\ :\ U\cap \closure(B_\ell)\neq\emptyset\}} & \text{ if }U\cap \closure(B_{\leqslant k})\text{ is good,} \\ S_\emptyset & \text{ else,} \end{cases}$ for any non-empty $U\subseteq B_{k+1}$. Let the sheaf map $\varphi:\mathcal F_{k+1}\to j^*i_*\mathcal F_{\leqslant k}$ be the inclusion simplicial set morphism on good sets (it can be thought of as induced through Lemma 1 by a path starting in $U\cap B_{k+1}$ and ending in $V\cap B_{\leqslant k}$, for $V$ a small enough set in the colimit above). For $U\subseteq B_{\leqslant k+1}$ a good set, if $U\subseteq B_{\leqslant k}$, then $\mathcal F_{\leqslant k+1}(U) = \mathcal F_{\leqslant k}(U)$, and if  $U\subseteq B_{k+1}$, then $\mathcal F_{\leqslant k+1}(U) = \mathcal F_{k+1}(U) = S_{k+1}$. Now suppose that $U\cap B_{\leqslant k} \neq \emptyset$ but also $U\cap B_{k+1}\neq\emptyset$, which, since $U$ is good, implies that $U\cap \closure(B_{\leqslant k})\cap B_{k+1}\neq\emptyset$. Then we have the pullback square
If $U$ is not good, then the simplicial sets are $S_\emptyset$ or $S_0$, with nothing interesting going on. Again, as in Equation (2), the pullback $\mathcal F_{\leqslant k+1}$ on a good set $U$ is $\mathcal F_{\leqslant k+1}(U)_m = \{(\alpha,\beta)\in (S_\ell)_m\times (S_{k+1})_m\ :\ \alpha = j_*\varphi(\beta)\},$ and as before, this implies that $\mathcal F_{\leqslant k+1}(U) = S_{k+1}$. Hence $\mathcal F_{\leqslant k+1}$ is exactly of the form as in Equation (1), with $k+1$ instead of $N$, and by induction we get the desired description for $\mathcal F_{\leqslant N}= \mathcal F$.  $\square$

Remark 3: The statements given in this post do not extend to $\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)$, at least not as stated. Lemma 1 fails if  somewhere along the path $\gamma$ a point splits in two or more points, as there is no canonical choice which of the "new" points should be the image of the "old" point. This means that the proof of Proposition 2 will also fail, because we relied on a uniquely defined sheaf map $\varphi$ between strata.

Next, we hope to use this approach to describe classic persistent homology results, and maybe link this to the concept of persistence modules.

References: Milne (Etale cohomology, Chapter 2.3)

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Artin gluing a sheaf 1: a small example

The goal of this post is to describe a sheaf on a particular stratified space using locally constant sheaves defined on the strata. Thanks to Joe Berner for helpful discussions.

Recall the direct image and inverse image sheaves from a previous post ("Sheaves, derived and perverse," 2017-12-05). Let $M$ be a smooth, compact, connected manifold, and $X = \Ran^{\leqslant 2}(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$. Let $SC$ be the category of abstract simplicial complexes and simplicial maps. All sheaves will be functors $\text{Op}(-)^{op}\to SC$. The space $X$ looks like the diagram below.

Let $Y = A\cup B$. Note that $A\subseteq Y$ is open, $B\subseteq Y$ is closed, $Y\subseteq X$ is open, and $C\subseteq X$ is closed. There is a natural stratified map $f:X\to \{1,2,3\}$, with $\{1,2,3\}$ given the natural ordering. The map $f$ is described by $f^{-1}(3) = A$, $f^{-1}(2) = B$, and $f^{-1}(1) = C$. Define the inclusion maps \begin{align*}
i\ &:\ A \hookrightarrow Y, & k\ &:\ Y\hookrightarrow X,\\
j\ &:\ B \hookrightarrow Y, & \ell\ &:\ C\hookrightarrow X.
\end{align*} Define the following constant sheaves on $A,B,C$, respectively:
If $U = \emptyset$, all three give back the simplicial complex on a single vertex. We will now attempt to define a sheaf on all of $X$ by gluing sheaves on the strata. Choose some subsets of $X$ as below on which to test the sheaves.

Step 1: Extend $\mathcal F$ and $\mathcal G$ to a sheaf on $Y$.

The direct image of $\mathcal F$ via $i$, as a sheaf on $Y$, is
for any $U\subseteq Y$. The inverse image of $i_*\mathcal F$ via $j$, as a sheaf on $B$, is
for any $U\subseteq B$. Note $j^*i_*\mathcal F(B')$ is the 0-simplex and $j^*i_*\mathcal F(B'')$ is the 1-simplex. The inverse image sheaf is actually defined as the sheafification of the presheaf obtained by taking the colimit, but the sheaf axioms are easily seen to be satisfied here, as the support is on a closed subset.

Following the MathOverflow question, we need to define a map $\mathcal G \to j^*i_*\mathcal F$ of sheaves on $B$. Since the support of $j^*i_*\mathcal F$ is only $\text{cl}(A)\cap B$, it suffices to define the map here, and we can do it on stalks. There is a natural simplicial map
which we use as the sheaf map. It seems we should now have a sheaf on all of $Y$ now, but the result is not immediate. Following the proof of Theorem 3.10 in Chapter 2 of Milne, we need to take the fiber product, or pullback, of $i_*\mathcal F$ and $j_*\mathcal G$ over $j_*j^*i_*\mathcal F$, call it $\mathcal K$. Consider the pullback diagram on sets like $B'''$:
Hence it makes sense that $\mathcal K(B''')$ is two 0-simplicies. We now have a sheaf $\mathcal K$ on $Y$ given by

Step 2: Extend $\mathcal K$ and $\mathcal H$ to a sheaf on $X$.

The direct image of $\mathcal K$ via $k$, as  a sheaf on $X$, is
for any $U\subseteq X$. The inverse image of $k_*\mathcal K$ via $\ell$, as a sheaf on $C$, is
for any $U\subseteq C$. We need to again define a map $\mathcal H\to \ell^*k_*\mathcal K$ of sheaves on $C$. On stalks we naturally have maps
due to the fact that both complexes are symmetric, so sending to one or the other vertex is the same. Let $\mathcal L$ be the sheaf we should now have defined over all of $X$, by taking the fiber product of $\ell_*\mathcal H$ and $k_*\mathcal K$ over $\ell_*\ell^*k_*\mathcal K$. Let us consider its pullback diagrams for the sets $L',M',N'$.
It seems that we should set $\mathcal L(L') = \mathcal L(M') = \mathcal L(N')$ to be the 0-simplex. We now have a sheaf $\mathcal L$ on $X$ given by
The next goal is to extend this approach to $\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)\times \R_{\geqslant 0}$. An immediate difficulty seems to be finding canonical simplicial maps like $\varphi$ and $\psi$, but hopefully a choice of increasing nested open cover of the startifying set of $X$ will solve this problem.

References: MathOverflow (Question 54037), Milne (Etale cohomology, Chapter 2.3)

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

A naive constructible sheaf

In this post we describe a constructible sheaf over $X=\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)\times \R_{>0}$ valued in simplicial complexes, for a compact, smooth, connected manifold $M$. We note however that it does not capture all the information about the underlying space. Thanks to Joe Berner for helpful ideas.

Recall the category $SC$ of simplicial complexes and simplicial maps, as well as the full subcategories $SC_n$ of simplicial complexes with $n$ vertices (the vertices are unordered). Let $A = \bigcup_{k=1}^n SC_n$ with the ordering $\leqslant_A$ as in a previous post ("Ordering simplicial complexes with unlabeled vertices," 2017-12-03), and $f:X\to A$ the stratifying map. Let $\{A_k\}_{k=1}^N$ be a cover of $X$ by nested open sets of the type $f^{-1}(U_S) = f^{-1}(\{T\in A\ :\ S\leqslant_A T\})$, whose existence is guaranteed as $A$ is finite. Note that $f(A_1)$ is a singleton containg the complete simplex on $n$ vertices.

Remark: For every simplicial complex $S\in A$, there is a locally constant sheaf over $f^{-1}(S)\subseteq X$. Given the cover $\{A_k\}$ of $X$, denote this sheaf by $\mathcal F_k \in \Shv(A_k\setminus A_{k-1})$ and its value by $S_k\in SC$.

Let $i^1:A_1\hookrightarrow A_2$ and $j^2:A_2\setminus A_1 \hookrightarrow A_2$ be the natural inclusion maps . Note that $A_1$ is open and $A_2\setminus A_1$ is closed in $A_2$. The maps $i^1,j^2$ induce direct image functors on the sheaf categories$i^1_*:\Shv(A_1) \to \Shv(A_2), \hspace{1cm} j^2_*:\Shv(A_2\setminus A_1) \to \Shv(A_2).$The induced sheaves in $\Shv(A_2)$ are extended by 0 on the complement of the domain from where they come. Note that since $A_2\setminus A_1\subseteq A_2$ is closed, $j^2_*$ is the same as $j^2_!$, the direct image with compact support. We then have the direct sum sheaf $i^1_*\mathcal F_1 \oplus j_*^2\mathcal F_2 \in \Shv(A_2)$, which we interpret as the disjoint union in $SC$. Then$\left(i_*^1\mathcal F_1 \oplus j_2^*\mathcal F_2\right)(U) = \begin{cases} S_1 & \text{ if }U\subseteq A_1, \\ S_2 & \text{ if }U\subseteq A_2\setminus A_1, \\ S_1\sqcup S_2 & \text{ else,} \end{cases} \hspace{1cm} \left(i_*^1\mathcal F_1 \oplus j_2^*\mathcal F_2\right)_{(P,t)} = \begin{cases} S_1 & \text{ if } (P,t)\in A_1, \\ S_2 & \text{ if }(P,t)\in \text{int}(A_2\setminus A_1), \\ S_1\sqcup S_2 & \text{ else,} \end{cases}$for $U\subseteq A_2$ open and $(P,t)\in A_2$. Generalizing this process, we get a sheaf on $X$. The diagram

may be helpful to keep in mind. We use the fact that direct sums commute with colimits (used in the definition of the direct image sheaf) to simplify notation. We then get sheaves$\begin{array}{r c l} \mathcal F^1 & \in & \Shv(A_1), \\ i_*^1\mathcal F^1 \oplus j_*^2 \mathcal F^2 & \in & \Shv(A_2), \\ i_*^2i_*^1\mathcal F^1 \oplus i_*^2j_*^2 \mathcal F^2 \oplus j_*^3 \mathcal F^3 & \in & \Shv(A_3), \\ i_*^3i_*^2i_*^1\mathcal F^1 \oplus i_*^3i_*^2j_*^2 \mathcal F^2 \oplus i_*^3j_*^3 \mathcal F^3 \oplus j_*^4 \mathcal F^4 & \in & \Shv(A_4), \end{array}$and finally$i_*^{N-1\cdots 1}\mathcal F^1 \oplus \left(\bigoplus_{k=2}^{N-1} i_*^{N-1\cdots k}j_*^k \mathcal F^k \right) \oplus j_*^N \mathcal F^N \in \Shv(A_N=X),$where $i_*^{N-1\cdots k}$ is the composition $i_*^{N-1} \circ i_*^{N-2} \circ \cdots \circ i_*^k$ of direct image functors. Call this last sheaf simply $\mathcal F \in \Shv(X)$. Each $i_*^k$ extends the sheaf by 0 on an ever larger domain, so every summand in $\mathcal F$ is non-zero on exactly one stratum as defined by $f:X\to A$. We now have a functor $\mathcal F:Op(X) \to SC$ defined by$\mathcal F(U) = \bigsqcup_{k=1}^N S_k \delta_{U,A_K\setminus A_{k-1}}, \hspace{1cm} \mathcal F_{(P,t)} = \bigsqcup_{k=1}^N S_k \delta_{(P,t),\text{cl}(,A_K\setminus A_{k-1})},$where $\delta_{U,V}$ is the Kronecker delta that evaluates to the identity if $U\cap V \neq \emptyset$ and zero otherwise.

Remark: The sheaf $\mathcal F$ is $A$-constructible, as $\mathcal F|_{f^{-1}(S)}$ is a constant sheaf evaluating to the simplicial complex $S\in A$. However, if we want the cohomology groups to capture how the simplicial complexes change between strata, then we must use a different approach - all groups die when leaving a stratum because of the extension by zero construction.

References: nLab (article "Simplicial complexes")

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Sheaves, derived and perverse

Let $X,Y$ be topological spaces and $f:X\to Y$ a continuous map. We let $\Shv(X)$ be the category of sheaves on $X$, $D(\Shv(X))$ the derived category of sheaves on $X$, and $D_b(\Shv(X))$ the bounded variant. Recall that $D(\mathcal A)$ for an abelian category $\mathcal A$ is constructed first by taking $C(\mathcal A)$, the category of cochains of elements of $\mathcal A$, quotienting by chain homotopy, then quotienting by all acylic chains.

Remark: Let $\mathcal F\in \Shv(X)$. Recall:
• a section of $\mathcal F$ is an element of $\mathcal F(U)$ for some $U\subseteq X$,
• a germ of $\mathcal F$ at $x\in X$ is an equivalence class in $\{s\in \mathcal F(U)\ :\ U\owns x\}/\sim_x$,
• $s\sim_x t$ iff every neighborhood $W$ of $x$ in $U\cap V$ has $s|_W = t|_W$, for $s\in \mathcal F(U)$, $t\in \mathcal F(V)$,
• the support of the section $s\in\mathcal F(U)$ is $\supp(s) = \{x\in U\ :\ s \nsim_x 0\}$,
• the support of the sheaf $\mathcal F$ is $\supp(\mathcal F) = \{x\in X\ :\ \mathcal F_x\neq 0\}$.

Definition: The map $f$ induces functors between categories of sheaves, called
$\begin{array}{r r c l} \text{direct image} & f_*\ :\ \Shv(X) & \to & \Shv(Y), \\ & (U\mapsto \mathcal F(U)) & \mapsto & (V\mapsto \mathcal F(f^{-1}(V))),\\[15pt] \text{inverse image} & f^*\ :\ \Shv(Y) & \to & \Shv(X), \\ & (V\mapsto \mathcal G(V)) & \mapsto & \text{sh}\left(U\mapsto \text{colim}_{V\supseteq f(U)} \mathcal G(V)\right),\\[15pt] \text{direct image with compact support} & f_!\ :\ \Shv(X) & \to & \Shv(Y), \\ & (U\mapsto \mathcal F(U)) & \mapsto & \left(V\mapsto \left\{ s\in\mathcal F(f^{-1}(V))\ :\ f|_{\supp(s)} \text{ is proper}\right\}\right). \end{array}$

Above we used that $f:X\to Y$ is proper if $f^{-1}(K)\subseteq X$ is compact, for every $K\subseteq Y$ compact. Next, recall that a functor $\varphi:\mathcal A\to \mathcal B$ induces a functor $R\varphi:D(\mathcal A)\to D(\mathcal B)$, called the (first) derived functor of $\varphi$, given by $R\varphi(A^\bullet) = H^1(\varphi(A)^\bullet)$.

Remark: Each of the maps $f_*,f^*,f_!$ have their derived analogues $Rf_*, Rf^*,Rf_!$, respectively. For reasons unclear, $Rf_!$ has a right adjoint, denoted $Rf^!:D(\Shv(Y))\to D(\Shv(X))$. This is called the exceptional inverse image.

We are now ready to define perverse sheaves.

Definition: Let $A^\bullet \in D(\Shv(X))$. Then:
• the $i$th cohomology sheaf of $A^\bullet$ is $H^i(A^\bullet) = \ker(d^i)/\im(d^i)$,
• $A^\bullet$ is a constructible complex if $H^i(A^\bullet)$ is a constructible sheaf for all $i$,
• $A^\bullet$ is a perverse sheaf if $A^\bullet\in D_b(\Shv(X))$ is constructible and $\dim(\supp(H^{-i}(P))) \leqslant i$ for all $i\in \Z$ and for $P=A^\bullet$ and $P=(A^\bullet)^\vee = (A^\vee)^\bullet$ the dual complex of sheaves.

We finish off with an example.

Example: Let $X = \R$ be a stratified space, with $X_0=0$ the origin and $X_1 = \R\setminus 0$. Let $\mathcal F\in \Shv(X)$ be an $\R$-valued sheaf given by $\mathcal F(U) = \inf_{x\in U} |x|$, and define a chain complex $A^\bullet$ in the following way:
$0 \longrightarrow A^{-1} = \mathcal F \xrightarrow{ d^{-1}=\text{id} } A^0 = \mathcal F \xrightarrow{ d^0=0 } 0.$
Note that for any $U\subseteq \R$, we have $H^{-1}(A^\bullet)(U) = \ker(d^{-1})(U) = \ker(\id:\mathcal F(U)\to \mathcal F(U)) = \emptyset$ if $0\not\in U$, and $0$ otherwise. Hence $\supp(H^{-1}(A^\bullet)) = \R\setminus 0$, whose dimension is 1. Next, $H^0(A^\bullet)(U) = \ker(d^0)(U)/\im(d^{-1})(U) = \ker(0:\mathcal F(U)\to 0)/\im(\id:\mathcal F(U)\to \mathcal F(U)) = \mathcal F(U)/\mathcal F(U) = 0$, and so $\dim(\supp(H^0(A^\bullet))) = 0$. Note that $A^\bullet$ is self-dual and constructible, as the cohomology sheaves are locally constant. Hence $A^\bullet$ is a perverse sheaf.

References: Bredon (Sheaf theory, Chapter II.1), de Catalado and Migliorini (What is... a perverse sheaf?), Stacks project (Articles "Supports of modules and sections" and "Complexes with constructible cohomology")

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Ordering simplicial complexes with unlabeled vertices

The goal of this post is to describe a partial order on the collection of simplical complexes with $\leqslant n$ unlabeled vertices that is nice in the context of the space $X=\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)\times \R_{>0}$.

First note that there is a natural order on (abstract) simplicial complexes, given by set inclusion. Interpreting elements of $X$ as simplicial complexes induces a more restrictive order, as new vertices must "split off" from existing ones rather than just be introduced anywhere. Also note that the category usually denoted by $SC$ of simplicial complexes and simplicial maps contains objects with unordered vertices. Here we assume an order on them and consider the action of the symmetric groups to remove the order.

Definition: Let $SC_k$, for some positive integer $k$, be the collection of simplicial complexes with $k$ uniquely labeled vertices. This collection is a poset, with $S\leqslant T$ iff $\sigma\in T$ for every $\sigma\in S$.

The symmetric group on $k$ elements acts on $SC_k$ by permuting the vertices, and taking the image under this action we get $SC_k/S_k$, the collection of simplicial complexes with $k$ unlabeled vertices. This set also has a partial order, with $S\leqslant T$ in $SC_k/S_k$ iff $S'\leqslant T'$ in $SC_k$, for some $S'\in q_k^{-1}(S)$ and $T'\in q_k^{-1}(T)$, where $q_k:SC_k \twoheadrightarrow SC_k/S_k$ is the quotient map.

Definition: For all $i=1,\dots,k$, let $s_{k,i}$ be the $i$th splitting map, which splits the $i$th vertex in two. That is, if the vertices of $S\in SC_k$ are labeled $v_1,\dots,v_k$, then $s_{k,i}$ is defined by
$\begin{array}{r c l} s_{k,i}\ :\ SC_k & \to & SC_{k+1}, \\ S & \mapsto & \left\langle S'\cup \{v_i,v_{i+1}\} \cup \displaystyle \bigcup_{\{v_i,w\}\in S'} \{v_{i+1},w\} \right\rangle , \end{array}$where $S'$ is $S$ with $v_j$ relabeled as $v_{j+1}$ for all $j>i$, and $\langle T\rangle$ is the simplicial complex generated by $T$.

By "generated by $T$" we mean generated in the Vietoris-Rips sense, that is, if $\{v_a,v_b\}\in T$ for all $a,b$ in some indexing set $I$, then $\{v_c\ :\ c\in I\}\in \langle T\rangle$. The $i$th splitting map is essentially the $i$th face map used for simplicial sets.

Let $A = \bigcup_{k=1}^n SC_k/S_k$. The splitting maps induce a partial order on $A$, with $S\leqslant T$, for $S\in SC_k/S_k$ and $T\in SC_{k+1}/S_{k+1}$, iff $s_{k,i}(S')\leqslant T'$ in $SC_k$, for some $S'\in q_k^{-1}(S)$, $T'\in q_{k+1}^{-1}(T)$, and $i\in \{1,\dots,k\}$. This generalizes via composition of the splitting maps to any pair $S,T\in A$, and is visually decribed by the diagram below.

Now, let $M$ be a smooth, compact, connected manifold embedded in $\R^N$, and $X=\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)\times \R_{>0}$. Let $f:X\to A$ be given by $(P,t)\mapsto VR(P,t)$, the Vietoris-Rips complex around the points of $P$ with radius $t$.

Proposition: The map $f:X\to A$ is continuous.

Proof: Let $S\in A$ and $U_S \subseteq A$ be the open set based at $S$. Take any $(P,t)\in f^{-1}(U_S)\subseteq X$, for which we will show that there is an open ball $B\owns (P,t)$ completely within $f^{-1}(U_S)$.

Case 1: $t\neq d(P_i,P_j)$ for all pairs $P_i,P_j\in P$. Then set
$\epsilon = \min\left\{t, \min_{i<j} |t-d(P_i,P_j)|, \min_{i<j} d(P_i,P_j) \right\}.$Set $B = B^{\Ran^{\leqslant n}(M)}_{\epsilon/4}(P) \times B^{\R_{>0}}_{\epsilon/4}(t)$, which is an open neighborhood of $(P,t)$ in $X$. It is immediate that $f(P',t')$, for any other $(P',t')\in B$, has all the simplices of $f(P,t)$, as $\epsilon \leqslant |t-d(P_i,P_j)|$ for all $i<j$. If $P_i$ has split in two in $P'$, then for every simplex containing $P_i$ in $f(P,t)$ there are two simplices in $f(P't')$, with either of the points into which $P_i$ split. That is, there may be new simplices in $f(P',t')$, but $f(P',t')$ will be in the image of the splitting maps. Equivalently, $f(P,t)\leqslant f(P',t')$ in $A$, so $B\subseteq f^{-1}(U_S)$.

Case 2: $t= d(P_i,P_j)$ for some pairs $P_i,P_j\in P$. Then set
$\epsilon = \min\left\{t, \min_{i<j \atop t\neq d(P_i,P_j)} |t-d(P_i,P_j)|,\ \min_{i<j} d(P_i,P_j) \right\},$and define $B$ as above. We are using the definition of Vietoris-Rips complex for which we add an edge between $P_i$ and $P_j$ whenever $t>d(P_i,P_j)$. Now take any $(P',t')\in B$ such that its image and the image of $(P,t)$ under $f$ are both in $SC_k/S_k$. Then any points $P_i,P_j \in P$ with $d(P_i,P_j)=t$ that have moved around to get to $P'$, an edge will possibly be added, but never removed, in the image of $f$ (when comparing with the image of $(P,t)$). This means that we have $f(P,t)\leqslant f(P',t')$ in $SC_k/S_k$, so certainly $f(P,t)\leqslant f(P',t')$ in $A$. The same argument as in the first case holds if points of $P$ split. Hence $B\subseteq f^{-1}(U_S)$ in this case as well.  $\square$

This proposition shows in particular that $X$ is poset-stratified by $A$