Collapse (topology)

For other uses, see Collapse.

In topology, a branch of mathematics, a collapse reduces a simplicial complex (or more generally, a CW complex) to a homotopy-equivalent subcomplex. Collapses, like CW complexes themselves, were invented by J. H. C. Whitehead.[1] Collapses find applications in computational homology.[2]

  1. ^ Whitehead, J.H.C. (1938). "Simplicial spaces, nuclei and m-groups". Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society. 45: 243–327.
  2. ^ Kaczynski, Tomasz (2004). Computational homology. Mischaikow, Konstantin Michael, Mrozek, Marian. New York: Springer. ISBN 9780387215976. OCLC 55897585.