Simplicial volume

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(Definition and history)
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Then the '''simplicial volume''' (also called '''Gromov norm''') of $M
Then the '''simplicial volume''' (also called '''Gromov norm''') of $M
$ is defined as
$ is defined as
$$\|M\| := \inf \bigl\{ \|c\|_1 \bigm| \text{$c \in C_n(M;\mathbb{R})$
+
$$\|M\| := \bigl\| [M] \bigr\|_1 = \inf \bigl\{ |c|_1 \bigm| \text{$c \in C_n(M;\mathbb{R})$
is a fundamental cycle of $M$} \bigr\} \in \mathbb{R}_{\geq 0}. $$
+
is a fundamental cycle of $M$} \bigr\} \in \mathbb{R}_{\geq 0}, $$
Here, $C_*(M;\mathbb{R})$ denotes the singular chain complex of $M$
+
where $[M] \in H_n(M;\mathbb{R})$ is the fundamental class of $M$ with real coefficients.
with real coefficients, and $\|\cdot\|_1$ denotes the $\ell^1$-norm on
+
* Here, $|\cdot|_1$ denotes the $\ell^1$-norm on the singular chain complex $C_*(\,\cdot\,;\mathbb{R})$ with real coefficients induced from the (unordered) basis given by all singular simplices, i.e.: for a topological space $X$ and a chain $c = \sum_{j=0}^{k} a_j \cdot \sigma_j \in C_*(X;\mathbb{R})$ (in reduced form), the '''$\ell^1$-norm''' of $c$ is given by
the singular chain complex induced from the (unordered) basis given by
+
$$ |c|_1 := \sum_{j=0}^k |a_j|.$$
all singular simplices; i.e., for a chain $c=\sum_{j=0}^k a_j \cdot
+
* Moreover, $\|\cdot\|_1$ denotes the '''$\ell^1$-semi-norm''' on singular homology $H_*(\,\cdot\,;\mathbb{R})$ with real coefficients, which is induced by $|\cdot|_1$. More explicitly, if $X$ is a topological space and $\alpha \in H_*(X;\mathbb{R})$, then
\sigma_j \in C_*(M;\mathbb{R})$ (in reduced form), the $\ell^1$-norm
+
$$ \|\alpha\|_1 := \inf \bigl\{ |c|_1 \bigm| \text{$c \in C_*(X;\mathbb{R})$ is a cycle representing~$\alpha$}\bigr\}.$$
of $c$ is given by
+
$$\|c\|_1 := \sum_{j=0}^k |a_j|.$$
+
{{Endthm}}
{{Endthm}}

Revision as of 15:00, 23 March 2010

An earlier version of this page was published in the Bulletin of the Manifold Atlas: screen, print.

You may view the version used for publication as of 09:51, 1 April 2011 and the changes since publication.

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1 Definition and history

The simplicial volume is a homotopy invariant of oriented closed connected manifolds that was introduced by Gromov in his proof of Mostow rigidity [Munkholm1980][Gromov1982]. Intuitively, the simplicial volume measures how difficult it is to describe the manifold in question in terms of simplices (with real coefficients):

Definition 1.1. Let M be an oriented closed connected manifold of dimension n. Then the simplicial volume (also called Gromov norm) of M is defined as

\displaystyle \|M\| := \bigl\| [M] \bigr\|_1 = \inf \bigl\{ |c|_1 \bigm| \text{$c \in C_n(M;\mathbb{R})$ is a fundamental cycle of $M$}  \bigr\} \in \mathbb{R}_{\geq 0},

where [M] \in H_n(M;\mathbb{R}) is the fundamental class of M with real coefficients.

  • Here, |\cdot|_1 denotes the \ell^1-norm on the singular chain complex C_*(\,\cdot\,;\mathbb{R}) with real coefficients induced from the (unordered) basis given by all singular simplices, i.e.: for a topological space X and a chain c = \sum_{j=0}^{k} a_j \cdot \sigma_j \in C_*(X;\mathbb{R}) (in reduced form), the \ell^1-norm of c is given by
\displaystyle  |c|_1 := \sum_{j=0}^k |a_j|.
  • Moreover, \|\cdot\|_1 denotes the \ell^1-semi-norm on singular homology H_*(\,\cdot\,;\mathbb{R}) with real coefficients, which is induced by |\cdot|_1. More explicitly, if X is a topological space and \alpha \in H_*(X;\mathbb{R}), then
\displaystyle  \|\alpha\|_1 := \inf \bigl\{ |c|_1 \bigm| \text{$c \in C_*(X;\mathbb{R})$ is a cycle representing~$\alpha$}\bigr\}.



2 References

This page has not been refereed. The information given here might be incomplete or provisional.

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