In
mathematics, particularly the area of
topology
In mathematics, topology (from the Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing ...
, a simple-homotopy equivalence is a refinement of the concept of
homotopy equivalence
In topology, a branch of mathematics, two continuous functions from one topological space to another are called homotopic (from grc, ὁμός "same, similar" and "place") if one can be "continuously deformed" into the other, such a defor ...
. Two
CW-complex
A CW complex (also called cellular complex or cell complex) is a kind of a topological space that is particularly important in algebraic topology. It was introduced by J. H. C. Whitehead (open access) to meet the needs of homotopy theory. This clas ...
es are simple-homotopy equivalent if they are related by a sequence of
collapses and expansions (inverses of collapses), and a homotopy equivalence is a simple homotopy equivalence if it is homotopic to such a map.
The obstruction to a homotopy equivalence being a simple homotopy equivalence is the
Whitehead torsion,
A homotopy theory that studies simple-homotopy types is called
simple homotopy theory.
See also
*
Discrete Morse theory Discrete Morse theory is a combinatorial adaptation of Morse theory developed by Robin Forman. The theory has various practical applications in diverse fields of applied mathematics and computer science, such as configuration spaces, homology com ...
References
*
Homotopy theory
Equivalence (mathematics)
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