Abstract
Fix a finite set of points in Euclidean n-space \(\mathbb{E}^{n}\) , thought of as a point-cloud sampling of a certain domain \(D\subset\mathbb{E}^{n}\) . The Vietoris–Rips complex is a combinatorial simplicial complex based on proximity of neighbors that serves as an easily-computed but high-dimensional approximation to the homotopy type of D. There is a natural “shadow” projection map from the Vietoris–Rips complex to \(\mathbb{E}^{n}\) that has as its image a more accurate n-dimensional approximation to the homotopy type of D.
We demonstrate that this projection map is 1-connected for the planar case n=2. That is, for planar domains, the Vietoris–Rips complex accurately captures connectivity and fundamental group data. This implies that the fundamental group of a Vietoris–Rips complex for a planar point set is a free group. We show that, in contrast, introducing even a small amount of uncertainty in proximity detection leads to “quasi”-Vietoris–Rips complexes with nearly arbitrary fundamental groups. This topological noise can be mitigated by examining a pair of quasi-Vietoris–Rips complexes and using ideas from persistent topology. Finally, we show that the projection map does not preserve higher-order topological data for planar sets, nor does it preserve fundamental group data for point sets in dimension larger than three.
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EWC supported by NSF MSPA-MCS # 0528086.
VdS supported by DARPA SPA # 30759.
JE supported by NSF MSPA-MCS # 0528086.
RG supported by DARPA SToMP # HR0011-07-1-0002 and NSF MSPA-MCS # 0528086.
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Chambers, E.W., de Silva, V., Erickson, J. et al. Vietoris–Rips Complexes of Planar Point Sets. Discrete Comput Geom 44, 75–90 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00454-009-9209-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00454-009-9209-8