The Berstein–Schwarz formula for the LS-category of a group homomorphism

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Let f:G→Hf:G\to H be a homomorphism between discrete groups. Let Bf:BG→BHBf:BG\to BH be a map between Eilenberg–MacLane spaces inducing ff on fundamental groups, and let βH∈H1(H;I(H))\beta_H\in H^1(H;I(H)) be the Berstein–Schwarz class of HH, where I(H)⊂Z[H]I(H)\subset\mathbb Z[H] is the augmentation ideal. The LS-category of ff is defined by cat⁡(f)=cat⁡(Bf)\operatorname{cat}(f)=\operatorname{cat}(Bf). Berstein–Schwarz conjecture. The LS-category of ff satisfies

cat⁡(f)=max⁡{k∣f∗βHk≠0}.\operatorname{cat}(f)=\max\{k\mid f^*\beta_H^k\neq 0\}.

This conjecture extends the Berstein–Schwarz characterization of the cohomological dimension of a group from the identity map to arbitrary homomorphisms. The supplied text does not state whether the formula is known or unresolved.

References

Primary source

Jamie Scott, “On the Topological Complexity of Maps”, arXiv:2011.10646 (2020).

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