Analog category and complexity

Abstract

We study probabilistic variants of the Lusternik--Schnirelmann category and topological complexity, which bound the classical invariants from below. We present a number of computations illustrating both wide agreement and wide disagreement with the classical notions. In the aspherical case, where our invariants are group invariants, we establish a counterpart of the Eilenberg--Ganea theorem in the torsion-free case, as well as a contrasting universal upper bound in the finite case.

20 pages. To appear in SIAM Journal on Applied Algebra and Geometry. May differ slightly from published version