Dimension and partial groups

Abstract

A partial group with $n+1$ elements is, when regarded as a symmetric simplicial set, of dimension at most $n$. This dimension is $n$ if and only if the partial group is a group. As a consequence of the first statement, finite partial groups are genuinely finite, despite being seemingly specified by infinitely much data. In particular, finite partial groups have only finitely many im-partial subgroups. We also consider dimension of partial groupoids.

8 pages. Accepted version to appear in Proc. Amer. Math. Soc