Cyclic polytopes, orientals, and correspondences: some aspects of higher Segal spaces

Abstract

We discuss the role of higher Segal spaces at the interface of cyclic polytopes, orientals, and higher correspondences. Along the way we review examples from algebraic K-theory, show how cyclic polytopes provide a geometric model for the definition of orientals, and establish a characterization of higher Segal spaces as lax monadic structures in higher correspondence categories.

v2: 31 pages, minor corrections due to referee report, accepted for publication