Demystifying Latschev's Theorem for Manifold Reconstruction

Explore the intricacies of manifold reconstruction in this 49-minute lecture from the Applied Algebraic Topology Network. Delve into the challenging computational problem of topologically reconstructing a manifold from a sample, with applications in topological data analysis and manifold learning. Discover how manifold structures naturally occur in various scientific fields, including Euclidean surfaces, phase spaces of dynamical systems, and robot configuration spaces. Examine the finite reconstruction problem, which involves inferring the homotopy type of an unknown manifold from finite, potentially noisy observations. Learn about Latschev's groundbreaking paper, which established the existence of a sufficiently small scale for the Vietoris–Rips complex of a dense sample to accurately preserve the manifold's topology. Investigate recent developments that provide the first quantitative result and a novel proof of Latschev's theorem, advancing the practical applications of this important concept in computational topology.