Enumerative Combinatorics of Simplicial and Cell Complexes: Kirchhoff and Trent Type Theorems

Abstract

This paper considers three separate matrices associated to graphs and (each dimension of) cell complexes. It relates all the coefficients of their respective characteristic polynomials to the geometric and combinatorial enumeration of three kinds of subobjects. The matrices are: the mesh matrix for integral d-cycles of Trent, the mesh matrix for integral d-boundaries, and the Kirchhoff matrix, i.e., the combinatorial Laplacian, for integral (d-1)-chains. Relations to Reidemeister-Franz torsion are elucidated and relations to the foundational work of R. Lyons and G. Kalai.