Simplicial Tur\'an problems

Abstract

A simplicial complex $H$ consists of a pair of sets $(V,E)$ where $V$ is a set of vertices and $E\subseteq\mathscr{P}(V)$ is a collection of subsets of $V$ closed under taking subsets. Given a simplicial complex $F$ and $n\in \mathbb N$, the extremal number $\text{ex}(n,F)$ is the maximum number of edges that a simplicial complex on $n$ vertices can have without containing a copy of $F$. We initiate the systematic study of extremal numbers in this context by asymptotically determining the extremal numbers of several natural simplicial complexes. In particular, we asymptotically determine the extremal number of a simplicial complex for which the extremal example has more than one incomplete layer.