Dimension and partial groups

A partial group with <inline-formula content-type="math/mathml"> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="n plus 1"> <mml:semantics> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>n</mml:mi> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:annotation encoding="application/x-tex">n+1</mml:annotation> </mml:semantics> </mml:math> </inline-formula> elements is, when regarded as a symmetric simplicial set, of dimension at most <inline-formula content-type="math/mathml"> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="n"> <mml:semantics> <mml:mi>n</mml:mi> <mml:annotation encoding="application/x-tex">n</mml:annotation> </mml:semantics> </mml:math> </inline-formula> . This dimension is <inline-formula content-type="math/mathml"> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="n"> <mml:semantics> <mml:mi>n</mml:mi> <mml:annotation encoding="application/x-tex">n</mml:annotation> </mml:semantics> </mml:math> </inline-formula> 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.