Contents

# Contents

## Idea

The term homotopy level (or h-level) – originating in homotopy type theory – is another name for the notion of truncation (particularly in (∞,1)-categories and their internal language of homotopy type theory) in which the numbering is offset by 2:

a homotopy n-type is a type of homotopy level $n+2$.

This offset in counting enables it to “start” at 0 rather than (-2), which is convenient when defining it by induction over the natural numbers in type theory.

## Definition

A type $A$ has a homotopy level or h-level of $n$ if the type $hasHLevel(n, A)$ is inhabited, for natural number $n:\mathbb{N}$. $hasHLevel(n, A)$ is inductively defined as

$hasHLevel(0, A) \coloneqq isContr(A)$
$hasHLevel(s(n), A) \coloneqq \prod_{a:A} \prod_{b:A} hasHLevel(n, a =_A b)$

### Rules for hasHLevel

Suppose the dependent type theory has identity types, contraction types, and a natural numbers type, but no dependent product types or dependent sum types. Then one could still define the type family $\mathrm{hasHLevel}(n, A)$ for all types $A$ in the context of the natural numbers variable $n:\mathrm{N}$, with the following rules:

Formation rules for hasHLevel types:

$\frac{\Gamma \vdash A \; \mathrm{type} \quad \Gamma, x:A \vdash \mathrm{Contr}_A(x) \; \mathrm{type}}{\Gamma \vdash \mathrm{hasHLevel}(0, A) \; \mathrm{type}}$
$\frac{\Gamma \vdash A \; \mathrm{type} \quad \Gamma, n:\mathbb{N}, x:A, y:A \vdash \mathrm{hasHLevel}(n, x =_A y) \; \mathrm{type}}{\Gamma, n:\mathbb{N} \vdash \mathrm{hasHLevel}(s(n), A) \; \mathrm{type}}$

Introduction rules for hasHLevel types:

$\frac{\Gamma, x:A \vdash b(x):\mathrm{Contr}_A(x) \quad \Gamma \vdash a:A \quad \Gamma \vdash b:\mathrm{Contr}_A[a/x]}{\Gamma, n:\mathbb{N} \vdash (a, b):\mathrm{hasHLevel}(0, A)}$
$\frac{\Gamma, n:\mathbb{N}, x:A, y:A \vdash p(n, x, y):\mathrm{hasHLevel}(n, x =_A y)}{\Gamma, n:\mathbb{N} \vdash \lambda(x).\lambda(y).p(n, x, y):\mathrm{hasHLevel}(s(n), A)}$

Elimination rules for hasHLevel types:

$\frac{\Gamma \vdash z:\mathrm{hasHLevel}(0, A)}{\Gamma \vdash \pi_1(z):A} \qquad \frac{\Gamma \vdash z:\mathrm{hasHLevel}(0, A)}{\Gamma \vdash \pi_2(z):\mathrm{Contr}_A(\pi_1(z))}$
$\frac{\Gamma, n:\mathbb{N} \vdash p:\mathrm{hasHLevel}(s(n), A) \quad \Gamma \vdash a:A \quad \Gamma \vdash b:A}{\Gamma, n:\mathbb{N} \vdash p(n, a, b):\mathrm{hasHLevel}(n, a =_A b)}$

Computation rules for hasHLevel types:

$\frac{\Gamma, x:A \vdash b(x):\mathrm{Contr}_A(x) \quad \Gamma \vdash a:A}{\Gamma \vdash \beta_{\mathrm{hasHLevel} 1}^0:\pi_1(a, b) =_A a} \qquad \frac{\Gamma, x:A \vdash b(x):\mathrm{Contr}_A(x) \quad \Gamma \vdash a:A}{\Gamma \vdash \beta_{\mathrm{hasHLevel} 2}^0:\pi_2(a, b) =_{\mathrm{Contr}_A(a)} b}$
$\frac{\Gamma, n:\mathrm{N}, x:A, y:A \vdash p(n, x, y):\mathrm{hasHLevel}(n, x =_A y) \quad \Gamma \vdash a:A \quad \Gamma \vdash b:A}{\Gamma, n:\mathrm{N} \vdash \beta_{\mathrm{hasHLevel}}^s:(\lambda(x).\lambda(y).p(n, x, y))(a, b) =_{\mathrm{hasHLevel}(n, a =_A b)} p(n, a, b)}$

Uniqueness rules for hasHLevel types:

$\frac{\Gamma \vdash z:\mathrm{hasHLevel}(0, A)}{\Gamma \vdash \eta_{\mathrm{hasHLevel}}^0:z =_{\mathrm{hasHLevel}(0, A)} (\pi_1(z), \pi_2(z))}$
$\frac{\Gamma, n:\mathbb{N} \vdash p:\mathrm{hasHLevel}(s(n), A)}{\Gamma, n:\mathbb{N} \vdash \eta_{\mathrm{hasHLevel}}^s:p(n) =_{\mathrm{hasHLevel}(s(n), A)} \lambda(x).\lambda(y).p(n, x, y)}$

## Examples

• Every proposition has a homotopy level of $1$.

• Every set has a homotopy level of $2$.

The correspondence between the various terminologies is indicated in the following table:

homotopy leveln-truncationhomotopy theoryhigher category theoryhigher topos theoryhomotopy type theory
h-level 0(-2)-truncatedcontractible space(-2)-groupoidtrue/​unit type/​contractible type
h-level 1(-1)-truncatedcontractible-if-inhabited(-1)-groupoid/​truth value(0,1)-sheaf/​idealmere proposition/​h-proposition
h-level 20-truncatedhomotopy 0-type0-groupoid/​setsheafh-set
h-level 31-truncatedhomotopy 1-type1-groupoid/​groupoid(2,1)-sheaf/​stackh-groupoid
h-level 42-truncatedhomotopy 2-type2-groupoid(3,1)-sheaf/​2-stackh-2-groupoid
h-level 53-truncatedhomotopy 3-type3-groupoid(4,1)-sheaf/​3-stackh-3-groupoid
h-level $n+2$$n$-truncatedhomotopy n-typen-groupoid(n+1,1)-sheaf/​n-stackh-$n$-groupoid
h-level $\infty$untruncatedhomotopy type∞-groupoid(∞,1)-sheaf/​∞-stackh-$\infty$-groupoid

## Referencees

Discussion with Agda:

Synonymous discussion, but under the name $n$-types, is in