Topology and Algorithms on Combinatorial Maps

In this thesis, we focus on the topological properties of surfaces, i.e. those that are preserved by continuous deformations. Intuitively, it can be understood as the properties that describe the general shape of surfaces. We describe surfaces as combinatorial maps. They have the double advantage of being well defined mathematical objects and of being straightforwardly transformed into data-structures.
We study three distinct problems. Firstly, we give algorihtms to compute geometric intersection numbers of curves on surfaces. We obtain a quadratic algorithm to compute the minimal number of self-intersections in a homotopy class, a quartic one to construct a minimal representative and a quasi-linear one to decide if a homotopy class contains a simple curve. Secondly, we give counter-examples to a conjecture of Mohar and Thomassen about the existence of splitting cycles in triangulations. Finally, we use the recent work of Gonçalves and Lévèque about toiroidal Schnyder woods to describe a bijection between toroidal triangulations and toroidal unicellular maps analogous to the well known bijection of Poulalhon and Schaeffer for planar triangulations.
Many different points of view are involved in this thesis. We thus propose a large preliminary chapter where we provide connections between the different viewpoints.