  Given a metric space X and a distance threshold r>0, the Vietoris-Rips
simplicial complex has as its simplices the finite subsets of X of diameter
less than r. A theorem of Jean-Claude Hausmann states that if X is a Riemannian
manifold and r is sufficiently small, then the Vietoris-Rips complex is
homotopy equivalent to the original manifold. Little is known about the
behavior of Vietoris-Rips complexes for larger values of r, even though these
complexes arise naturally in applications using persistent homology. We show
that as r increases, the Vietoris-Rips complex of the circle obtains the
homotopy types of the circle, the 3-sphere, the 5-sphere, the 7-sphere, ...,
until finally it is contractible. As our main tool we introduce a directed
graph invariant, the winding fraction, which in some sense is dual to the
circular chromatic number. Using the winding fraction we classify the homotopy
types of the Vietoris-Rips complex of an arbitrary (possibly infinite) subset
of the circle, and we study the expected homotopy type of the Vietoris-Rips
complex of a uniformly random sample from the circle. Moreover, we show that as
the distance parameter increases, the ambient Cech complex of the circle also
obtains the homotopy types of the circle, the 3-sphere, the 5-sphere, the
7-sphere, ..., until finally it is contractible.
