The homotopy types of directed path and trace spaces

Abstract: We construct a saturated directed space with a Hausdorff $Δ$-generated underlying space and two distinct points such that the trace space between them is homeomorphic to a square, whereas the directed path space has a nontrivial fundamental group. In particular, the canonical quotient map is not a weak homotopy equivalence. The same conclusion holds for regular directed paths modulo increasing homeomorphisms.