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Classification Of Manifolds
In mathematics, specifically geometry and topology, the classification of manifolds is a basic question, about which much is known, and many open questions remain. Main themes Overview * Low-dimensional manifolds are classified by geometric structure; high-dimensional manifolds are classified algebraically, by surgery theory. : "Low dimensions" means dimensions up to 4; "high dimensions" means 5 or more dimensions. The case of dimension 4 is somehow a boundary case, as it manifests "low dimensional" behaviour smoothly (but not topologically); see discussion of "low" versus "high" dimension. * Different categories of manifolds yield different classifications; these are related by the notion of "structure", and more general categories have neater theories. * Positive curvature is constrained, negative curvature is generic. * The abstract classification of high-dimensional manifolds is ineffective: given two manifolds (presented as CW complexes, for instance), there is no algorithm t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics with the major subdisciplines of number theory, algebra, geometry, and analysis, respectively. There is no general consensus among mathematicians about a common definition for their academic discipline. Most mathematical activity involves the discovery of properties of abstract objects and the use of pure reason to prove them. These objects consist of either abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicsentities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. A ''proof'' consists of a succession of applications of deductive rules to already established results. These results include previously proved theorems, axioms, andin case of abstraction from naturesome basic properties that are considered true starting points of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connected Space
In topology and related branches of mathematics, a connected space is a topological space that cannot be represented as the union of two or more disjoint non-empty open subsets. Connectedness is one of the principal topological properties that are used to distinguish topological spaces. A subset of a topological space X is a if it is a connected space when viewed as a subspace of X. Some related but stronger conditions are path connected, simply connected, and n-connected. Another related notion is ''locally connected'', which neither implies nor follows from connectedness. Formal definition A topological space X is said to be if it is the union of two disjoint non-empty open sets. Otherwise, X is said to be connected. A subset of a topological space is said to be connected if it is connected under its subspace topology. Some authors exclude the empty set (with its unique topology) as a connected space, but this article does not follow that practice. For a topologi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Characteristic Class
In mathematics, a characteristic class is a way of associating to each principal bundle of ''X'' a cohomology class of ''X''. The cohomology class measures the extent the bundle is "twisted" and whether it possesses sections. Characteristic classes are global invariants that measure the deviation of a local product structure from a global product structure. They are one of the unifying geometric concepts in algebraic topology, differential geometry, and algebraic geometry. The notion of characteristic class arose in 1935 in the work of Eduard Stiefel and Hassler Whitney about vector fields on manifolds. Definition Let ''G'' be a topological group, and for a topological space X, write b_G(X) for the set of isomorphism classes of principal ''G''-bundles over X. This b_G is a contravariant functor from Top (the category of topological spaces and continuous functions) to Set (the category of sets and functions), sending a map f\colon X\to Y to the pullback operation f^*\colon b_G(Y) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homology (mathematics)
In mathematics, homology is a general way of associating a sequence of algebraic objects, such as abelian groups or modules, with other mathematical objects such as topological spaces. Homology groups were originally defined in algebraic topology. Similar constructions are available in a wide variety of other contexts, such as abstract algebra, groups, Lie algebras, Galois theory, and algebraic geometry. The original motivation for defining homology groups was the observation that two shapes can be distinguished by examining their holes. For instance, a circle is not a disk because the circle has a hole through it while the disk is solid, and the ordinary sphere is not a circle because the sphere encloses a two-dimensional hole while the circle encloses a one-dimensional hole. However, because a hole is "not there", it is not immediately obvious how to define a hole or how to distinguish different kinds of holes. Homology was originally a rigorous mathematical method for defi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Cohomology Theories
This is a list of some of the ordinary and generalized (or extraordinary) homology and cohomology theories in algebraic topology that are defined on the categories of CW complexes or spectra. For other sorts of homology theories see the links at the end of this article. Notation *''S'' = π = ''S''''0'' is the sphere spectrum. *''S''''n'' is the spectrum of the ''n''-dimensional sphere *''S''''n''''Y'' = ''S''''n''∧''Y'' is the ''n''th suspension of a spectrum ''Y''. * 'X'',''Y''is the abelian group of morphisms from the spectrum ''X'' to the spectrum ''Y'', given (roughly) as homotopy classes of maps. * 'X'',''Y''sub>''n'' = 'S''''n''''X'',''Y''* 'X'',''Y''sub>''*'' is the graded abelian group given as the sum of the groups 'X'',''Y''sub>''n''. *π''n''(''X'') = 'S''''n'', ''X''= 'S'', ''X''sub>''n'' is the ''n''th stable homotopy group of ''X''. *π''*''(''X'') is the sum of the groups π''n''(''X''), and is called the coefficient ring of ''X'' when ''X'' is a rin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cobordism
In mathematics, cobordism is a fundamental equivalence relation on the class of compact manifolds of the same dimension, set up using the concept of the boundary (French '' bord'', giving ''cobordism'') of a manifold. Two manifolds of the same dimension are ''cobordant'' if their disjoint union is the ''boundary'' of a compact manifold one dimension higher. The boundary of an (''n'' + 1)-dimensional manifold ''W'' is an ''n''-dimensional manifold ∂''W'' that is closed, i.e., with empty boundary. In general, a closed manifold need not be a boundary: cobordism theory is the study of the difference between all closed manifolds and those that are boundaries. The theory was originally developed by René Thom for smooth manifolds (i.e., differentiable), but there are now also versions for piecewise linear and topological manifolds. A ''cobordism'' between manifolds ''M'' and ''N'' is a compact manifold ''W'' whose boundary is the disjoint union of ''M'' and ''N'', \partial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surgery Theory
In mathematics, specifically in geometric topology, surgery theory is a collection of techniques used to produce one finite-dimensional manifold from another in a 'controlled' way, introduced by . Milnor called this technique ''surgery'', while Andrew Wallace called it spherical modification. The "surgery" on a differentiable manifold ''M'' of dimension n=p+q+1, could be described as removing an imbedded sphere of dimension ''p'' from ''M''. Originally developed for differentiable (or, smooth) manifolds, surgery techniques also apply to piecewise linear (PL-) and topological manifolds. Surgery refers to cutting out parts of the manifold and replacing it with a part of another manifold, matching up along the cut or boundary. This is closely related to, but not identical with, handlebody decompositions. More technically, the idea is to start with a well-understood manifold ''M'' and perform surgery on it to produce a manifold ''M''′ having some desired property, in such a way th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reidemeister Torsion
In mathematics, Reidemeister torsion (or R-torsion, or Reidemeister–Franz torsion) is a topological invariant of manifolds introduced by Kurt Reidemeister for 3-manifolds and generalized to higher dimensions by and . Analytic torsion (or Ray–Singer torsion) is an invariant of Riemannian manifolds defined by as an analytic analogue of Reidemeister torsion. and proved Ray and Singer's conjecture that Reidemeister torsion and analytic torsion are the same for compact Riemannian manifolds. Reidemeister torsion was the first invariant in algebraic topology that could distinguish between closed manifolds which are homotopy equivalent but not homeomorphic, and can thus be seen as the birth of geometric topology as a distinct field. It can be used to classify lens spaces. Reidemeister torsion is closely related to Whitehead torsion; see . It has also given some important motivation to arithmetic topology; see . For more recent work on torsion see the books and . Definition of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simple Homotopy
In mathematics, particularly the area of topology, a simple-homotopy equivalence is a refinement of the concept of homotopy equivalence. Two CW-complexes are simple-homotopy equivalent if they are related by a sequence of collapses and expansions (inverses of collapses), and a homotopy equivalence is a simple homotopy equivalence if it is homotopic to such a map. The obstruction to a homotopy equivalence being a simple homotopy equivalence is the Whitehead torsion, \tau(f). A homotopy theory that studies simple-homotopy types is called simple homotopy theory. See also * Discrete Morse theory Discrete Morse theory is a combinatorial adaptation of Morse theory developed by Robin Forman. The theory has various practical applications in diverse fields of applied mathematics and computer science, such as configuration spaces, homology com ... References * Homotopy theory Equivalence (mathematics) {{topology-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Characteristic Classes
In mathematics, a characteristic class is a way of associating to each principal bundle of ''X'' a cohomology class of ''X''. The cohomology class measures the extent the bundle is "twisted" and whether it possesses sections. Characteristic classes are global invariants that measure the deviation of a local product structure from a global product structure. They are one of the unifying geometric concepts in algebraic topology, differential geometry, and algebraic geometry. The notion of characteristic class arose in 1935 in the work of Eduard Stiefel and Hassler Whitney about vector fields on manifolds. Definition Let ''G'' be a topological group, and for a topological space X, write b_G(X) for the set of isomorphism classes of principal ''G''-bundles over X. This b_G is a contravariant functor from Top (the category of topological spaces and continuous functions) to Set (the category of sets and functions), sending a map f\colon X\to Y to the pullback operation f^*\colon b_ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orientability
In mathematics, orientability is a property of some topological spaces such as real vector spaces, Euclidean spaces, surfaces, and more generally manifolds that allows a consistent definition of "clockwise" and "counterclockwise". A space is orientable if such a consistent definition exists. In this case, there are two possible definitions, and a choice between them is an orientation of the space. Real vector spaces, Euclidean spaces, and spheres are orientable. A space is non-orientable if "clockwise" is changed into "counterclockwise" after running through some loops in it, and coming back to the starting point. This means that a geometric shape, such as , that moves continuously along such a loop is changed into its own mirror image . A Möbius strip is an example of a non-orientable space. Various equivalent formulations of orientability can be given, depending on the desired application and level of generality. Formulations applicable to general topological manifolds o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geometric Topology
In mathematics, geometric topology is the study of manifolds and maps between them, particularly embeddings of one manifold into another. History Geometric topology as an area distinct from algebraic topology may be said to have originated in the 1935 classification of lens spaces by Reidemeister torsion, which required distinguishing spaces that are homotopy equivalent but not homeomorphic. This was the origin of ''simple'' homotopy theory. The use of the term geometric topology to describe these seems to have originated rather recently. Differences between low-dimensional and high-dimensional topology Manifolds differ radically in behavior in high and low dimension. High-dimensional topology refers to manifolds of dimension 5 and above, or in relative terms, embeddings in codimension 3 and above. Low-dimensional topology is concerned with questions in dimensions up to 4, or embeddings in codimension up to 2. Dimension 4 is special, in that in some respects (topologica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
