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Postnikov System
In homotopy theory, a branch of algebraic topology, a Postnikov system (or Postnikov tower) is a way of decomposing a topological space's homotopy groups using an inverse system of topological spaces whose homotopy type at degree k agrees with the truncated homotopy type of the original space X. Postnikov systems were introduced by, and are named after, Mikhail Postnikov. Definition A Postnikov system of a path-connected space X is an inverse system of spaces :\cdots \to X_n \xrightarrow X_\xrightarrow \cdots \xrightarrow X_2 \xrightarrow X_1 \xrightarrow * with a sequence of maps \phi_n\colon X \to X_n compatible with the inverse system such that # The map \phi_n\colon X \to X_n induces an isomorphism \pi_i(X) \to \pi_i(X_n) for every i\leq n. # \pi_i(X_n) = 0 for i > n. # Each map p_n\colon X_n \to X_ is a fibration, and so the fiber F_n is an Eilenberg–MacLane space, K(\pi_n(X),n). The first two conditions imply that X_1 is also a K(\pi_1(X),1)-space. More generally, if X ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homotopy Theory
In mathematics, homotopy theory is a systematic study of situations in which maps can come with homotopies between them. It originated as a topic in algebraic topology but nowadays is studied as an independent discipline. Besides algebraic topology, the theory has also been used in other areas of mathematics such as algebraic geometry (e.g., A1 homotopy theory) and category theory (specifically the study of higher categories). Concepts Spaces and maps In homotopy theory and algebraic topology, the word "space" denotes a topological space. In order to avoid pathologies, one rarely works with arbitrary spaces; instead, one requires spaces to meet extra constraints, such as being compactly generated, or Hausdorff, or a CW complex. In the same vein as above, a "map" is a continuous function, possibly with some extra constraints. Often, one works with a pointed space -- that is, a space with a "distinguished point", called a basepoint. A pointed map is then a map which preserv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Group Cohomology
In mathematics (more specifically, in homological algebra), group cohomology is a set of mathematical tools used to study groups using cohomology theory, a technique from algebraic topology. Analogous to group representations, group cohomology looks at the group actions of a group ''G'' in an associated ''G''-module ''M'' to elucidate the properties of the group. By treating the ''G''-module as a kind of topological space with elements of G^n representing ''n''-simplices, topological properties of the space may be computed, such as the set of cohomology groups H^n(G,M). The cohomology groups in turn provide insight into the structure of the group ''G'' and ''G''-module ''M'' themselves. Group cohomology plays a role in the investigation of fixed points of a group action in a module or space and the quotient module or space with respect to a group action. Group cohomology is used in the fields of abstract algebra, homological algebra, algebraic topology and algebraic number theory, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spectrum (topology)
In algebraic topology, a branch of mathematics, a spectrum is an object representable functor, representing a Cohomology#Generalized cohomology theories, generalized cohomology theory. Every such cohomology theory is representable, as follows from Brown's representability theorem. This means that, given a cohomology theory\mathcal^*:\text^ \to \text,there exist spaces E^k such that evaluating the cohomology theory in degree k on a space X is equivalent to computing the homotopy classes of maps to the space E^k, that is\mathcal^k(X) \cong \left[X, E^k\right].Note there are several different category (mathematics), categories of spectra leading to many technical difficulties, but they all determine the same homotopy category, known as the stable homotopy category. This is one of the key points for introducing spectra because they form a natural home for stable homotopy theory. The definition of a spectrum There are many variations of the definition: in general, a ''spectrum'' is any s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stable Homotopy Theory
In mathematics, stable homotopy theory is the part of homotopy theory (and thus algebraic topology) concerned with all structure and phenomena that remain after sufficiently many applications of the suspension functor. A founding result was the Freudenthal suspension theorem, which states that given any pointed space X, the homotopy groups \pi_(\Sigma^n X) stabilize for n sufficiently large. In particular, the homotopy groups of spheres \pi_(S^n) stabilize for n\ge k + 2. For example, :\langle \text_\rangle = \Z = \pi_1(S^1)\cong \pi_2(S^2)\cong \pi_3(S^3)\cong\cdots :\langle \eta \rangle = \Z = \pi_3(S^2)\to \pi_4(S^3)\cong \pi_5(S^4)\cong\cdots In the two examples above all the maps between homotopy groups are applications of the suspension functor. The first example is a standard corollary of the Hurewicz theorem, that \pi_n(S^n)\cong \Z. In the second example the Hopf map, \eta, is mapped to its suspension \Sigma\eta, which generates \pi_4(S^3)\cong \Z/2. One of the most i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stable Homotopy Group Of Spheres
In the mathematical field of algebraic topology, the homotopy groups of spheres describe how spheres of various dimensions can wrap around each other. They are examples of topological invariants, which reflect, in algebraic terms, the structure of spheres viewed as topological spaces, forgetting about their precise geometry. Unlike homology groups, which are also topological invariants, the homotopy groups are surprisingly complex and difficult to compute. The -dimensional unit sphere — called the -sphere for brevity, and denoted as — generalizes the familiar circle () and the ordinary sphere (). The -sphere may be defined geometrically as the set of points in a Euclidean space of dimension located at a unit distance from the origin. The -th ''homotopy group'' summarizes the different ways in which the -dimensional sphere can be mapped continuously into the sphere . This summary does not distinguish between two mappings if one can be continuously deformed to the oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freudenthal Suspension Theorem
In mathematics, and specifically in the field of homotopy theory, the Freudenthal suspension theorem is the fundamental result leading to the concept of stabilization of homotopy groups and ultimately to stable homotopy theory. It explains the behavior of simultaneously taking suspensions and increasing the index of the homotopy groups of the space in question. It was proved in 1937 by Hans Freudenthal. The theorem is a corollary of the homotopy excision theorem. Statement of the theorem Let ''X'' be an ''n''-connected pointed space (a pointed CW-complex or pointed simplicial set). The map :X \to \Omega(\Sigma X) induces a map :\pi_k(X) \to \pi_k(\Omega(\Sigma X)) on homotopy groups, where Ω denotes the loop functor and Σ denotes the reduced suspension functor. The suspension theorem then states that the induced map on homotopy groups is an isomorphism if ''k'' ≤ 2''n'' and an epimorphism if ''k'' = 2''n'' + 1. A basic result on loop spaces gives the relation :\pi_k( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Coefficient Theorem
In algebraic topology, universal coefficient theorems establish relationships between homology groups (or cohomology groups) with different coefficients. For instance, for every topological space , its ''integral homology groups'': : completely determine its ''homology groups with coefficients in'' , for any abelian group : : Here might be the simplicial homology, or more generally the singular homology: the result itself is a pure piece of homological algebra about chain complexes of free abelian groups. The form of the result is that other coefficients may be used, at the cost of using a Tor functor. For example it is common to take to be , so that coefficients are modulo 2. This becomes straightforward in the absence of 2-torsion in the homology. Quite generally, the result indicates the relationship that holds between the Betti numbers of and the Betti numbers with coefficients in a field . These can differ, but only when the characteristic of is a prime number fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fibration
The notion of a fibration generalizes the notion of a fiber bundle and plays an important role in algebraic topology, a branch of mathematics. Fibrations are used, for example, in postnikov-systems or obstruction theory. In this article, all mappings are continuous mappings between topological spaces. Formal definitions Homotopy lifting property A mapping p \colon E \to B satisfies the homotopy lifting property for a space X if: * for every homotopy h \colon X \times , 1\to B and * for every mapping (also called lift) \tilde h_0 \colon X \to E lifting h, _ = h_0 (i.e. h_0 = p \circ \tilde h_0) there exists a (not necessarily unique) homotopy \tilde h \colon X \times , 1\to E lifting h (i.e. h = p \circ \tilde h) with \tilde h_0 = \tilde h, _. The following commutative diagram shows the situation:^ Fibration A fibration (also called Hurewicz fibration) is a mapping p \colon E \to B satisfying the homotopy lifting property for all spaces X. The space B is called base ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serre Spectral Sequence
In mathematics, the Serre spectral sequence (sometimes Leray–Serre spectral sequence to acknowledge earlier work of Jean Leray in the Leray spectral sequence) is an important tool in algebraic topology. It expresses, in the language of homological algebra, the singular (co)homology of the total space ''X'' of a (Serre) fibration in terms of the (co)homology of the base space ''B'' and the fiber ''F''. The result is due to Jean-Pierre Serre in his doctoral dissertation. Cohomology spectral sequence Let f\colon X\to B be a Serre fibration of topological spaces, and let ''F'' be the (path-connected) fiber. The Serre cohomology spectral sequence is the following: : E_2^ = H^p(B, H^q(F)) \Rightarrow H^(X). Here, at least under standard simplifying conditions, the coefficient group in the E_2-term is the ''q''-th integral cohomology group of ''F'', and the outer group is the singular cohomology of ''B'' with coefficients in that group. Strictly speaking, what is meant is cohomology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hurewicz Theorem
In mathematics, the Hurewicz theorem is a basic result of algebraic topology, connecting homotopy theory with homology theory via a map known as the Hurewicz homomorphism. The theorem is named after Witold Hurewicz, and generalizes earlier results of Henri Poincaré. Statement of the theorems The Hurewicz theorems are a key link between homotopy groups and homology groups. Absolute version For any path-connected space ''X'' and positive integer ''n'' there exists a group homomorphism :h_* \colon \pi_n(X) \to H_n(X), called the Hurewicz homomorphism, from the ''n''-th homotopy group to the ''n''-th homology group (with integer coefficients). It is given in the following way: choose a canonical generator u_n \in H_n(S^n), then a homotopy class of maps f \in \pi_n(X) is taken to f_*(u_n) \in H_n(X). The Hurewicz theorem states cases in which the Hurewitz homomorphism is an isomorphism. * For n\ge 2, if ''X'' is (n-1)-connected (that is: \pi_i(X)= 0 for all ''i''2 there exists ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N-sphere
In mathematics, an -sphere or a hypersphere is a topological space that is homeomorphic to a ''standard'' -''sphere'', which is the set of points in -dimensional Euclidean space that are situated at a constant distance from a fixed point, called the ''center''. It is the generalization of an ordinary sphere in the ordinary three-dimensional space. The "radius" of a sphere is the constant distance of its points to the center. When the sphere has unit radius, it is usual to call it the unit -sphere or simply the -sphere for brevity. In terms of the standard norm, the -sphere is defined as : S^n = \left\ , and an -sphere of radius can be defined as : S^n(r) = \left\ . The dimension of -sphere is , and must not be confused with the dimension of the Euclidean space in which it is naturally embedded. An -sphere is the surface or boundary of an -dimensional ball. In particular: *the pair of points at the ends of a (one-dimensional) line segment is a 0-sphere, *a circle, which i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homotopy Groups Of Spheres
In the mathematical field of algebraic topology, the homotopy groups of spheres describe how spheres of various dimensions can wrap around each other. They are examples of topological invariants, which reflect, in algebraic terms, the structure of spheres viewed as topological spaces, forgetting about their precise geometry. Unlike homology groups, which are also topological invariants, the homotopy groups are surprisingly complex and difficult to compute. The -dimensional unit sphere — called the -sphere for brevity, and denoted as — generalizes the familiar circle () and the ordinary sphere (). The -sphere may be defined geometrically as the set of points in a Euclidean space of dimension located at a unit distance from the origin. The -th ''homotopy group'' summarizes the different ways in which the -dimensional sphere can be mapped continuously into the sphere . This summary does not distinguish between two mappings if one can be continuously deformed to the oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
