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Topological Half-exact Functor
{{unreferenced, date=May 2014 In mathematics, a topological half-exact functor ''F'' is a functor from a fixed topological category (for example CW complexes or pointed spaces) to an abelian category (most frequently in applications, category of abelian groups or category of modules over a fixed ring) that has a following property: for each sequence of spaces, of the form: : ''X'' → ''Y'' → ''C(f)'' where ''C(f)'' denotes a mapping cone, the sequence: : ''F(X)'' → ''F(Y)'' → ''F(C(f))'' is exact. If ''F'' is a contravariant functor, it is half-exact if for each sequence of spaces as above, the sequence ''F(C(f))'' → ''F(Y)'' → ''F(X)'' is exact. Homology is an example of a half-exact functor, and cohomology (and generalized cohomology theories In mathematics, specifically in homology theory and algebraic topology, cohomology is a general term for a sequence of abelian groups, usually one associated with a topological space, often defined from a cochain complex. C ... [...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] |
Functor
In mathematics, specifically category theory, a functor is a Map (mathematics), mapping between Category (mathematics), categories. Functors were first considered in algebraic topology, where algebraic objects (such as the fundamental group) are associated to topological spaces, and maps between these algebraic objects are associated to continuous function, continuous maps between spaces. Nowadays, functors are used throughout modern mathematics to relate various categories. Thus, functors are important in all areas within mathematics to which category theory is applied. The words ''category'' and ''functor'' were borrowed by mathematicians from the philosophers Aristotle and Rudolf Carnap, respectively. The latter used ''functor'' in a Linguistics, linguistic context; see function word. Definition Let ''C'' and ''D'' be category (mathematics), categories. A functor ''F'' from ''C'' to ''D'' is a mapping that * associates each object X in ''C'' to an object F(X) in ''D' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Category (mathematics)
In mathematics, a category (sometimes called an abstract category to distinguish it from a concrete category) is a collection of "objects" that are linked by "arrows". A category has two basic properties: the ability to compose the arrows associatively and the existence of an identity arrow for each object. A simple example is the category of sets, whose objects are sets and whose arrows are functions. '' Category theory'' is a branch of mathematics that seeks to generalize all of mathematics in terms of categories, independent of what their objects and arrows represent. Virtually every branch of modern mathematics can be described in terms of categories, and doing so often reveals deep insights and similarities between seemingly different areas of mathematics. As such, category theory provides an alternative foundation for mathematics to set theory and other proposed axiomatic foundations. In general, the objects and arrows may be abstract entities of any kind, and the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CW Complexes
A CW complex (also called cellular complex or cell complex) is a kind of a topological space that is particularly important in algebraic topology. It was introduced by J. H. C. Whitehead (open access) to meet the needs of homotopy theory. This class of spaces is broader and has some better categorical properties than simplicial complexes, but still retains a combinatorial nature that allows for computation (often with a much smaller complex). The ''C'' stands for "closure-finite", and the ''W'' for "weak" topology. Definition CW complex A CW complex is constructed by taking the union of a sequence of topological spaces\emptyset = X_ \subset X_0 \subset X_1 \subset \cdotssuch that each X_k is obtained from X_ by gluing copies of k-cells (e^k_\alpha)_\alpha, each homeomorphic to D^k, to X_ by continuous gluing maps g^k_\alpha: \partial e^k_\alpha \to X_. The maps are also called attaching maps. Each X_k is called the k-skeleton of the complex. The topology of X = \cup_ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pointed Space
In mathematics, a pointed space or based space is a topological space with a distinguished point, the basepoint. The distinguished point is just simply one particular point, picked out from the space, and given a name, such as x_0, that remains unchanged during subsequent discussion, and is kept track of during all operations. Maps of pointed spaces (based maps) are Continuous (topology), continuous maps preserving basepoints, i.e., a map f between a pointed space X with basepoint x_0 and a pointed space Y with basepoint y_0 is a based map if it is continuous with respect to the topologies of X and Y and if f\left(x_0\right) = y_0. This is usually denoted :f : \left(X, x_0\right) \to \left(Y, y_0\right). Pointed spaces are important in algebraic topology, particularly in homotopy theory, where many constructions, such as the fundamental group, depend on a choice of basepoint. The pointed set concept is less important; it is anyway the case of a pointed discrete space. Pointed sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abelian Groups
In mathematics, an abelian group, also called a commutative group, is a group in which the result of applying the group operation to two group elements does not depend on the order in which they are written. That is, the group operation is commutative. With addition as an operation, the integers and the real numbers form abelian groups, and the concept of an abelian group may be viewed as a generalization of these examples. Abelian groups are named after early 19th century mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. The concept of an abelian group underlies many fundamental algebraic structures, such as fields, rings, vector spaces, and algebras. The theory of abelian groups is generally simpler than that of their non-abelian counterparts, and finite abelian groups are very well understood and fully classified. Definition An abelian group is a set A, together with an operation \cdot that combines any two elements a and b of A to form another element of A, denoted a \cdot b. The symbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Module (mathematics)
In mathematics, a module is a generalization of the notion of vector space in which the field of scalars is replaced by a ring. The concept of ''module'' generalizes also the notion of abelian group, since the abelian groups are exactly the modules over the ring of integers. Like a vector space, a module is an additive abelian group, and scalar multiplication is distributive over the operation of addition between elements of the ring or module and is compatible with the ring multiplication. Modules are very closely related to the representation theory of groups. They are also one of the central notions of commutative algebra and homological algebra, and are used widely in algebraic geometry and algebraic topology. Introduction and definition Motivation In a vector space, the set of scalars is a field and acts on the vectors by scalar multiplication, subject to certain axioms such as the distributive law. In a module, the scalars need only be a ring, so the module conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mapping Cone (topology)
In mathematics, especially homotopy theory, the mapping cone is a construction C_f of topology, analogous to a quotient space. It is also called the homotopy cofiber, and also notated Cf. Its dual, a fibration, is called the mapping fibre. The mapping cone can be understood to be a mapping cylinder Mf, with one end of the cylinder collapsed to a point. Thus, mapping cones are frequently applied in the homotopy theory of pointed spaces. Definition Given a map f\colon X \to Y, the mapping cone C_f is defined to be the quotient space of the mapping cylinder (X \times I) \sqcup_f Y with respect to the equivalence relation \forall x,x' \in X, (x, 0) \sim \left(x', 0\right)\,, (x, 1) \sim f(x). Here I denotes the unit interval , 1with its standard topology. Note that some authors (like J. Peter May) use the opposite convention, switching 0 and 1. Visually, one takes the cone on ''X'' (the cylinder X \times I with one end (the 0 end) identified to a point), and glues the other ... [...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] |
Cohomology
In mathematics, specifically in homology theory and algebraic topology, cohomology is a general term for a sequence of abelian groups, usually one associated with a topological space, often defined from a cochain complex. Cohomology can be viewed as a method of assigning richer algebraic invariants to a space than homology. Some versions of cohomology arise by dualizing the construction of homology. In other words, cochains are functions on the group of chains in homology theory. From its beginning in topology, this idea became a dominant method in the mathematics of the second half of the twentieth century. From the initial idea of homology as a method of constructing algebraic invariants of topological spaces, the range of applications of homology and cohomology theories has spread throughout geometry and algebra. The terminology tends to hide the fact that cohomology, a contravariant theory, is more natural than homology in many applications. At a basic level, this has to do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Generalized Cohomology Theories
In mathematics, specifically in homology theory and algebraic topology, cohomology is a general term for a sequence of abelian groups, usually one associated with a topological space, often defined from a cochain complex. Cohomology can be viewed as a method of assigning richer algebraic invariants to a space than homology. Some versions of cohomology arise by dualizing the construction of homology. In other words, cochains are functions on the group of chains in homology theory. From its beginning in topology, this idea became a dominant method in the mathematics of the second half of the twentieth century. From the initial idea of homology as a method of constructing algebraic invariants of topological spaces, the range of applications of homology and cohomology theories has spread throughout geometry and algebra. The terminology tends to hide the fact that cohomology, a contravariant theory, is more natural than homology in many applications. At a basic level, this has to do ... [...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] |
