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Calculus Of Functors
In algebraic topology, a branch of mathematics, the calculus of functors or Goodwillie calculus is a technique for studying functors by approximating them by a sequence of simpler functors; it generalizes the sheafification of a presheaf. This sequence of approximations is formally similar to the Taylor series of a smooth function, hence the term "''calculus'' of functors". Many objects of central interest in algebraic topology can be seen as functors, which are difficult to analyze directly, so the idea is to replace them with simpler functors which are sufficiently good approximations for certain purposes. The calculus of functors was developed by Thomas Goodwillie in a series of three papers in the 1990s and 2000s, and has since been expanded and applied in a number of areas. Examples A motivational example, of central interest in geometric topology, is the functor of embeddings of one manifold ''M'' into another manifold ''N,'' whose first derivative in the sense of calculus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algebraic Topology
Algebraic topology is a branch of mathematics that uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariant (mathematics), invariants that classification theorem, classify topological spaces up to homeomorphism, though usually most classify up to Homotopy#Homotopy equivalence and null-homotopy, homotopy equivalence. Although algebraic topology primarily uses algebra to study topological problems, using topology to solve algebraic problems is sometimes also possible. Algebraic topology, for example, allows for a convenient proof that any subgroup of a free group is again a free group. Main branches of algebraic topology Below are some of the main areas studied in algebraic topology: Homotopy groups In mathematics, homotopy groups are used in algebraic topology to classify topological spaces. The first and simplest homotopy group is the fundamental group, which records information about loops in a space. Intuitively, homotopy gro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smooth Manifold
In mathematics, a differentiable manifold (also differential manifold) is a type of manifold that is locally similar enough to a vector space to allow one to apply calculus. Any manifold can be described by a collection of charts (atlas). One may then apply ideas from calculus while working within the individual charts, since each chart lies within a vector space to which the usual rules of calculus apply. If the charts are suitably compatible (namely, the transition from one chart to another is differentiable), then computations done in one chart are valid in any other differentiable chart. In formal terms, a differentiable manifold is a topological manifold with a globally defined differential structure. Any topological manifold can be given a differential structure locally by using the homeomorphisms in its atlas and the standard differential structure on a vector space. To induce a global differential structure on the local coordinate systems induced by the homeomorphisms, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Link (knot Theory)
In mathematical knot theory, a link is a collection of knots which do not intersect, but which may be linked (or knotted) together. A knot can be described as a link with one component. Links and knots are studied in a branch of mathematics called knot theory. Implicit in this definition is that there is a ''trivial'' reference link, usually called the unlink, but the word is also sometimes used in context where there is no notion of a trivial link. For example, a co-dimension 2 link in 3-dimensional space is a subspace of 3-dimensional Euclidean space (or often the 3-sphere) whose connected components are homeomorphic to circles. The simplest nontrivial example of a link with more than one component is called the Hopf link, which consists of two circles (or unknots) linked together once. The circles in the Borromean rings are collectively linked despite the fact that no two of them are directly linked. The Borromean rings thus form a Brunnian link and in fact constitut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
André Haefliger
André Haefliger (born 22 May 1929 in Nyon, Switzerland) is a Swiss mathematician who works primarily on topology. Education and career Haefliger went to school in Nyon and then attended his final years at Collège Calvin in Geneva. He studied mathematics at the University of Lausanne from 1948 to 1952. He worked for two years as a teaching assistant at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and then moved to University of Strasbourg, where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1958. His thesis was entitled "''Structures feuilletées et cohomologie à valeurs dans un faisceau de groupoïdes''" and was written under the supervision of Charles Ehresmann. He got a research fellowship for one year in Paris, where he participated in the seminar of Henri Cartan, and then from 1959 to 1961 he worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Since 1962 he has been a full professor at the University of Geneva until his retirement in 1996. In 1966 Haefliger was invit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N-connected
In algebraic topology, homotopical connectivity is a property describing a topological space based on the dimension of its holes. In general, low homotopical connectivity indicates that the space has at least one low-dimensional hole. The concept of ''n''-connectedness generalizes the concepts of path-connectedness and simple connectedness. An equivalent definition of homotopical connectivity is based on the homotopy groups of the space. A space is ''n''-connected (or ''n''-simple connected) if its first ''n'' homotopy groups are trivial. Homotopical connectivity is defined for maps, too. A map is ''n''-connected if it is an isomorphism "up to dimension ''n,'' in homotopy". Definition using holes All definitions below consider a topological space ''X''. A hole in ''X'' is, informally, a thing that prevents some suitably-placed sphere from continuously shrinking to a point., Section 4.3 Equivalently, it is a sphere that cannot be continuously extended to a ball. Formally, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homogeneous Polynomial
In mathematics, a homogeneous polynomial, sometimes called quantic in older texts, is a polynomial whose nonzero terms all have the same degree. For example, x^5 + 2 x^3 y^2 + 9 x y^4 is a homogeneous polynomial of degree 5, in two variables; the sum of the exponents in each term is always 5. The polynomial x^3 + 3 x^2 y + z^7 is not homogeneous, because the sum of exponents does not match from term to term. The function defined by a homogeneous polynomial is always a homogeneous function. An algebraic form, or simply form, is a function defined by a homogeneous polynomial. A binary form is a form in two variables. A ''form'' is also a function defined on a vector space, which may be expressed as a homogeneous function of the coordinates over any basis. A polynomial of degree 0 is always homogeneous; it is simply an element of the field or ring of the coefficients, usually called a constant or a scalar. A form of degree 1 is a linear form. A form of degree 2 is a quadratic fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Configuration Space (mathematics)
In mathematics, a configuration space is a construction closely related to state spaces or phase spaces in physics. In physics, these are used to describe the state of a whole system as a single point in a high-dimensional space. In mathematics, they are used to describe assignments of a collection of points to positions in a topological space. More specifically, configuration spaces in mathematics are particular examples of configuration spaces in physics in the particular case of several non-colliding particles. Definition For a topological space X, the ''n''th (ordered) configuration space of X is the set of ''n''-tuples of pairwise distinct points in X: :\operatorname_n(X):=\prod^n X \smallsetminus \. This space is generally endowed with the subspace topology from the inclusion of \operatorname_n(X) into X^n. It is also sometimes denoted F(X, n), F^n(X), or \mathcal^n(X). There is a natural action of the symmetric group S_n on the points in \operatorname_n(X) given by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheaf (mathematics)
In mathematics, a sheaf is a tool for systematically tracking data (such as sets, abelian groups, rings) attached to the open sets of a topological space and defined locally with regard to them. For example, for each open set, the data could be the ring of continuous functions defined on that open set. Such data is well behaved in that it can be restricted to smaller open sets, and also the data assigned to an open set is equivalent to all collections of compatible data assigned to collections of smaller open sets covering the original open set (intuitively, every piece of data is the sum of its parts). The field of mathematics that studies sheaves is called sheaf theory. Sheaves are understood conceptually as general and abstract objects. Their correct definition is rather technical. They are specifically defined as sheaves of sets or as sheaves of rings, for example, depending on the type of data assigned to the open sets. There are also maps (or morphisms) from one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taylor Polynomials
In mathematics, the Taylor series or Taylor expansion of a function is an infinite sum of terms that are expressed in terms of the function's derivatives at a single point. For most common functions, the function and the sum of its Taylor series are equal near this point. Taylor series are named after Brook Taylor, who introduced them in 1715. A Taylor series is also called a Maclaurin series, when 0 is the point where the derivatives are considered, after Colin Maclaurin, who made extensive use of this special case of Taylor series in the mid-18th century. The partial sum formed by the first terms of a Taylor series is a polynomial of degree that is called the th Taylor polynomial of the function. Taylor polynomials are approximations of a function, which become generally better as increases. Taylor's theorem gives quantitative estimates on the error introduced by the use of such approximations. If the Taylor series of a function is convergent, its sum is the limit of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Excision Theorem
In algebraic topology, a branch of mathematics, the excision theorem is a theorem about relative homology and one of the Eilenberg–Steenrod axioms. Given a topological space X and subspaces A and U such that U is also a subspace of A, the theorem says that under certain circumstances, we can cut out (excise) U from both spaces such that the relative homologies of the pairs (X \setminus U,A \setminus U ) into (X, A) are isomorphic. This assists in computation of singular homology groups, as sometimes after excising an appropriately chosen subspace we obtain something easier to compute. Theorem Statement If U\subseteq A \subseteq X are as above, we say that U can be excised if the inclusion map of the pair (X \setminus U,A \setminus U ) into (X, A) induces an isomorphism on the relative homologies: The theorem states that if the closure of U is contained in the interior of A, then U can be excised. Often, subspaces that do not satisfy this containment criterion still ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Transformations
In category theory, a branch of mathematics, a natural transformation provides a way of transforming one functor into another while respecting the internal structure (i.e., the composition of morphisms) of the categories involved. Hence, a natural transformation can be considered to be a "morphism of functors". Informally, the notion of a natural transformation states that a particular map between functors can be done consistently over an entire category. Indeed, this intuition can be formalized to define so-called functor categories. Natural transformations are, after categories and functors, one of the most fundamental notions of category theory and consequently appear in the majority of its applications. Definition If F and G are functors between the categories C and D , then a natural transformation \eta from F to G is a family of morphisms that satisfies two requirements. # The natural transformation must associate, to every object X in C, a morphism \eta_X : F(X) ... [...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] |
