In mathematics, the standard complex, also called standard resolution, bar resolution, bar complex, bar construction, is a way of constructing
resolutions in
homological algebra
Homological algebra is the branch of mathematics that studies homology (mathematics), homology in a general algebraic setting. It is a relatively young discipline, whose origins can be traced to investigations in combinatorial topology (a precurs ...
. It was first introduced for the special case of algebras over a
commutative ring
In mathematics, a commutative ring is a ring in which the multiplication operation is commutative. The study of commutative rings is called commutative algebra. Complementarily, noncommutative algebra is the study of ring properties that are not sp ...
by and and has since been generalized in many ways.
The name "bar complex" comes from the fact that used a vertical bar , as a shortened form of the tensor product
in their notation for the complex.
Definition
If ''A'' is an associative algebra over a field ''K'', the standard complex is
:
with the differential given by
:
If ''A'' is a unital ''K''-algebra, the standard complex is exact. Moreover,