All Questions
9,056 questions
63
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Thomason's "open letter" to the mathematical community
In 1989, Bob Thomason left his CNRS position in Orsay and moved to Paris VII. It was during this period that he composed his "Open Letter" to the mathematical community. The letter explained ...
- 18.8k
63
votes
0
answers
2k
views
Are there periodicity phenomena in manifold topology with odd period?
The study of $n$-manifolds has some well-known periodicities in $n$ with period a power of $2$:
$n \bmod 2$ is important. Poincaré duality implies that odd-dimensional compact oriented manifolds ...
- 118k
62
votes
9
answers
9k
views
There is a nice theory of quadratic forms. How about cubic forms, quartic forms, quintic forms, ...?
Quadratic forms play a huge role in math. This leads one to wonder: Is there a theory of cubic forms, quartic forms, quintic forms and so on? I have failed to discover any. Is there any such theory? ...
- 705
62
votes
9
answers
9k
views
Fundamental groups of noncompact surfaces
I got fantastic answers to my previous question (about modern references for the fact that surfaces can be triangulated), so I thought I'd ask a related question. A basic fact about surface topology ...
- 44.8k
62
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Atiyah-Singer theorem-a big picture
So far I made several attempts to really learn Atiyah-Singer theorem. In order
to really understand this result a rather broad background is required: you need
to know analysis (pseudodifferential ...
- 9,330
61
votes
4
answers
10k
views
Hirzebruch's motivation of the Todd class
In Prospects in Mathematics (AM-70), Hirzebruch gives a nice discussion of why the formal power series $f(x) = 1 + b_1 x + b_2 x^2 + \dots$ defining the Todd class must be what it is. In particular, ...
- 1,415
61
votes
8
answers
7k
views
Natural transformations as categorical homotopies
Every text book I've ever read about Category Theory gives the definition of natural transformation as a collection of morphisms which make the well known diagrams commute.
There is another possible ...
- 3,349
61
votes
2
answers
9k
views
Are spectra really the same as cohomology theories?
Let $E \to F$ be a morphism of cohomology theories defined on finite CW complexes. Then by Brown representability, $E, F$ are represented by spectra, and the map $E \to F$ comes from a map of spectra. ...
- 25.6k
61
votes
2
answers
3k
views
The topological analog of flatness?
Recall that a map $f:X\to Y$ of schemes is called flat iff for any $x\in X$ the ring $O_{X,x}$ is a flat $O_{Y,f(x)}$-module.
Briefly the question is: what is the topological analog of this?
Many ...
- 23.5k
60
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Torsion in homology or fundamental group of subsets of Euclidean 3-space
Here's a problem I've found entertaining.
Is it possible to find a subset of 3-dimensional Euclidean space such that its homology groups (integer coefficients) or one of its fundamental groups is not ...
- 44.4k
59
votes
4
answers
5k
views
When can one continuously prescribe a unit vector orthogonal to a given orthonormal system?
Let $1 \leq k < n$ be natural numbers. Given orthonormal vectors $u_1,\dots,u_k$ in ${\bf R}^n$, one can always find an additional unit vector $v \in {\bf R}^n$ that is orthogonal to the preceding ...
- 114k
58
votes
10
answers
9k
views
de Rham cohomology and flat vector bundles
I was wondering whether there is some notion of "vector bundle de Rham cohomology".
To be more precise: the k-th de Rham cohomology group of a manifold $H_{dR}^{k}(M)$ is defined as the set of closed ...
- 1,939
58
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can a subset of the plane have nontrivial $H_2$ or $\pi_2$?
This is a question that occurred to me years ago when I was first learning algebraic topology. I've since learned that it's a somewhat aesthetically displeasing question, but I'm still curious about ...
- 82.7k
58
votes
12
answers
29k
views
Homological Algebra texts
I would like to hear the communities' ideas on good Homological Algebra textbooks / references. The standard example is of course Weibel (which I'll leave for someone else to describe).
As usual, ...
57
votes
2
answers
7k
views
What arithmetic information is contained in the algebraic K-theory of the integers
I'm always looking for applications of homotopy theory to other fields, mostly as a way to make my talks more interesting or to motivate the field to non-specialists. It seems like most talks about ...
- 30.3k
56
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How to add essentially new knots to the universe?
A knot is an embedding of a circle $S^{1}$ in $3$-dimensional Euclidean space, $\mathbb{R}^3$. Knots are considered equivalent under ambient isotopy. There are two different types of knots, tame and ...
55
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Which of Quillen's Papers Should I read?
I just heard that Daniel Quillen passed on. I am not familiar with his work
and want to celebrate his life by reading some of his papers. Which one(s?)
should I read?
I am an algebraic geometer who ...
54
votes
10
answers
12k
views
Intuition behind Thom class
The Thom class and Thom isomorphism theorem for oriented vector bundles are proven ( at least to my knowledge) by induction on the open covers and some manipulation with Mayer-Vietoris sequences.
...
- 1,357
54
votes
6
answers
8k
views
"Why the heck are the homotopy groups of the sphere so damn complicated?"
This is a quote from a dear friend asking the rest of us on Facebook. I gave him some half-baked response, but the truth is I don't really know enough about this to give him a good response.
So why ...
54
votes
7
answers
15k
views
Why are local systems and representations of the fundamental group equivalent
My question: Let X be a sufficiently 'nice' topological space. Then there is an equivalence between representations of the fundamental group of X and local systems on X, i.e. sheaves on X locally ...
- 1,197
54
votes
4
answers
9k
views
Why is Quantum Field Theory so topological?
I understand that my question suffers from my lack of knowledge about the field, but as a mathematician without much knowledge of physics I have been wondering much about the following and I always ...
53
votes
8
answers
9k
views
Analogue to covering space for higher homotopy groups?
The connection between the fundamental group and covering spaces is quite fundamental. Is there any analogue for higher homotopy groups? It doesn't make sense to me that one could make a branched ...
- 13.6k
53
votes
6
answers
8k
views
Why is the standard definition of cocycle the one that _always_ comes up??
This question might not have a good answer. It was something that occurred to me yesterday when I found myself in a pub, needing to do an explicit calculation with 2-cocycles but with no references ...
- 41.4k
53
votes
4
answers
14k
views
Explanation for the Chern character
The Chern character is often seen as just being a convenient way to get a ring homomorphism from K-theory to (ordinary) cohomology.
The most usual definition in that case seems to just be to define ...
- 5,530
52
votes
6
answers
10k
views
What does actually being a CW-complex provide in algebraic topology?
From time to time, I pretend to be an algebraic topologist. But I'm not really hard-core and some of the deeper mysteries of the subject are still ... mysterious. One that came up recently is the ...
- 26.8k
51
votes
8
answers
7k
views
Motivating the category of chain complexes
Let $R$ be a commutative ring. For awhile I have been trying to motivate to myself more fully the definition of and various structures on the category $\text{Ch}(R)$ of chain complexes of $R$-modules (...
- 118k
51
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Fundamental group as topological group
Background
Let $(X,x)$ be a pointed topological space. Then the fundamental group $\pi_1(X,x)$ becomes a topological space: Endow the set of maps $S^1 \to X$ with the compact-open topology, endow the ...
- 63.1k
51
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Is each squared finite group trivial?
A semigroup $S$ is defined to be squared if there exists a subset $A\subseteq S$ such that the function $A\times A\to S$, $(x,y)\mapsto xy$, is bijective.
Problem: Is each squared finite group ...
- 41.9k
51
votes
5
answers
5k
views
What (if anything) unifies stable homotopy theory and Grothendieck's six functors formalism?
I know of two very general frameworks for describing generalizations of what a "cohomology theory" should be: Grothendieck's "six functors", and the theory of spectra.
In the former, one assigns to ...
- 40.2k
51
votes
3
answers
12k
views
Spaces with same homotopy and homology groups that are not homotopy equivalent?
A common caution about Whitehead's theorem is that you need the map between the spaces; it's easy to give examples of spaces with isomorphic homotopy groups that are not homotopy equivalent. (See Are ...
- 10.1k
51
votes
2
answers
3k
views
$H^4(BG,\mathbb Z)$ torsion free for $G$ a connected Lie group
Recently, prompted by considerations in conformal field theory, I was lead to guess that for every compact connected Lie group $G$, the fourth cohomology group of it classifying space is torsion free.
...
- 43.2k
51
votes
1
answer
8k
views
What is Atiyah's topological formulation of the odd order theorem?
Here is a quote from an article by Daniel Gorenstein on the history of the classification of finite simple groups (available here).
During that year in Harvard, Thompson began his monumental ...
- 2,821
50
votes
10
answers
14k
views
Definition of "simplicial complex"
When I think of a "simplicial complex", I think of the geometric realization of a simplicial set (a simplicial object in the category of sets). I'll refer to this as "the first definition".
However, ...
- 21k
50
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Total spaces of $TS^2$ and $S^2 \times R^2$ not homeomorphic
Hello,
I'm looking for an invariant to distinguish the homeomorphism types of homotopy equivalent spaces. Specifically, how does one show that the total spaces of the tangent bundle to $S^2$ and the ...
- 931
50
votes
4
answers
3k
views
To which extent can one recover a manifold from its group of homeomorphisms
Question. Suppose that $M$ is a closed connected topological manifold and $G$ is its group of homeomorphisms (with compact-open topology). Does $G$ (as a topological group) uniquely determine $M$?
One ...
- 31.2k
50
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can I wrap a suitcase with hair ties
Is there a nontrivial link in a big solid torus that is trivial in the ambient Euclidean space such that each circle is unknot and has a sufficiently small length?
It is motivated by a question that ...
- 45k
50
votes
0
answers
12k
views
Atiyah's paper on complex structures on $S^6$
M. Atiyah has posted a preprint on arXiv on the non-existence of complex structure on the sphere $S^6$.
https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.09366
It relies on the topological $K$-theory $KR$ and in ...
- 9,870
49
votes
6
answers
22k
views
What is the difference between homology and cohomology?
In intuitive terms, what is the main difference? We know that homology is essentially the number of $n$-cycles that are not $n$-boundaries in some simplicial complex $X$. This is, more or less, the ...
49
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Elegant proof that any closed, oriented 3-manifold is the boundary of some oriented 4-manifold?
I'm looking for an elegant proof that any closed, oriented $3$-manifold $M$ is the boundary of some oriented $4$-manifold $B$.
- 1,709
49
votes
8
answers
13k
views
How should one think about pushforward in cohomology?
Suppose f:X→Y. If I decorate that first sentence with appropriate adjectives, then I get a pushforward map in cohomology H*(X)→H*(Y).
For example, suppose that X and Y are oriented ...
- 8,866
49
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Why should I care about topological modular forms?
There seems to be a lot of recent activity concerning topological modular forms (TMF), which I gather is an extraordinary cohomology theory constructed from the classical theory of modular forms on ...
- 491
49
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Why is there a duality between spaces and commutative algebras?
1) The category of affine varieties over $\mathbb{C}$ is equivalent to the opposite category of finitely generated reduced algebras over $\mathbb{C}$. The equivalence associates to an affine variety ...
- 9,481
48
votes
3
answers
9k
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Connected sum of topological manifolds
A definition of the connected sum of two $n$-manifolds $M$ and $M'$ begins by considering two $n$-balls $B$ in $M$, $B'$ in $M'$, and glueing the varieties $M\setminus \mathring B$ and $M'\setminus \...
- 12.9k
48
votes
3
answers
13k
views
When is a Homology Class Represented by a Submanifold? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Cohomology and fundamental classes
Given an oriented manifold $M$ and an oriented submanifold $\phi:N\to M$ we can obtain a homology class $\phi_*[N]\in H_*(M)$ ...
- 2,283
48
votes
2
answers
8k
views
Why is Voevodsky's motivic homotopy theory 'the right' approach?
Morel and Voevoedsky developed what is now called motivic homotopy theory, which aims to apply techniques of algebraic topology to algebraic varieties and, more generally, to schemes. A simple way of ...
- 1,098
48
votes
0
answers
17k
views
What is the current understanding regarding complex structures on the 6-sphere?
In October 2016, Atiyah famously posted a preprint to the arXiv, "The Non-Existent Complex 6-Sphere" containing a very brief proof $S^6$ admits no complex structure, which I immediately read and ...
- 2,995
47
votes
10
answers
6k
views
Algebraic theorems with no known algebraic proofs
What are some good examples of algebraic theorems that have no known algebraic proofs?
A few I know concern classifications of (not necessarily associative) division algebras over $\mathbb{R}$: the ...
47
votes
6
answers
6k
views
Can we actually find any fixed points with Brouwer's theorem?
Background
At the risk of greatly oversimplifying matters, let me state a heuristic from Granas and Dugundji's beautiful book: fixed point theorems fall into two broad categories. The first class is ...
- 15.5k
47
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Brown representability for non-connected spaces
In many places (on MO, elsewhere on the Internet, and perhaps even in some textbooks) one finds a statement of the classical Brown representability theorem that looks something like this:
If $F$ is ...
- 66.8k
46
votes
11
answers
6k
views
What is the Cayley projective plane?
One can build a projective plane from $\Bbb R^n$, $\Bbb C^n$ and $\Bbb H^n$ and is then tempted to do the same for octonions. This leads to the construction of a projective plane known as $\Bbb OP^2$, ...
- 8,167