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27 votes
2 answers
3k views

Euler Characteristic of a manifold with non-vanishing vector field,

A friend of mine recently asked me if I knew any simple, conceptual argument (even one that is perhaps only heuristic) to show that if a triangulated manifold has a non-vanishing vector field, then ...
Dick Palais's user avatar
  • 15.3k
20 votes
2 answers
1k views

What's the cell structure of K(Z/nZ, 1)? Does it let me sum this divergent series? What about other finite groups?

The Eilenberg-Maclane space $K(\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}, 1)$ has a particularly simple cell structure: it has exactly one cell of each dimension. This means that its "Euler characteristic" should be ...
Qiaochu Yuan's user avatar
16 votes
3 answers
3k views

Multiplicativity of Euler characteristic for non-orientable fibrations

Let $E\to B$ be a fibration with fiber F, and assume for simplicity that B is connected. Suppose moreover that B and F have Euler characteristics (perhaps they are manifolds). Then often, one can ...
Mike Shulman's user avatar
  • 66.8k
13 votes
2 answers
586 views

When are bundles of odd and even differential forms isomorphic?

Let $M$ be a compact oriented $n$-manifold. Denote $\Omega^k := {\bigwedge}^k T^*M$ the vector bundle of differential $k$-forms, and let $\Omega^{\text{odd}} := \bigoplus_{\text{$k$ odd}} \Omega^k$ ...
Ceka's user avatar
  • 501
11 votes
1 answer
968 views

Chern numbers via Euler characteristics?

Let $X$ be a space good enough to have a fundamental class, and $E$ a complex vector bundle on $X$. Let $P$ be some polynomial expression, and say I want to evaluate $P(c_i(E)) \cap [X]$. Is ...
Vivek Shende's user avatar
  • 8,723
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

For which classes of topological spaces Euler characteristics is defined?

I would like to know something more than what is written on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler_characteristic What would be some large (largest?) class of topological spaces for which $\chi$...
Dmitri Panov's user avatar
  • 28.9k
10 votes
2 answers
703 views

When does an even-dimensional manifold fiber over an odd-dimensional manifold?

Are there simple necessary and sufficient conditions for an (oriented) even-dimensional compact smooth manifold to fiber over an (oriented) odd-dimensional manifold (with oriented fibers)? For ...
Theo Johnson-Freyd's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
1k views

Euler characteristic, Gauss-Bonnet, and a product formula

I know very little about the Pfaffian or how it works, and I'm new at Riemannian geometry in general. But I was wondering if there is some way to make this "intuitive" argument for the fact that a ...
Dylan Wilson's user avatar
  • 13.5k
9 votes
1 answer
561 views

"Mathai-Quillen-type" form on $M\times M$?

Let $(M,g)$ be a compact, oriented, $(2n)$-dimensional Riemannian manifold. I'm wondering whether there is a "canonical" construction of a $(2n)$-form $\eta_g$ on $M\times M$, such that $\eta_g$ is ...
macbeth's user avatar
  • 3,212
8 votes
2 answers
294 views

Euler characteristic of the simplicial complex of sets of elements in a semilattice with non-zero meet

In a combinatorial computation, I came across the following quantity: Consider a finite meet semilattice $L$, that is, a finite poset which is closed under $\min$. Denote the least element of $L$ by $...
Christian Gorski's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
676 views

Is the Euler characteristic of aspherical connected 2-complexes at most 1? (No!) What can be said about subcomplexes of 2-complexes deformation retractible onto graphs.

I have several related questions, i do not know which one is more important to me, i think it would depend on their answers. Is it true that the Euler characteristic of a finite connected aspherical ...
Alexey Muranov's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
615 views

Compactification of open manifolds in the form of a manifold( with zero Euler characteristic)

Edit: According to the interesting comments of Michael Albanese and Nick L we revise the question as follows: By manifold compactification of a manifold $M$ we mean a compact manifold $\tilde{M}$ ...
Ali Taghavi's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
181 views

In what sense do the real and complex places correspond to setting q equal to 1 or -1?

It often happens that if we have a scheme $X/\mathbb Z$ (or an open subset thereof) and we denote by $p(q) = X(\mathbb F_q)$, then $p(1)$ and $p(-1)$ compute the euler characteristic of $X(\mathbb C)$ ...
Asvin's user avatar
  • 7,746
6 votes
0 answers
289 views

Is Euler-characteristic of a simplicial complex on $n$ vertices and $f$ facets at most $n^{O(\log f)}$?

(Definition: Facet = Maximal Face) This question is a continuation of the previous one that I had asked a couple of years ago: Is Euler characteristic of a simplicial complex upper bounded by a ...
Raghav Kulkarni's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
690 views

What is the Euler characteristic of a mapping space?

Suppose that $A$ and $B$ are topological spaces homotopy equivalent to finite cell complexes, and let $B^A = \mathrm{maps}(A,B)$ denote the space of maps from $A$ to $B$. Is it there a formula for ...
Theo Johnson-Freyd's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
244 views

Does the (Poincare) dual complex represent the same topology?

To start with, consider some abstract $3$-dimensional simplicial complex $\Delta$ representing a manifold without boundary, for simplicity. Then, there is this well-known construction of the "(...
B.Hueber's user avatar
  • 1,171
4 votes
0 answers
202 views

Possible Euler characteristics of manifolds with tangential structures

Let $p:B\to BO$ be a fibration. We say that a manifold has a $B$-structure if its stable tangent bundle lifts to $B$. I am interested in the question of whether there exists, for a given even ...
Simona Vesela's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
202 views

Fibrations and Euler characteristics with bad fundamental group

Consider a fibration $F\to E\to B$ where $H^i(F;\mathbb{Q})$ and $H^i(B;\mathbb{Q})$ are finite-dimensional, and they vanish for $i\gg 0$, and $B$ is connected. However, we do not assume that $B$ is ...
Neil Strickland's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
314 views

Combining Lefschetz numbers with Euler classes

Given an $n$-manifold $M$ (say), we can talk about its Euler characteristic $\chi(M)$. This can be generalized to the Euler number of any $n$-dimensional bundle ${\mathcal V}$. Or indeed, the Euler ...
Allen Knutson's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
688 views

Higher Euler characteristics (possible generalizations)

Let $X$ be projective and Gorenstein (over $\mathbb{C}$), of dimension $n$, then $\chi(\mathcal{O}_X)=(-1)^n\chi(\omega_X)$. Hence a "generalization": $\chi(\omega^{\otimes k}_X)$. I'd like ...
Dmitry Kerner's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
540 views

Euler characteristic of pseudomanifolds with boundary

It is a well-known fact that for every compact oriented odd-dimensional manifold $\mathcal{M}$ with boundary it holds that $$\chi(\mathcal{M})=\frac{1}{2}\chi(\partial\mathcal{M}).$$ In particular, if ...
G. Blaickner's user avatar
  • 1,429
3 votes
0 answers
126 views

Properties of a generalization (regularization) of the Euler characteristic?

Intro: This question is about a version of the Euler characteristic for infinite dimensional chain complexes. I have no idea if this is a pre-existing concept, that's essentially what my query is ...
Julian Chaidez's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
98 views

Compact $G$-ENR's and Euler characteristic computed with Alexander-Spanier cohomology with compact support

Let $(Z,A)$ a compact ENR pair, then $$\chi(Z)=\chi_c(Z-A)+\chi(A)$$ where $\chi_c$ is the Euler characteristic taken in Alexander-Spanier cohomology with compact support (ENR means euclidean ...
Victor TC's user avatar
  • 795
2 votes
0 answers
1k views

What kinds of manifolds admit non-vanishing vector fields defining convergent congruences?

One of the corollaries of the Poincaré–Hopf index theorem is that a closed, connected manifold $M$ admits non-vanishing vector fields iff its Euler characteristic is zero; i.e. $\chi(M) = 0$. I am ...
Mehmet Ozan Kabak's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
427 views

On Lefschetz theorem and sum of Betti numbers as lower bounds for fixed points

Let $M$ be a closed manifold with holomorphic cell decomposition (if it is complex), or at least with only even cohomology. In particular, its Euler characteristic is equal to the sum of its Betti ...
BrianT's user avatar
  • 1,227
1 vote
0 answers
497 views

Invariance of combinatorial/geometric euler characteristic

I am trying to read and understand the paper: TARGET ENUMERATION VIA EULER CHARACTERISTIC INTEGRALS by YULIY BARYSHNIKOV AND ROBERT GHRIST. And I am having trouble with a statement. First of all, ...
D1811994's user avatar
  • 909
0 votes
0 answers
147 views

Noether's formula for real algebraic surfaces

Is there a version of Noether's formula for the Euler characteristic of a surface for Real algebraic surfaces? Specifically, given $X$ a real algebraic compact smooth surface, what is the relationship ...
Serge the Toaster's user avatar