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8 votes
0 answers
118 views

Defining convex sums locally on the sphere?

$S^1$ and the torus $T^2$ are spaces in which convex combinations don't make sense globally but do locally. Despite their standard representations in $\mathbf{R}^2$ and $\mathbf{R}^3$ respectively not ...
15 votes
1 answer
541 views

Where is the Steenrod Realization problem at?

I'm wondering if there is a more modern reference out there for the Steenrod Realization Problem than the book of Connor and Floyd? Realizing homology classes in a manifold via embedded submanifolds, ...
13 votes
1 answer
580 views

Identifying two definitions of orientation on a vector space

Let $V$ be an $n$-dimensional real vector space. Here are two definitions of an orientation on $V$: A generator of the $1$-dimensional vector space $\wedge^n V$, up to multiplication by positive ...
2 votes
0 answers
414 views

$$ \left(\frac{\text{Man}^{\text{fr}}}{\text{Cobordism}},\coprod,\times \right)\simeq \left((\text{Fin}^{\simeq},\coprod)^{\text{gp}},\times\right)?$$ [closed]

If we combine a theorem of Pontryagin and the Barratt-Priddy-Quillen theorem we get that both sides of $$ \left(\frac{\mathrm{Man}^{\mathrm{fr}}}{\mathrm{Cobordism}},\coprod,\times \right)\simeq \left(...
4 votes
0 answers
116 views

Finding inverses of certain elements in the set of normal invariants of a smooth manifold

Let, $V$ denote the Stiefel manifold of 2-frames $V_{10,2}$ . Consider the the map $S_\text{diff} (V) \xrightarrow{\eta} N_\text{diff} (V) $ in the surgery exact sequence of a smooth manifold. . ...
9 votes
1 answer
322 views

Torsion and nilpotence of framed manifolds under the Pontryagin-Thom map

The framed Pontryagin Thom construction produces a graded ring isomorphism from the framed cobordism ring $\Omega^{fr}_*$ to the stable ring of homotopy groups of spheres $\pi_*(\mathbb{S})$. I have a ...
2 votes
0 answers
105 views

Unstably dualizable maps

Call a map between compact, connected framed $n$-manifolds $f:M \rightarrow N$ unstably dualizable if there exists an $f':N \rightarrow M$ such that the following diagram commutes up to homotopy: $$\...
3 votes
0 answers
195 views

Is there such an isotopy for every homology sphere?

Let $n \geq 3$, and $\Sigma^{n-1} \subset \mathbf{S}^n$ be a smoothly and properly embedded, orientable, and connected submanifold of the sphere. This divides the sphere into two open sets, $U_-$ and $...
3 votes
0 answers
122 views

Is there a framed nullbordism of $T^4$ with an action of $T^4$ that extends the self-action?

Under the identification of the stable homotopy groups with the (stably) framed bordism groups, it is well known that $\eta\in\pi_1\mathbb{S}$ is represented by $S^1$ with its Lie group framing. ...
2 votes
0 answers
197 views

$4$-manifolds with boundary homotopic to $K(G,1)$

I am not very conversant with the $3$-manifold or $4$-manifold theory. The literature I found so far related to $3$-manifold tells me that $S^1\times S^2$ is "very special". It is prime but ...
2 votes
0 answers
109 views

Homotopical generalizations of the isotopy extension theorem

It's a well known theorem that given isotopic embeddings $i_1,i_2: M \rightarrow S^d$, there is a homeomorphism $\phi:S^d \rightarrow S^d$ which restricts to homeomorphisms $\operatorname{im}(i_1) \...
16 votes
0 answers
325 views

Rational equivalence of smooth closed manifolds

All spaces below will be assumed simply connected. A continuous map is a rational equivalence if it induces an isomorphism of the rational homology groups. Two spaces are rationally equivalent if they ...
4 votes
1 answer
576 views

Reference request for Poincaré–Lefschetz duality as an intersection pairing

I believe the following is well known after talking to some experts, but I am unable to find a reference for the case with boundary. Fix a field $F$ and an oriented $n$-manifold $(M,\partial M)$. We ...
7 votes
0 answers
265 views

Homotopy type of space of embeddings of a disk

Let $M^n$ be a smooth $n$-dimensional manifold and let $\mathbb{D}^n$ be the open unit disk in $\mathbb{R}^n$. Consider the space $\text{Emb}(\mathbb{D}^n,M^n)$ of smooth embeddings of $\mathbb{D}^n$ ...
14 votes
1 answer
860 views

Mapping torus of Klein bottle

This got 5 upvotes but no answers on MSE (Mapping torus of Klein bottle), so I'm cross-posting to MO: The mapping torus of a Klein bottle $ K $ is a compact flat 3 manifold. The mapping class group of ...
1 vote
1 answer
147 views

Transversal pre-image of a small enough trivial tubular neighborhood contains a trivial tubular neighborhood

A similar post on MSE without answer. Let $f\colon M'\to M$ be a smooth map between two orientable closed smooth manifolds and $S$ be a smoothly embedded closed orientable submanifold of $M$ of co-...
25 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is there a $4$-manifold which Immerses in $\mathbb{R}^6$ but doesn't Embed in $\mathbb{R}^7$?

I'm interested in both version of the question in the title, i.e. in the topological category and in the smooth category. By a topological immersion I mean a local embedding. I was asking in ...
2 votes
1 answer
295 views

In which dimensions is it true that every topological ball embedded by a smoothly embedded sphere is a smoothly embedded ball?

I asked a question on MSE with no answer. Here is my question in the generalized version. Question 1: Suppose we are given a connected three-manifold $M$ (possibly non-compact, or non-orientable) and ...
6 votes
1 answer
222 views

Stable smoothing of topological manifolds relative to an embedding

Let $M$ be a topological manifold. We know that $M$ is stably smoothable if and only its tangent microbundle, up to stabilization, admits a reduction to vector bundle. Now I wonder if there is a ...
9 votes
0 answers
287 views

Rational cobordism classes of manifolds fibered over spheres

Let us fix positive integers $k, m$. Let $A^k_{4m} \subset \Omega^{\text{SO}}_{4m} \otimes \mathbb Q$ be the subgroup generated by oriented cobordism classes of manifolds fibered over $S^k$. The ...
25 votes
2 answers
844 views

Which homotopy classes $S^3 \to S^2$ lift to embeddings $S^3 \to S^2 \times D^3$?

The question is, for a smooth embedding $$f : S^3 \to S^2 \times D^3$$ one can compose the map $f$ with projection $\pi : S^2 \times D^3 \to S^2$, giving the map $\pi \circ f : S^3 \to S^2$. Which ...
10 votes
0 answers
455 views

Exotic analytic triangulations of $S^5$?

I would like to understand better the nature of bad triangulations of $S^5$, discussed in two Lectures of Jacob Lurie https://www.math.ias.edu/~lurie/937notes/937Lecture2.pdf http://www-math.mit.edu/~...
8 votes
1 answer
387 views

Outer automorphism group of Brieskorn homology sphere?

In this post, it is discussed how a Brieskorn homology sphere $\Sigma(a_1,a_2,a_3)$ with $\displaystyle \frac{1}{a_1}+ \frac{1}{a_2}+ \frac{1}{a_3} < 1$ is an aspherical manifold with a ...
19 votes
0 answers
649 views

Bernoulli & Betti numbers (of manifolds) and the prime 34511

The purpose of this question is to resolve a mystery surrounding the prime 34511 that has got me bogged down for a while now. If you only care about the number theory and not the motivation coming ...
20 votes
3 answers
2k views

Homotopy groups of spaces of embeddings

Let $\mathrm{Emb}(M, N)$ be the space of smooth embeddings of a closed manifold $M$ into a manifold $N$ equipped with smooth compact-open topology. Question 1. Are there conditions ensuring that ...
66 votes
8 answers
10k views

What are the open subsets of $\mathbb{R}^n$ that are diffeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}^n$

I would like to know if there is a known necessary and sufficient property on an open subset of $\mathbb{R}^n$ to be diffeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}^n$ : For example : Are all open star-shaped subsets ...
10 votes
1 answer
635 views

Cell structures of Dold manifold and Wu manifold

In Dold's 1956 paper Erzeugende der Thomschen Algebra N, Dold studied the Dold manifold $P(m,n)=(S^m\times\mathbb{CP}^n)/\tau$ where $\tau$ acts as $-1$ on $S^m$ and a complex conjugation on $\mathbb{...
17 votes
2 answers
1k views

Homotopy groups of Diff(X) and Homeo(X)

For a compact closed smooth manifold $X$, the group Diff(X) has a natural homomorphism $\Phi$ to the homeomorphism group Homeo(X). If $X$ has dimension at least $5$, I'm looking for some general ...
10 votes
2 answers
709 views

4-dimensional cohomology $\mathbb{CP}^2$'s

Let $M$ be a closed, smooth $4$-manifold with integral cohomology ring isomorphic to that of $\mathbb{CP}^2$, is it diffeomorphic to it?
14 votes
1 answer
826 views

An almost complex structure on $S^2\times ...\times S^2 / \mathbb{Z_2}$

Consider the product of $2n$ two-spheres $X_n=(S^2)^{2n}$. This manifold admits an orientation preserving involution that preserves the product structure and acts as the (orientation reversing) ...
9 votes
2 answers
755 views

Is limit of null-homotopic maps null-homotopic?

The question is motivated by my failed comment to this one. Let $M$ and $N$ be path connected locally compact, locally contractible metric spaces (you may assume that they are manifolds). Let $\...
3 votes
0 answers
186 views

Cobordism theory of some weird space

Let $G=SU(3)$ and $N=SO(3)$, then $G/N= SU(3)/SO(3)$ = a 5-dimensional Wu manifold $W$. The $W$ is a homogeneous space (also a quotient space), but not a group. Previously, I am aware of the ...
20 votes
1 answer
571 views

Can every manifold be dominated by a parallelizable one?

A closed, oriented $d$-manifold $M$ is said to dominate another such manifold $N$ if there exists a map $M \to N$ of non-zero degree. (This notion should not be confused with the unrelated concept of ...
4 votes
0 answers
243 views

Any cobordism invariant made of "characteristic classes", on unorientable manifolds, must be a mod 2 class?

For any cobordism invariant (or simply bordism invariant) quantity $\omega$ that satisfy the conditions: $\omega$ can be fully decomposed from the cup product of characteristic classes (such as ...
30 votes
4 answers
3k views

Is the space of diffeomorphisms homotopy equivalent to a CW-complex?

Clarification: My question concerns the homotopy type of the space of $C^k$ diffeomorphisms with the compact-open $C^k$ topology, where $0< k \leq\infty$. I have stated my question below with $k=1$ ...
6 votes
1 answer
293 views

Riemann-Hurwitz for real maps

Let $S$ be a (compact, connected) Riemann surface of genus $g$ and $f: S\to \mathbb CP^1$ be a degree $d$ meromorphic function. Then the Riemann-Hurwitz formula tells us that the number of ...
9 votes
1 answer
5k views

Manifolds are paracompact

By Definition, smooth manifolds are assumed to be Hausdorff and to satisfy the second countability axiom. I have heard (but never seen written) that these assumptions imply paracompactness (and thus ...
12 votes
0 answers
408 views

The $\infty$-category of $n$-manifolds and open embeddings determined homotopically from that of topological manifolds?

Let $\mathrm{Diff}_n$, $\mathrm{PL}_n$, $\mathrm{Top}_n$ denote the $\infty$-categories of $n$-manifolds which are respectively smooth/PL/topological, and open embeddings (for instance by taking the ...
18 votes
1 answer
1k views

Wu formula for manifolds with boundary

The classical Wu formula claims that if $M$ is a smooth closed $n$-manifold with fundamental class $z\in H_n(M;\mathbb{Z}_2)$, then the total Stiefel-Whitney class $w(M)$ is equal to $Sq(v)$, where $v=...
6 votes
1 answer
442 views

Are framed manifolds cubulatable?

Let's say an $n$-manifold is cubulated if it is glued out of cubes $[0,1]^n$ in a way that looks locally like the standard cubulation of $\mathbb R^n$. For instance, the face $[0,1]^{k-1} \times \{1\} ...
13 votes
3 answers
1k views

How to disjoint two cycles with zero intersection?

Suppose that $M^n$ is a smooth connected orientable manifold and $Z^k$ with $Z^{n-k}$ are two real cycles in $M^n$ with zero index of intersection $Z^k\cdot Z^{n-k}=0$ (these cycles are submanifolds ...
8 votes
0 answers
125 views

Relating bordism generators in d and d+2 dimensions --- an explicit example

This is an attempt to make my relation between bordism invariants in $d$ and $d+2$ dimensions, following a previous attempt more explicit. This counts as a different question, since some more specific ...
5 votes
1 answer
278 views

Manifold generators of O-bordism invariants

If I understand correctly, I can obtain the $O$-cobordism group of $$ \Omega^{O}_3(BO(3))=(\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z})^4, $$ The 3d cobordism invariants have 4 generators of mod 2 classes, are generated ...
4 votes
1 answer
354 views

(Co)bordism invariant of Eilenberg–MacLane space becomes vanished

Consider a (co)bordism invariant $$ u_2 Sq^1 u_2+Sq^2 Sq^1 u_2 $$ obtained from $$ \Omega^5_{O}(K(\mathbb{Z}/2,2)). $$ Here $u \in H^2(K(\mathbb{Z}/2,2),\mathbb{Z}_2)$. The $K(\mathbb{Z}/2,2)$ is ...
4 votes
1 answer
200 views

Surjections on generalized homology theory

In Davis-Januszkiewica´s paper Hyperbolization of polyhedra , the authors hyperbolized every closed n-manifolds K to get a new manifold, say M(K),together with a map $f_K$ from M(K) to K, then they ...
6 votes
0 answers
634 views

Quotient space, a fundamental group, and higher homotopy groups 2

Previously, I ask for comments/suggestions on setting up the calculation in Quotient space, homogeneous space, and higher homotopy groups. There, however, I was looking for whatever methods and tools ...
5 votes
0 answers
75 views

Bounding the dimension of the euclidean space in which any $n$-manifold embeds "$k$-uniquely" in it

(The question will be interesting for topological/Pl as well but in order to not be too vague I will restrict the meaning of manifold to smooth manifold without boundary). I'm interested in the ...
11 votes
1 answer
388 views

Twisting bordism classes

Let $X$ be a reasonable topological space (I'd be happy to assume that $X$ is a smooth closed manifold) and let $f\colon M^n \rightarrow X$ be a continuous map from a smooth oriented $n$-manifold $M^n$...
6 votes
1 answer
489 views

Equivariant handle decompositions

Suppose I have some smooth closed high-dimensional manifold $M$ acted on smoothly by a finite group $G$. By a metric averaging procedure, we can equip $M$ with a smooth Riemannian metric so that $G$ ...
5 votes
0 answers
148 views

Higher homotopy groups and ramified covering maps [duplicate]

It is known in elementary algebraic topology that a covering map induces an isomorphism of higher homotopy groups. Is there any relation of the higher homotopy groups of the ...