All Questions
Tagged with gt.geometric-topology at.algebraic-topology
1,145 questions
96
votes
4
answers
10k
views
Which manifolds are homeomorphic to simplicial complexes?
This question is only motivated by curiosity; I don't know a lot about manifold topology.
Suppose $M$ is a compact topological manifold of dimension $n$. I'll assume $n$ is large, say $n\geq 4$. The ...
- 27.2k
82
votes
12
answers
15k
views
Compelling evidence that two basepoints are better than one
This question is inspired by an answer of Tim Porter.
Ronnie Brown pioneered a framework for homotopy theory in which one may consider multiple basepoints. These ideas are accessibly presented in his ...
- 22.1k
80
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Topological cobordisms between smooth manifolds
Wall has calculated enough about the cobordism ring of oriented smooth manifolds that we know that two oriented smooth manifolds are oriented cobordant if and only if they have the same Stiefel--...
- 18.2k
71
votes
10
answers
25k
views
Nice proof of the Jordan curve theorem?
As a student, I was taught that the Jordan curve theorem is a great example of an intuitively clear statement which has no simple proof.
What is the simplest known proof today?
Is there an intuitive ...
- 1,843
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 ...
- 677
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
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
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 ...
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
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
41
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Not all manifolds can be triangulated: In which dimensions?
I know that Ciprian Manolescu has settled the triangulation conjecture in the negative: Not all manifolds can be triangulated. I've only read secondary literature on this result, which did not detail ...
- 151k
41
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Classification of surfaces and the TOP, DIFF and PL categories for manifolds
A surface is simply a 2-manifold. The classification theorem for compact connected surfaces (with boundary) is commonly regarded in the categories TOP, DIFF and PL. Well known proofs (e.g. via ...
- 2,136
41
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Homotopy type of TOP(4)/PL(4)
It is known (e.g. the Kirby-Siebenmann book) that $\mathrm{TOP}(n)/\mathrm{PL}(n)\simeq K({\mathbb Z}/2,3)$ for $n>4$. I believe it is also known (Freedman-Quinn) that $\mathrm{TOP}(4)/\mathrm{PL}(...
- 6,210
40
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can the nth projective space be covered by n charts?
That is, is there an open cover of $\mathbb{R}P^n$ by $n$ sets homeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}^n$?
I came up with this question a few years ago and I´ve thought about it from time to time, but I haven´t ...
- 10.6k
39
votes
3
answers
4k
views
In which situations can one see that topological spaces are ill-behaved from the homotopical viewpoint?
In the eighties, Grothendieck devoted a great amount of time to work on the foundations of homotopical algebra.
He wrote in "Esquisse d'un programme": "[D]epuis près d'un an, la plus grande partie ...
38
votes
3
answers
2k
views
If $X$ and $Y$ are homotopy equivalent, then are $X \times \mathbb{R}^{\infty}$ and $Y \times \mathbb{R}^{\infty}$ homeomorphic?
Let $X$ and $Y$ be reasonable spaces. Since $\mathbb{R}^{\infty}$ is contractible,
$$
X \times \mathbb{R}^{\infty} \cong Y \times \mathbb{R}^{\infty} \;\;\; \implies \;\;\; X \simeq Y.
$$
Is the ...
- 5,898
35
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Intuition behind Alexander duality
I was wondering if anyone could offer some intuition for why Alexander duality holds. Of course, the proof is easy enough to check, and it is also easy to work out many examples by hand. However, I ...
- 361
35
votes
4
answers
4k
views
An intelligent ant living on a torus or sphere – Does it have a universal way to find out?
I wanted to ask a question about topological invariants and whether they are connected in a fundamental or universal way. I am not an expert in topology, so please let me ask this question by way of a ...
- 6,917
35
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Second Betti number of lattices in $\mathrm{SL}_3(\mathbf{R})$
We fix $G=\mathrm{SL}_3(\mathbf{R})$.
Let $\Gamma$ be a torsion-free cocompact lattice in $G$. Is $b_2(\Gamma)=0$?
Here the second Betti number $b_2(\Gamma)$ is both the dimension of the ...
- 63.9k
35
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Manifolds admitting CW-structure with single n-cell
Let $M$ be a topological $n$-manifold, closed and connected (not necessarily oriented):
When does $M$ not admit (up to homotopy-type) a CW-structure with a single $n$-cell?
By classification of ...
- 17.5k
33
votes
4
answers
6k
views
What (if anything) happened to Intersection Homology?
In the early 1990's, Gil Kalai introduced me to a very interesting generalization of homology theory called intersection homology, which existed for like 10 years back then I believe. Defined ...
- 6,734
33
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Nilpotence of the stable Hopf map via framed cobordism
The Pontryagin-Thom construction shows that the stable homotopy groups of spheres are the same as the groups of stably framed manifolds up to cobordism. Specifically the Hopf map corresponds to the ...
- 28.1k
32
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Complex projective manifolds are homeomorphic if homotopy equivalent
If two complex projective manifolds are homotopy equivalent are they homeomorphic?
user164740
32
votes
1
answer
1k
views
"Affine communication" for topological manifolds
There is a situation that comes up regularly in algebraic topology when giving proofs of facts about manifolds, like Poincare duality and the like. The typical sequence goes like this:
Prove ...
- 52.6k
32
votes
3
answers
2k
views
A Pachner complex for triangulated manifolds
A theorem of Pachner's states that if two triangulated PL-manifolds are PL-homeomorphic, the two triangulations are related via a finite sequence of moves, nowadays called "Pachner moves".
A ...
- 44.4k
31
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Non embedding of $Y\times Y$ into $\mathbb{R}^3$
I know that this is a well known result, but where can I find a proof? I am also interested to see more general non-embedding results of this type.
Theorem. Let $Y$ be the union of two segments ...
- 28k
30
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Does there exist any non-contractible manifold with fixed point property?
Does there exist any non-trivial space (i.e not deformation retract onto a point) in $\mathbb R^n$ such that any continuous map from the space onto itself has a fixed point. I highly suspect that the ...
- 3,751
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 $k=1$ ...
- 6,210
30
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Are homeomorphic representations isomorphic?
Let $G$ be a finite group. Let $V_1, V_2$ be two finite-dimensional real representations. Suppose $f: V_1 \to V_2$ is a $G$-equivariant homeomorphism. Can one conclude that $V_1$ and $V_2$ are ...
- 803
30
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Is the universal covering of an open subset of $\mathbb{R}^n$ diffeomorphic to an open subset of $\mathbb{R}^n$ ?
Is the universal covering of a connected open subset $U$ of ℝn diffeomorphic to an open subset of ℝn (standard differentiable structure)?
If not true in general, is there any condition ...
29
votes
3
answers
5k
views
finite generated group realized as fundamental group of manifolds
This is discussed in the standard textbooks on algebraic topology.
Pick a presentation of the group $G = \langle g_1,g_2,...,g_n|r_1,r_2,...r_m \rangle$
where $g_i$ are generators and $r_j$ are ...
- 291
28
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Example of 4-manifold with $\pi_1=\mathbb Q$
This might be well known for algebraic topologist. So I am looking for an explicit example of a 4 dimensional manifold with fundamental group isomorphic to the rationals $\mathbb Q$.
- 2,623
28
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Does a *topological* manifold have an exhaustion by compact submanifolds with boundary?
If $M$ is a connected smooth manifold, then it is easy to show that there is a sequence of connected compact smooth submanifolds with boundary $M_1\subseteq M_2\subseteq\cdots$ such that $M=\bigcup_{i=...
- 18.7k
28
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is there a general theory of fiber theorems?
Here are three vague theorems rolled up in one.
Let $X$ and $Y$ be sufficiently nice topological spaces and $f:X \to Y$ a sufficiently nice surjection. If for each $y \in Y$, the fiber $f^{-1}(y) \...
- 15.5k
27
votes
5
answers
5k
views
What is the intuition behind the Freudenthal suspension theorem?
The Freudenthal suspension theorem states in particular that the map
$$
\pi_{n+k}(S^n)\to\pi_{n+k+1}(S^{n+1})
$$
is an isomorphism for $n\geq k+2$.
My question is: What is the intuition behind the ...
- 727
27
votes
6
answers
4k
views
Failure of smoothing theory for topological 4-manifolds
Smoothing theory fails for topological 4-manifolds, in that a smooth structure on a topological 4-manifold $M$ is not equivalent to a vector bundle structure on the tangent microbundle of $M$. Is ...
- 967
27
votes
1
answer
4k
views
connectivity of the group of orientation-preserving homeomorphisms of the sphere
In the paper "Local Contractions and a Theorem of Poincare" Sternberg has mentioned the following question which was open when the paper was written:
Is the group of orientation-preserving ...
- 6,214
27
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is being simply connected very rare?
Essentially, my question is how strong a restriction it is to be simply connected.
Here is a way of making this precise: Let's say we want to count simplicial complexes (of dimension 2, though that ...
- 732
27
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Need for support and guidance for my near future as a PhD student (or: has stable homotopy theory become an overly algebraic theory?)
The question in brackets in the title is my main mathematical question, but does not reflect my initial motivation for writing this post. It is in fact above all for personal reasons that I'm ...
- 395
27
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Combinatorics of K(Z,2)?
Anybody knows a semi-simplicial model for $K(Z,2)$ having finite number of simplexes in any dimension? With some regular description? I have heard about big activity on triangulating $CP^n$ but this ...
- 1,482
26
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Are there "principal" bundles $S^1 \to S^3 \to S^2$ other then Hopf's? (They would be necessarily not locally trivial)
It is well known that the only principal locally trivial fiber bundle $S^1 \to S^3 \to S^2$ is Hopf map $h$ (see, for example, [1]).
What if we drop the local triviality but mantain a "principality" ...
- 1,123
26
votes
6
answers
3k
views
How to get convinced that there are a lot of 3-manifolds?
My question is rather philosophical : without using advanced tools as Perlman-Thurston's geometrisation, how can we get convinced that the class of closed oriented $3$-manifolds is large and that ...
- 2,696
26
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Are there geometrically formal manifolds, which are not rationally elliptic?
Formality of a space is meant in the sense of Sullivan, i.e. a space $X$ is called formal, if its commutative differential graded algebra of piecewise linear differential forms $(A_{PL}(X),d)$ is ...
- 2,974
26
votes
1
answer
615
views
What is the minimal dimension of a complex realising a group representation?
This question is inspired by this one, which was about representations that can be realised homologically by an action on a graph (i.e., a 1-dimensional complex).
Many interesting integral ...
- 10.9k
25
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Is there a classification of open subsets of euclidean space up to homeomorphism?
I hope this question is reasonable enough to have a well known answer. i.e either there is a simple invariant (like the homotopy groups) that characterizes the homeomorphism type of such set among ...
- 2,027
25
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Hermann Weyl's work on combinatorial topology and Kirchhoff's current law in Spanish
Hermann Weyl was one of the pioneers in the use of early algebraic/combinatorial topological methods in the problem of electrical currents on graphs and combinatorial complexes. The ...
- 2,630
25
votes
1
answer
2k
views
On a curious map from the complex projective plane into $S^5$
I have heavily edited the post (including the title), based on a comment by @GregoryArone that my map $f$ is not injective. In an earlier version of this post, I had thought to have constructed a ...
- 5,215
25
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is every degree 1 self-map a homotopy equivalence?
In a rather obscure article, I found (without proof) the following statement:
If $M$ is a closed orientable manifold, every degree $1$ map $f: M \rightarrow M$ is a homotopy equivalence.
Is this ...
- 11.9k
25
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Are "most" spaces aspherical?
There's a heuristic idea that "most" closed manifolds $M$ are aspherical (i.e. $\pi_{\geq 2}(M) = 0$). Does this heuristic extend usefully to all spaces -- or at least to all finite CW complexes?
To ...
- 63.9k