All Questions
80 questions
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 ...
- 637
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, ...
- 44.4k
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 ...
- 133
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
$$
\left(\frac{\mathrm{Man}^{\mathrm{fr}}}{\mathrm{Cobordism}},\coprod,\times \right)\simeq \left(...
- 705
4
votes
0
answers
116
views
Finding inverses of certain elements in the set of normal invariants of a smooth manifold
Let, $V$ denote the Stiefel manifold of 2-frames $V_{10,2}$ . Consider the the map $S_\text{diff} (V) \xrightarrow{\eta} N_\text{diff} (V) $ in the surgery exact sequence of a smooth manifold. . ...
- 141
9
votes
1
answer
322
views
Torsion and nilpotence of framed manifolds under the Pontryagin-Thom map
The framed Pontryagin Thom construction produces a graded ring isomorphism from the framed cobordism ring $\Omega^{fr}_*$ to the stable ring of homotopy groups of spheres $\pi_*(\mathbb{S})$. I have a ...
2
votes
0
answers
105
views
Unstably dualizable maps
Call a map between compact, connected framed $n$-manifolds $f:M \rightarrow N$ unstably dualizable if there exists an $f':N \rightarrow M$ such that the following diagram commutes up to homotopy:
$$\...
- 5,839
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 $...
- 5,038
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. ...
- 2,052
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 ...
- 1,177
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) \...
- 5,839
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 ...
- 23.5k
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 $\mathbb{D}^n$ ...
- 44.8k
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 ...
- 4,081
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-...
- 1,097
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 ...
- 1,097
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 ...
- 5,839
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 ...
- 803
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 ...
- 44.4k
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/~...
- 14.3k
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 ...
- 439
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 ...
- 309
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 ...
- 11.9k
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 ...
- 19.4k
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?
- 6,995
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 ...
- 11.9k
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 ...
- 10.5k
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 $\...
- 5,529
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 ...
- 10.5k
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 ...
- 11.9k
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 ...
- 14.3k
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 ...
- 7,789
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=...
- 1,329
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\} ...
- 54.6k
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) ...
- 14.3k
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 ...
- 2,147
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 ...
- 2,147
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 ...
- 2,147
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 ...
- 10.5k
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{...
- 1,329
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 ...
- 325
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 ...
- 7,789
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 $M^n$...
- 113
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 ...
- 2,630
5
votes
1
answer
194
views
Continuously varying the singularities of a vector field
An arc field on a topological space $X$ is a continuous function $\Psi: X \rightarrow X^{[0,1]}$ such that for every $x \in X$, the path $\Psi(x): [0,1] \rightarrow X$ (1) starts at $x$, (2) is ...
- 1,726
11
votes
1
answer
454
views
Is there a closed 5-manifold $M$ with $w_1(M)w_2(M)\ne 0$?
I'm trying to find generating manifolds for the cobordism group $\mathit{MO}_5(K(\mathbb Z/2, 2))\cong (\mathbb Z/2)^4$, which can be represented as the cobordism group of closed 5-manifolds $M$ ...
- 6,881
11
votes
0
answers
650
views
Triangulation of manifolds with corners
Let's begin with some definitions:
A (smooth) manifold with corners is a Hausdroff (and second countable if you want) space that can be covered by open sets homeomorphic to $\mathbb R^{n-m} \times \...
- 909
5
votes
0
answers
163
views
On homeomorphisms non-smooth along submanifolds
Suppose $M_1\supset N_1$ and $M_2\supset N_2$ are two couples consisting of a smooth compact connected manifold $M_i$ with a smooth compact sub-manifold $N_i$.
Suppose there is a homeomorphism $\...
- 14.3k
4
votes
1
answer
220
views
Embedding spaces and surface knots in high dimensional manifolds
This is a variation of Craig's Knot complement diffeomorphism groups and embedding spaces for a different type of very simple manifold (surfaces which have a 1-relator fundamental group instead of ...
- 1,981
12
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Fixed point set of smooth circle action
Suppose $M$ is a connected closed smooth $d$-dimensional manifold, and suppose $S^1 = SO(2)$ acts smoothly on $M$. Then the fixed point set $Y = M^{S^1}$ will be a submanifold of $M$ of even ...
- 11.9k