Skip to main content
2 of 2
fixed a glitch
Manfred Weis
  • 13.2k
  • 4
  • 34
  • 76

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 been able to solve it. I suspect the answer is negative but I´m not very sure. Also, is there an area of topology which studies questions like this one?

Saúl RM
  • 10.6k
  • 2
  • 28
  • 48