Skip to main content
Search type Search syntax
Tags [tag]
Exact "words here"
Author user:1234
user:me (yours)
Score score:3 (3+)
score:0 (none)
Answers answers:3 (3+)
answers:0 (none)
isaccepted:yes
hasaccepted:no
inquestion:1234
Views views:250
Code code:"if (foo != bar)"
Sections title:apples
body:"apples oranges"
URL url:"*.example.com"
Saves in:saves
Status closed:yes
duplicate:no
migrated:no
wiki:no
Types is:question
is:answer
Exclude -[tag]
-apples
For more details on advanced search visit our help page
Results tagged with
Search options answers only not deleted user 6666

Topology of cell complexes and manifolds, classification of manifolds (e.g. smoothing, surgery), low dimensional topology (e.g. knot theory, invariants of 4-manifolds), embedding theory, combinatorial and PL topology, geometric group theory, infinite dimensional topology (e.g. Hilbert cube manifolds, theory of retracts).

3 votes

Extending homotopy equivalence between manifolds with boundary

Tangent Stiefel-Whitney classes provide some obstructions. If $\bar f:M_1\to M_2$ is a homotopy equivalence, then $\bar f^\ast w_j(M_2)=w_j(M_1)$, and if $\bar f$ extends a map $f:N_1\to N_2$ where $N …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
31 votes

Examples of non-diffeomorphic smooth manifolds with diffeomorphic tangent bundle

Another good $2$-dimensional example is torus punctured once and sphere punctured three times. These become diffeomorphic when crossed with $\mathbb R$, and they have trivial tangent bundles. More gen …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
7 votes

index of morse functions and homotopical dimension

Suppose that $M$ has a proper Morse function $f\ge 0$ with all critical points of index at most $k$. Then homotopically $M$ can be made of low-dimensional cells: it has homotopical dimension at most $ …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
3 votes

One question on cup product and torsion elements

You can also make an example involving a closed surface. Let $X$ be the connected sum of a torus $T$ and a projective plane, and let $f:X\to T$ be nontrivial on $H^2$. Two elements of $H^1(T)$ whose c …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
14 votes
Accepted

Intersection product in a manifold, taking values in one factor

I don't think you have to get involved with strata or transversality at all. Poincare duality (Edit: and cap products) will do all the work. Let's assume: $M$ is a compact oriented $n$-manifold. $\ …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
10 votes

Is the topological concept of collapsible useful?

To add a little to Ryan's answer: This topic is maybe not exactly a part of algebraic topology. It's more like an area of application of algebraic topology to certain important special classes of sp …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

Conventions for definitions of the cap product

This is just an expanded version of Tyler's comment, I think. Let's use a, b, c for cochains, x, y, z for chains, [a,x] for the value of a cochain on a chain. I'll be lazy and write $ab$ for $a\cup b …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

Local homology of degenerate critical points

$(x^2+y^2)z^2-c(x^2+y^2+z^2)^2$ for small positive $c$. More generally $f-cr^{2d}$ where $f\ge 0$ is a homogeneous polynomial function of degree $2d$ in $n$ variables. The local homology at the orig …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
7 votes

Are there oriented $4k+2$ manifolds such that $im(H_{2k+1}(M; Z/2)\to H_{2k+1}(M, \partial M...

Martin O's answer is very nice. So in an oriented $2n$-manifold with $n$ odd the mod $2$ self-intersection of any $n$-dimensional mod $2$ homology class is $0$. Looking for a more geometric explanat …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
15 votes
Accepted

Smooth structures compatible with a given C^1 structures

See my answer to this question. Consider the space (in some appropriate sense ) of all invertible germs of $C^{\infty}$ maps from $\mathbb R^n$ to itself fixing the origin. This is homotopy equivale …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

Finite-dimensional subgroups of circle diffeomorphism group

If $G$ is a connected Lie group acting transitively and faithfully on a connected smooth $1$-manifold, then $G$ is at most $3$-dimensional; in fact its Lie algebra embeds in that of $SL_2(\mathbb R)$. …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

Generalised linking numbers (where they shouldn't be)

Sort of obvious, but: in general you get lots of linking numbers. If spaces $K$ and $L$ are mapped disjointly into $\mathbb R^n$ then for every $a\in H_i(K)$ and $b\in H_j(L)$ with $i+j=n-1$ you get a …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
2 votes

What is the normalizer of the circle in the diffeomorphism group of the 2-sphere?

Let's call your coordinates $\phi$ and $\theta$, as is more usual. Thus $(x,y,z)=(sin \phi\ cos\theta, sin\phi\ sin\theta, cos\phi)$. Yes, in the centralizer of $SO(2)$ there is the group that leave …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
26 votes
Accepted

Extending a diffeomorphism of the sphere $S^2$ to the ball $D^3$

More a survey of related things than an answer, but here goes. Let's write $D(n)$ for the space of compactly supported diffeomorphisms $\mathbb R^n\to \mathbb R^n$. A reasonable guess might be that t …
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar
1 vote

Is the intersection of boundaries of convex bodies a topological sphere?

Here is a well known counterexample. Edit: Oh, sorry, a disjoint union of spheres is allowed. I misread the question.
Tom Goodwillie's user avatar

15 30 50 per page