In mathematics, an open cover of a topological space is a family of open subsets such that is the union of all of the open sets. A good cover is an open cover in which all sets and all non-empty intersections of finitely-many sets are contractible ( Petersen 2006 ).
The concept was introduced by André Weil in 1952 for differentiable manifolds, demanding the to be differentiably contractible. A modern version of this definition appears in Bott & Tu (1982).
A major reason for the notion of a good cover is that the Leray spectral sequence of a fiber bundle degenerates for a good cover, and so the Čech cohomology associated with a good cover is the same as the Čech cohomology of the space. (Such a cover is known as a Leray cover.) However, for the purposes of computing the Čech cohomology it suffices to have a more relaxed definition of a good cover in which all intersections of finitely many open sets have contractible connected components. This follows from the fact that higher derived functors can be computed using acyclic resolutions.
The two-dimensional surface of a sphere has an open cover by two contractible sets, open neighborhoods of opposite hemispheres. However these two sets have an intersection that forms a non-contractible equatorial band. To form a good cover for this surface, one needs at least four open sets. A good cover can be formed by projecting the faces of a tetrahedron onto a sphere in which it is inscribed, and taking an open neighborhood of each face. The more relaxed definition of a good cover allows us to do this using only three open sets. A cover can be formed by choosing two diametrically opposite points on the sphere, drawing three non-intersecting segments lying on the sphere connecting them and taking open neighborhoods of the resulting faces.
In mathematics, a paracompact space is a topological space in which every open cover has an open refinement that is locally finite. These spaces were introduced by Dieudonné (1944). Every compact space is paracompact. Every paracompact Hausdorff space is normal, and a Hausdorff space is paracompact if and only if it admits partitions of unity subordinate to any open cover. Sometimes paracompact spaces are defined so as to always be Hausdorff.
In mathematics, specifically in homology theory and algebraic topology, cohomology is a general term for a sequence of abelian groups, usually one associated with a topological space, often defined from a cochain complex. Cohomology can be viewed as a method of assigning richer algebraic invariants to a space than homology. Some versions of cohomology arise by dualizing the construction of homology. In other words, cochains are functions on the group of chains in homology theory.
In mathematics, de Rham cohomology is a tool belonging both to algebraic topology and to differential topology, capable of expressing basic topological information about smooth manifolds in a form particularly adapted to computation and the concrete representation of cohomology classes. It is a cohomology theory based on the existence of differential forms with prescribed properties.
In mathematics, the Weil conjectures were highly influential proposals by André Weil (1949). They led to a successful multi-decade program to prove them, in which many leading researchers developed the framework of modern algebraic geometry and number theory.
In mathematics, a sheaf is a tool for systematically tracking data attached to the open sets of a topological space and defined locally with regard to them. For example, for each open set, the data could be the ring of continuous functions defined on that open set. Such data is well behaved in that it can be restricted to smaller open sets, and also the data assigned to an open set is equivalent to all collections of compatible data assigned to collections of smaller open sets covering the original open set.
In mathematics, and more particularly in set theory, a cover of a set is a family of subsets of whose union is all of . More formally, if is an indexed family of subsets , then is a cover of if . Thus the collection is a cover of if each element of belongs to at least one of the subsets .
A CW complex is a kind of a topological space that is particularly important in algebraic topology. It was introduced by J. H. C. Whitehead to meet the needs of homotopy theory. This class of spaces is broader and has some better categorical properties than simplicial complexes, but still retains a combinatorial nature that allows for computation. The C stands for "closure-finite", and the W for "weak" topology.
In mathematics, particularly algebraic topology and homology theory, the Mayer–Vietoris sequence is an algebraic tool to help compute algebraic invariants of topological spaces, known as their homology and cohomology groups. The result is due to two Austrian mathematicians, Walther Mayer and Leopold Vietoris. The method consists of splitting a space into subspaces, for which the homology or cohomology groups may be easier to compute. The sequence relates the (co)homology groups of the space to the (co)homology groups of the subspaces. It is a natural long exact sequence, whose entries are the (co)homology groups of the whole space, the direct sum of the (co)homology groups of the subspaces, and the (co)homology groups of the intersection of the subspaces.
In algebraic geometry, motives is a theory proposed by Alexander Grothendieck in the 1960s to unify the vast array of similarly behaved cohomology theories such as singular cohomology, de Rham cohomology, etale cohomology, and crystalline cohomology. Philosophically, a "motif" is the "cohomology essence" of a variety.
In mathematics, specifically algebraic topology, Čech cohomology is a cohomology theory based on the intersection properties of open covers of a topological space. It is named for the mathematician Eduard Čech.
In mathematics, sheaf cohomology is the application of homological algebra to analyze the global sections of a sheaf on a topological space. Broadly speaking, sheaf cohomology describes the obstructions to solving a geometric problem globally when it can be solved locally. The central work for the study of sheaf cohomology is Grothendieck's 1957 Tôhoku paper.
In mathematics, a differentiable manifold is a type of manifold that is locally similar enough to a vector space to allow one to apply calculus. Any manifold can be described by a collection of charts (atlas). One may then apply ideas from calculus while working within the individual charts, since each chart lies within a vector space to which the usual rules of calculus apply. If the charts are suitably compatible, then computations done in one chart are valid in any other differentiable chart.
In mathematics, specifically in symplectic topology and algebraic geometry, Gromov–Witten (GW) invariants are rational numbers that, in certain situations, count pseudoholomorphic curves meeting prescribed conditions in a given symplectic manifold. The GW invariants may be packaged as a homology or cohomology class in an appropriate space, or as the deformed cup product of quantum cohomology. These invariants have been used to distinguish symplectic manifolds that were previously indistinguishable. They also play a crucial role in closed type IIA string theory. They are named after Mikhail Gromov and Edward Witten.
In algebraic geometry, a noetherian scheme is a scheme that admits a finite covering by open affine subsets , noetherian rings. More generally, a scheme is locally noetherian if it is covered by spectra of noetherian rings. Thus, a scheme is noetherian if and only if it is locally noetherian and quasi-compact. As with noetherian rings, the concept is named after Emmy Noether.
In mathematics, a Leray cover(ing) is a cover of a topological space which allows for easy calculation of its cohomology. Such covers are named after Jean Leray.
In mathematics, equivariant cohomology is a cohomology theory from algebraic topology which applies to topological spaces with a group action. It can be viewed as a common generalization of group cohomology and an ordinary cohomology theory. Specifically, the equivariant cohomology ring of a space with action of a topological group is defined as the ordinary cohomology ring with coefficient ring of the homotopy quotient :
In algebraic topology and algebraic geometry, Leray's theorem relates abstract sheaf cohomology with Čech cohomology.
In mathematics, the Leray spectral sequence was a pioneering example in homological algebra, introduced in 1946 by Jean Leray. It is usually seen nowadays as a special case of the Grothendieck spectral sequence.
In algebraic topology, a branch of mathematics, the Čech-to-derived functor spectral sequence is a spectral sequence that relates Čech cohomology of a sheaf and sheaf cohomology.
In mathematics, and in particular homotopy theory, a hypercovering is a simplicial object that generalises the Čech nerve of a cover. For the Čech nerve of an open cover , one can show that if the space is compact and if every intersection of open sets in the cover is contractible, then one can contract these sets and get a simplicial set that is weakly equivalent to in a natural way. For the étale topology and other sites, these conditions fail. The idea of a hypercover is to instead of only working with -fold intersections of the sets of the given open cover , to allow the pairwise intersections of the sets in to be covered by an open cover , and to let the triple intersections of this cover to be covered by yet another open cover , and so on, iteratively. Hypercoverings have a central role in étale homotopy and other areas where homotopy theory is applied to algebraic geometry, such as motivic homotopy theory.
