In the mathematical field of algebraic topology, the fundamental group of a topological space is the group of the equivalence classes under homotopy of the loops contained in the space. It records information about the basic shape, or holes, of the topological space. The fundamental group is the first and simplest homotopy group. The fundamental group is a homotopy invariant—topological spaces that are homotopy equivalent have isomorphic fundamental groups. The fundamental group of a topological space is denoted by .
In mathematics, homology is a general way of associating a sequence of algebraic objects, such as abelian groups or modules, with other mathematical objects such as topological spaces. Homology groups were originally defined in algebraic topology. Similar constructions are available in a wide variety of other contexts, such as abstract algebra, groups, Lie algebras, Galois theory, and algebraic geometry.
In mathematics, group cohomology is a set of mathematical tools used to study groups using cohomology theory, a technique from algebraic topology. Analogous to group representations, group cohomology looks at the group actions of a group G in an associated G-moduleM to elucidate the properties of the group. By treating the G-module as a kind of topological space with elements of representing n-simplices, topological properties of the space may be computed, such as the set of cohomology groups . The cohomology groups in turn provide insight into the structure of the group G and G-module M themselves. Group cohomology plays a role in the investigation of fixed points of a group action in a module or space and the quotient module or space with respect to a group action. Group cohomology is used in the fields of abstract algebra, homological algebra, algebraic topology and algebraic number theory, as well as in applications to group theory proper. As in algebraic topology, there is a dual theory called group homology. The techniques of group cohomology can also be extended to the case that instead of a G-module, G acts on a nonabelian G-group; in effect, a generalization of a module to non-Abelian coefficients.
A covering of a topological space is a continuous map with special properties.
In mathematics, homotopy groups are used in algebraic topology to classify topological spaces. The first and simplest homotopy group is the fundamental group, denoted which records information about loops in a space. Intuitively, homotopy groups record information about the basic shape, or holes, of a topological space.
In algebraic topology, the Betti numbers are used to distinguish topological spaces based on the connectivity of n-dimensional simplicial complexes. For the most reasonable finite-dimensional spaces, the sequence of Betti numbers is 0 from some point onward, and they are all finite.
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 mathematics, the Hurewicz theorem is a basic result of algebraic topology, connecting homotopy theory with homology theory via a map known as the Hurewicz homomorphism. The theorem is named after Witold Hurewicz, and generalizes earlier results of Henri Poincaré.
In algebraic topology, a branch of mathematics, a spectrum is an object representing a generalized cohomology theory. Every such cohomology theory is representable, as follows from Brown's representability theorem. This means that, given a cohomology theory
,
In algebraic topology, simplicial homology is the sequence of homology groups of a simplicial complex. It formalizes the idea of the number of holes of a given dimension in the complex. This generalizes the number of connected components.
In mathematics, specifically algebraic topology, an Eilenberg–MacLane space is a topological space with a single nontrivial homotopy group.
In algebraic topology, homotopical connectivity is a property describing a topological space based on the dimension of its holes. In general, low homotopical connectivity indicates that the space has at least one low-dimensional hole. The concept of n-connectedness generalizes the concepts of path-connectedness and simple connectedness.
In mathematics, the Abel–Jacobi map is a construction of algebraic geometry which relates an algebraic curve to its Jacobian variety. In Riemannian geometry, it is a more general construction mapping a manifold to its Jacobi torus. The name derives from the theorem of Abel and Jacobi that two effective divisors are linearly equivalent if and only if they are indistinguishable under the Abel–Jacobi map.
In mathematics and specifically in topology, rational homotopy theory is a simplified version of homotopy theory for topological spaces, in which all torsion in the homotopy groups is ignored. It was founded by Dennis Sullivan (1977) and Daniel Quillen (1969). This simplification of homotopy theory makes certain calculations much easier.
In homotopy theory, a branch of algebraic topology, a Postnikov system is a way of decomposing a topological space's homotopy groups using an inverse system of topological spaces whose homotopy type at degree agrees with the truncated homotopy type of the original space . Postnikov systems were introduced by, and are named after, Mikhail Postnikov.
In mathematics, an n-group, or n-dimensional higher group, is a special kind of n-category that generalises the concept of group to higher-dimensional algebra. Here, may be any natural number or infinity. The thesis of Alexander Grothendieck's student Hoàng Xuân Sính was an in-depth study of 2-groups under the moniker 'gr-category'.
In homotopy theory, a branch of mathematics, the Barratt–Priddy theorem expresses a connection between the homology of the symmetric groups and mapping spaces of spheres. The theorem is also often stated as a relation between the sphere spectrum and the classifying spaces of the symmetric groups via Quillen's plus construction.
This is a glossary of properties and concepts in algebraic topology in mathematics.
In algebraic topology and graph theory, graph homology describes the homology groups of a graph, where the graph is considered as a topological space. It formalizes the idea of the number of "holes" in the graph. It is a special case of a simplicial homology, as a graph is a special case of a simplicial complex. Since a finite graph is a 1-complex, the only non-trivial homology groups are the 0-th group and the 1-th group.
In mathematics, an Abelian 2-group is a higher dimensional analogue of an Abelian group, in the sense of higher algebra, which were originally introduced by Alexander Grothendieck while studying abstract structures surrounding Abelian varieties and Picard groups. More concretely, they are given by groupoids which have a bifunctor which acts formally like the addition an Abelian group. Namely, the bifunctor has a notion of commutativity, associativity, and an identity structure. Although this seems like a rather lofty and abstract structure, there are several examples of Abelian 2-groups. In fact, some of which provide prototypes for more complex examples of higher algebraic structures, such as Abelian n-groups.
