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Lecture

Bar Construction: Homology Groups and Classifying Space

In course

MATH-506: Topology IV.a - Cohomology rings

Singular cohomology is defined by dualizing the singular chain complex for spaces. We will study its basic properties, see how it acquires a multiplicative structure and becomes a graded commutative algebra. We study an algebraic version, namely group coho ...

Description

This lecture introduces the bar construction method to compute the first and second homology groups of a group G, construct the classifying space BG, and nearly prove the Hopf formula for the second homology group. The bar resolution is used to construct a free ZG-resolution of the trivial ZG-module. The lecture progresses through the construction of the classifying space BG and discusses the relationship between the homology groups and the classifying space. The presentation concludes with a detailed explanation of the action of G on the cells of the classifying space and the universal cover of BG.

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Ontological neighbourhood

Mathematics

Algebra: Abstract algebra, Representation theory

Topology: Algebraic topology

Health sciences

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Related concepts (32)

Singular homology

In algebraic topology, singular homology refers to the study of a certain set of algebraic invariants of a topological space X, the so-called homology groups Intuitively, singular homology counts, for each dimension n, the n-dimensional holes of a space. Singular homology is a particular example of a homology theory, which has now grown to be a rather broad collection of theories. Of the various theories, it is perhaps one of the simpler ones to understand, being built on fairly concrete constructions (see also the related theory simplicial homology).

Relative homology

In algebraic topology, a branch of mathematics, the (singular) homology of a topological space relative to a subspace is a construction in singular homology, for pairs of spaces. The relative homology is useful and important in several ways. Intuitively, it helps determine what part of an absolute homology group comes from which subspace. Given a subspace , one may form the short exact sequence where denotes the singular chains on the space X. The boundary map on descends to and therefore induces a boundary map on the quotient.

Module (mathematics)

In mathematics, a module is a generalization of the notion of vector space in which the field of scalars is replaced by a ring. The concept of module generalizes also the notion of abelian group, since the abelian groups are exactly the modules over the ring of integers. Like a vector space, a module is an additive abelian group, and scalar multiplication is distributive over the operation of addition between elements of the ring or module and is compatible with the ring multiplication.

Reduced homology

In mathematics, reduced homology is a minor modification made to homology theory in algebraic topology, motivated by the intuition that all of the homology groups of a single point should be equal to zero. This modification allows more concise statements to be made (as in Alexander duality) and eliminates many exceptional cases (as in the homology groups of spheres). If P is a single-point space, then with the usual definitions the integral homology group H0(P) is isomorphic to (an infinite cyclic group), while for i ≥ 1 we have Hi(P) = {0}.

Resolution (algebra)

In mathematics, and more specifically in homological algebra, a resolution (or left resolution; dually a coresolution or right resolution) is an exact sequence of modules (or, more generally, of s of an ), which is used to define invariants characterizing the structure of a specific module or object of this category. When, as usually, arrows are oriented to the right, the sequence is supposed to be infinite to the left for (left) resolutions, and to the right for right resolutions.

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