Presheaf (category theory)In , a branch of mathematics, a presheaf on a is a functor . If is the poset of open sets in a topological space, interpreted as a category, then one recovers the usual notion of presheaf on a topological space. A morphism of presheaves is defined to be a natural transformation of functors. This makes the collection of all presheaves on into a category, and is an example of a . It is often written as . A functor into is sometimes called a profunctor.
Nerve (category theory)In , a discipline within mathematics, the nerve N(C) of a C is a simplicial set constructed from the objects and morphisms of C. The geometric realization of this simplicial set is a topological space, called the classifying space of the category C. These closely related objects can provide information about some familiar and useful categories using algebraic topology, most often homotopy theory. The nerve of a category is often used to construct topological versions of moduli spaces.
SymmetrySymmetry () in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, the term has a more precise definition and is usually used to refer to an object that is invariant under some transformations, such as translation, reflection, rotation, or scaling. Although these two meanings of the word can sometimes be told apart, they are intricately related, and hence are discussed together in this article.
Covering groupIn mathematics, a covering group of a topological group H is a covering space G of H such that G is a topological group and the covering map p : G → H is a continuous group homomorphism. The map p is called the covering homomorphism. A frequently occurring case is a double covering group, a topological double cover in which H has index 2 in G; examples include the spin groups, pin groups, and metaplectic groups.
Discrete spaceIn topology, a discrete space is a particularly simple example of a topological space or similar structure, one in which the points form a , meaning they are isolated from each other in a certain sense. The discrete topology is the finest topology that can be given on a set. Every subset is open in the discrete topology so that in particular, every singleton subset is an open set in the discrete topology.
Symmetry groupIn group theory, the symmetry group of a geometric object is the group of all transformations under which the object is invariant, endowed with the group operation of composition. Such a transformation is an invertible mapping of the ambient space which takes the object to itself, and which preserves all the relevant structure of the object. A frequent notation for the symmetry group of an object X is G = Sym(X). For an object in a metric space, its symmetries form a subgroup of the isometry group of the ambient space.
Symmetry (geometry)In geometry, an object has symmetry if there is an operation or transformation (such as translation, scaling, rotation or reflection) that maps the figure/object onto itself (i.e., the object has an invariance under the transform). Thus, a symmetry can be thought of as an immunity to change. For instance, a circle rotated about its center will have the same shape and size as the original circle, as all points before and after the transform would be indistinguishable.
Fiber (mathematics)In mathematics, the term fiber (US English) or fibre (British English) can have two meanings, depending on the context: In naive set theory, the fiber of the element in the set under a map is the of the singleton under In algebraic geometry, the notion of a fiber of a morphism of schemes must be defined more carefully because, in general, not every is closed. Let be a function between sets. The fiber of an element (or fiber over ) under the map is the set that is, the set of elements that get mapped to by the function.
Permutation groupIn mathematics, a permutation group is a group G whose elements are permutations of a given set M and whose group operation is the composition of permutations in G (which are thought of as bijective functions from the set M to itself). The group of all permutations of a set M is the symmetric group of M, often written as Sym(M). The term permutation group thus means a subgroup of the symmetric group. If M = {1, 2, ..., n} then Sym(M) is usually denoted by Sn, and may be called the symmetric group on n letters.
Fiber bundleIn mathematics, and particularly topology, a fiber bundle (or, in Commonwealth English: fibre bundle) is a space that is a product space, but may have a different topological structure. Specifically, the similarity between a space and a product space is defined using a continuous surjective map, that in small regions of behaves just like a projection from corresponding regions of to The map called the projection or submersion of the bundle, is regarded as part of the structure of the bundle.
Icosahedral symmetryIn mathematics, and especially in geometry, an object has icosahedral symmetry if it has the same symmetries as a regular icosahedron. Examples of other polyhedra with icosahedral symmetry include the regular dodecahedron (the dual of the icosahedron) and the rhombic triacontahedron. Every polyhedron with icosahedral symmetry has 60 rotational (or orientation-preserving) symmetries and 60 orientation-reversing symmetries (that combine a rotation and a reflection), for a total symmetry order of 120.
