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Lecture

Homotopic Extension Problem

In course

MATH-497: Topology IV.b - homotopy theory

We propose an introduction to homotopy theory for topological spaces. We define higher homotopy groups and relate them to homology groups. We introduce (co)fibration sequences, loop spaces, and suspensions. We study long exact sequences. We construct Eilen ...

Description

This lecture focuses on solving the homotopic extension problem for composite maps by decomposing it into two problems: finding a homotopy and a vibration. The instructor explains how an infinite composition in a CW complex gives a cofibration operation, and demonstrates the process of constructing a relative CW complex. Through detailed examples and proofs, the lecture covers the concept of attaching cells to a subspace and how inclusions in CW complexes are cuff vibrations. The lecture concludes with a discussion on turning any map into a vibration using the cylinder of the map, and the application of the hamotopic extension property to ensure uniqueness in CW approximations.

Instructor

Jérôme Scherer

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Mathematics

Topology: Algebraic topology

Related concepts (32)

CW complex

A CW complex (also called cellular complex or cell 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 properties than simplicial complexes, but still retains a combinatorial nature that allows for computation (often with a much smaller complex). The C stands for "closure-finite", and the W for "weak" topology.

Homotopy group

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. To define the n-th homotopy group, the base-point-preserving maps from an n-dimensional sphere (with base point) into a given space (with base point) are collected into equivalence classes, called homotopy classes.

Homotopy

In topology, a branch of mathematics, two continuous functions from one topological space to another are called homotopic (from ὁμός "same, similar" and τόπος "place") if one can be "continuously deformed" into the other, such a deformation being called a homotopy (həˈmɒtəpiː, ; ˈhoʊmoʊˌtoʊpiː, ) between the two functions. A notable use of homotopy is the definition of homotopy groups and cohomotopy groups, important invariants in algebraic topology. In practice, there are technical difficulties in using homotopies with certain spaces.

Simplicial complex

In mathematics, a simplicial complex is a set composed of points, line segments, triangles, and their n-dimensional counterparts (see illustration). Simplicial complexes should not be confused with the more abstract notion of a simplicial set appearing in modern simplicial homotopy theory. The purely combinatorial counterpart to a simplicial complex is an abstract simplicial complex. To distinguish a simplicial complex from an abstract simplicial complex, the former is often called a geometric simplicial complex.

Cofibration

In mathematics, in particular homotopy theory, a continuous mapping between topological spaces is a cofibration if it has the homotopy extension property with respect to all topological spaces . That is, is a cofibration if for each topological space , and for any continuous maps and with , for any homotopy from to , there is a continuous map and a homotopy from to such that for all and . (Here, denotes the unit interval .

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