Questions tagged [homology-cohomology]

Use this tag if your question involves some type of (co)homology, including (but not limited to) simplicial, singular or group (co)homology. Consider the tag (homological-algebra) for more abstract aspects of (co)homology theory.

A chain complex $(A_{\bullet}, d_{\bullet})$ is a sequence $(A_n)_{-\infty}^{\infty}$ of abelian groups (or modules) and group (module) homomorphisms $d_n : A_n \to A_{n-1}$ such that $d_{n-1}\circ d_n = 0$. This data can be represented as follows:

$$\cdots \xrightarrow{d_{n+1}} A_n \xrightarrow{d_n} A_{n-1} \xrightarrow{d_{n-1}} \cdots$$

The homology of a chain complex is the sequence of abelian groups

$$H_n = \frac{\ker d_n}{\operatorname{im}d_{n+1}}.$$

Dually, a cochain complex is a sequence $(A_{\bullet}, d_{\bullet})$ of abelian groups where $d_n : A_n \to A_{n+1}$.

There are many common types of (co)homology including simplicial (co)homology, singular (co)homology, and group (co)homology. A more extensive list can be found here.

Simplicial homology and singular homology are examples of homology theories attached to a topological space. The Eilenberg-Steenrod axioms are a collection of properties that such homology theories share.

For the more abstract aspects of (co)homology theory, the tag may be more appropriate.

5463 questions
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Homology groups of a Pokeball

I tried to discover the singular homology groups of a simplex, but I found some dificulties and want to know if someone knows what I've got wrong. The simplex is the following (0-cells are in blue, 1-cells in red and 2-cells in yellow): As it looks…
TPace
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Which cohomology theories have a formula $\langle \Omega,\text d \omega \rangle = \langle \partial \Omega,\omega \rangle$?

Is a formula $$\langle \Omega,\text d \omega \rangle = \langle \partial \Omega,\omega \rangle$$ like Stokes theorem $$\int_\Omega \text d \omega=\int_{\partial\Omega} \omega$$ common in cohomology theories? Are there relevant examples and what is…
Nikolaj-K
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Simplicial Cup Product and Orientability.

One way to define the cup product on a finite simplicial complex $K$ is as follows. i) Choose a partial ordering on the vertex set of $K$ which induces a total ordering on the vertex set of any simplex. The $p$-th chain group $C_p(K)$ is then the…
James
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What's a cohomology that's not defined from a cochain complex?

According to Wikipedia: In mathematics, specifically in homology theory and algebraic topology, cohomology is a general term for a sequence of abelian groups associated to a topological space, often defined from a cochain complex. (emphasis…
user223391
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Computing cohomology of product space with product-ring coefficients

I'm interested in the following problem: Let $X$ and $Y$ be finite CW complexes and $R$ and $S$ rings. Suppose you are given the cohomology rings $H^* (X; R)$ and $H^* (Y; S)$. Is there an easy way to compute $H^* (X \times Y; R \times S)$? The…
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Intuitive definition of Čech cohomology for compact surfaces

Let $X$ be a smooth compact $k$-surface in $\mathbb R^n$ without boundary. Today on my lection lecturer introduced Čech cohomology as follows (not like in Wikipedia): let $\mathcal U$ be a finite open cover of $X$ with sufficiently small balls. For…
Appliqué
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Two Definitions of Cohomologies

There are two definitions of cohomologies I've found so far: The first (very good to understand) definition is via coboundaries and is very often written as $$ H^p = {Z^p}/{B^p} ,$$ and the second one is $$ H^p = Ext_g^p .$$ I have no clue why they…
4
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Why *formal* linear combination?

In Lee's Introduction to topological manifolds on page 340 he writes that an element of $C_p(X)$ can be written as a formal linear combination of singular $p$-simplices. Similarly, on Wikipedia's entry on singular homology the chain groups are…
self-learner
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Find the homology group of a certain simplicial complex

There is an exercise on my textbook (translated from Chinese): Calculate the homology group of the simplicial complex $K$ corresponding to the following graph It is difficult for me to find the $n$-simplex in $K$. Denote $K_n$ as the set of…
ShinyaSakai
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Examples showing the usefulness of derived categories

What are examples that show that derived categories really makes things easier/more transparent/have a real use?
user5262
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Relative homology of $M^k$ and the fat diagonal

For every topological space $M$ and some $k \geq 2$, recall the fat diagonal $M^k_{k-1} \subset M^k$, defined via $$ M^k_{k-1} := \{(x_1,\dots,x_k) \in M^k : \exists i \neq j \text{ with } x_i = x_j\}.$$ I would like to understand the relative…
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What is a high level reason for the fecundity of (co)homological algebra?

A colleague once disparaged his own research to me by saying that it didn't involve any sort of cohomology. It does, in fact, seem like homological ideas appear across disciplines...and are considered to be mathematically "sexy". I wonder what the…
Jon Bannon
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cup product well definedness

So the cup product is not well defined over co-chain groups, but all the books claim it is well defined over co-homology groups. The only thing I am not clear on is invariance under ordering/re-ordering of simplices when we go to the co-homology…
rhl
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Cyclic cohomology

In defining the cyclic cohomology of an associative algebra $A$, over a field $k$, the Hochschild complex with coefficients in $A^*=Hom_k(A, k)$ is used. We obtain the complex $(C_\lambda^n, b)$, where $C_\lambda^n=Hom_k(A^{\otimes(n+1)}, k)$ and…
Magda
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induced homomorphism in homology

I've read a lot about induced homomorphisms in homology, but I need to see it on some examples. Let's say we have an inclusion $i: S^0 \to D^1$ and it induces the homomorphism $i_*: H_0(S^0) \to H_0(D^1)$. I know that $H_0(S^0) = \mathbb{Z} \times…
Barabara
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