Motivic cohomologyMotivic cohomology is an invariant of algebraic varieties and of more general schemes. It is a type of cohomology related to motives and includes the Chow ring of algebraic cycles as a special case. Some of the deepest problems in algebraic geometry and number theory are attempts to understand motivic cohomology. Let X be a scheme of finite type over a field k. A key goal of algebraic geometry is to compute the Chow groups of X, because they give strong information about all subvarieties of X.
Chain (algebraic topology)In algebraic topology, a -chain is a formal linear combination of the -cells in a cell complex. In simplicial complexes (respectively, cubical complexes), -chains are combinations of -simplices (respectively, -cubes), but not necessarily connected. Chains are used in homology; the elements of a homology group are equivalence classes of chains. For a simplicial complex , the group of -chains of is given by: where are singular -simplices of . Note that any element in not necessary to be a connected simplicial complex.
Steenrod algebraIn algebraic topology, a Steenrod algebra was defined by to be the algebra of stable cohomology operations for mod cohomology. For a given prime number , the Steenrod algebra is the graded Hopf algebra over the field of order , consisting of all stable cohomology operations for mod cohomology. It is generated by the Steenrod squares introduced by for , and by the Steenrod reduced th powers introduced in and the Bockstein homomorphism for . The term "Steenrod algebra" is also sometimes used for the algebra of cohomology operations of a generalized cohomology theory.
Weil cohomology theoryIn algebraic geometry, a Weil cohomology or Weil cohomology theory is a cohomology satisfying certain axioms concerning the interplay of algebraic cycles and cohomology groups. The name is in honor of André Weil. Any Weil cohomology theory factors uniquely through the of Chow motives, but the category of Chow motives itself is not a Weil cohomology theory, since it is not an . Fix a base field k of arbitrary characteristic and a "coefficient field" K of characteristic zero.
Reduced homologyIn 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}.
Local cohomologyIn algebraic geometry, local cohomology is an algebraic analogue of relative cohomology. Alexander Grothendieck introduced it in seminars in Harvard in 1961 written up by , and in 1961-2 at IHES written up as SGA2 - , republished as . Given a function (more generally, a section of a quasicoherent sheaf) defined on an open subset of an algebraic variety (or scheme), local cohomology measures the obstruction to extending that function to a larger domain.
Transversality (mathematics)In mathematics, transversality is a notion that describes how spaces can intersect; transversality can be seen as the "opposite" of tangency, and plays a role in general position. It formalizes the idea of a generic intersection in differential topology. It is defined by considering the linearizations of the intersecting spaces at the points of intersection. Two submanifolds of a given finite-dimensional smooth manifold are said to intersect transversally if at every point of intersection, their separate tangent spaces at that point together generate the tangent space of the ambient manifold at that point.
Pontryagin classIn mathematics, the Pontryagin classes, named after Lev Pontryagin, are certain characteristic classes of real vector bundles. The Pontryagin classes lie in cohomology groups with degrees a multiple of four. Given a real vector bundle E over M, its k-th Pontryagin class is defined as where: denotes the -th Chern class of the complexification of E, is the -cohomology group of M with integer coefficients. The rational Pontryagin class is defined to be the image of in , the -cohomology group of M with rational coefficients.
Koszul complexIn mathematics, the Koszul complex was first introduced to define a cohomology theory for Lie algebras, by Jean-Louis Koszul (see Lie algebra cohomology). It turned out to be a useful general construction in homological algebra. As a tool, its homology can be used to tell when a set of elements of a (local) ring is an M-regular sequence, and hence it can be used to prove basic facts about the depth of a module or ideal which is an algebraic notion of dimension that is related to but different from the geometric notion of Krull dimension.
Cap productIn algebraic topology the cap product is a method of adjoining a chain of degree p with a cochain of degree q, such that q ≤ p, to form a composite chain of degree p − q. It was introduced by Eduard Čech in 1936, and independently by Hassler Whitney in 1938. Let X be a topological space and R a coefficient ring. The cap product is a bilinear map on singular homology and cohomology defined by contracting a singular chain with a singular cochain by the formula: Here, the notation indicates the restriction of the simplicial map to its face spanned by the vectors of the base, see Simplex.
