Dehn twistIn geometric topology, a branch of mathematics, a Dehn twist is a certain type of self-homeomorphism of a surface (two-dimensional manifold). Suppose that c is a simple closed curve in a closed, orientable surface S. Let A be a tubular neighborhood of c. Then A is an annulus, homeomorphic to the Cartesian product of a circle and a unit interval I: Give A coordinates (s, t) where s is a complex number of the form with and t ∈ [0, 1]. Let f be the map from S to itself which is the identity outside of A and inside A we have Then f is a Dehn twist about the curve c.
Morse theoryIn mathematics, specifically in differential topology, Morse theory enables one to analyze the topology of a manifold by studying differentiable functions on that manifold. According to the basic insights of Marston Morse, a typical differentiable function on a manifold will reflect the topology quite directly. Morse theory allows one to find CW structures and handle decompositions on manifolds and to obtain substantial information about their homology.
Whitehead torsionIn geometric topology, a field within mathematics, the obstruction to a homotopy equivalence of finite CW-complexes being a simple homotopy equivalence is its Whitehead torsion which is an element in the Whitehead group . These concepts are named after the mathematician J. H. C. Whitehead. The Whitehead torsion is important in applying surgery theory to non-simply connected manifolds of dimension > 4: for simply-connected manifolds, the Whitehead group vanishes, and thus homotopy equivalences and simple homotopy equivalences are the same.
Torus bundleA torus bundle, in the sub-field of geometric topology in mathematics, is a kind of surface bundle over the circle, which in turn is a class of three-manifolds. To obtain a torus bundle: let be an orientation-preserving homeomorphism of the two-dimensional torus to itself. Then the three-manifold is obtained by taking the Cartesian product of and the unit interval and gluing one component of the boundary of the resulting manifold to the other boundary component via the map . Then is the torus bundle with monodromy .
Mapping class groupIn mathematics, in the subfield of geometric topology, the mapping class group is an important algebraic invariant of a topological space. Briefly, the mapping class group is a certain discrete group corresponding to symmetries of the space. Consider a topological space, that is, a space with some notion of closeness between points in the space. We can consider the set of homeomorphisms from the space into itself, that is, continuous maps with continuous inverses: functions which stretch and deform the space continuously without breaking or gluing the space.
SubmanifoldIn mathematics, a submanifold of a manifold M is a subset S which itself has the structure of a manifold, and for which the inclusion map S → M satisfies certain properties. There are different types of submanifolds depending on exactly which properties are required. Different authors often have different definitions. In the following we assume all manifolds are differentiable manifolds of class Cr for a fixed r ≥ 1, and all morphisms are differentiable of class Cr.
Heegaard splittingIn the mathematical field of geometric topology, a Heegaard splitting (ˈhe̝ˀˌkɒˀ) is a decomposition of a compact oriented 3-manifold that results from dividing it into two handlebodies. Let V and W be handlebodies of genus g, and let ƒ be an orientation reversing homeomorphism from the boundary of V to the boundary of W. By gluing V to W along ƒ we obtain the compact oriented 3-manifold Every closed, orientable three-manifold may be so obtained; this follows from deep results on the triangulability of three-manifolds due to Moise.
