Top-degree differential forms on even-dimensional real projective space are exact
ID: top-degree-differential-forms-on-even-dimensional-real-projective-space-are-exact
Top-degree differential forms on even-dimensional real projective space are exact by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-11-05
Let . For the double covering map and the antipodal map , every pulled-back top differential form satisfies . Since , its integral over the sphere is its own negative and hence vanishes. Top-dimensional de Rham cohomology of the oriented sphere therefore makes it an exact differential form.
Average a primitive under to obtain an invariant primitive. It descends through the double covering map, proving that is exact on Real projective space. This is the invariant primitive under a finite group action argument. The condition is essential: is a point, whose degree-zero de Rham cohomology is .
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