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For a complex vector bundle $E\to X$ of rank $r$, its Chern classes are integral cohomology classesThey are natural under pullback and obey the Whitney sum formula for Chern classes. For a complex line bundle, $c_1$ is the Euler class of its underlying oriented real two-plane bundle; generally $c_r(E)$ is the Euler class of the underlying real bundle.^[ref]

For example, if $h=c_1(\mathcal{O}(1))$ on Complex projective space, the Euler sequence gives $c(T{\mathbb{P}}^n)=(1+h{)}^{n+1}$, truncated above degree $2n$. For an algebraic vector bundle on a smooth variety, algebraic Chern classes instead belong to the Chow groups; the cycle class map recovers the topological classes over the complex numbers.

Let P,Q be continuous orthogonal projection matrices of equal rank on a common trivial complex vector bundle, with the displayed bound at every base point. Restricting Q to the image of P is injective: if Qv=0, then $v=(P-Q)v$ contradicts the norm bound unless v=0. Equal dimensions give a continuously invertible vector bundle isomorphism. Compactness applies this observation uniformly to a homotopy of image planes.

The orthogonal complements of the universal frames define a complex vector bundle of rank $n-k$ inside the trivial ${\mathbb{C}}^n$ bundle. The orthogonal projector $I-{\sum }_i{v}_i{v}_i^{\ast }$ is smooth of constant rank, giving local bundle frames. Its underlying real bundle has canonical orientation and rank $2(n-k)$. Its sphere bundle is exactly $V_{k+1}({\mathbb{C}}^n)$, by appending the unit vector in the complement to the frame.

Over ${\mathrm{Gr}}_k({\mathbb{C}}^N)$ this rank-k complex vector bundle has fibre W at the point W. In a chart of planes that are graphs of maps from a fixed k-plane, $(A,w)\mapsto (\mathrm{graph}A,w+Aw)$ gives a local trivialization. The direct-limit bundle over the infinite Grassmannian classifies rank-k bundles over compact Hausdorff spaces.

For finitely many orthonormal local trivializations $t_i$ and a subordinate partition of unity ${\rho }_i$, the displayed map embeds a rank-k complex vector bundle isometrically in $X\times {\mathbb{C}}^{kr}$. Outside the support of each ${\rho }_i$ its component is zero. Its continuous image planes give a finite-dimensional Grassmannian map and identify the original bundle with a tautological pullback.

A rank-$k$ complex vector bundle is a smooth map $\pi :E\to B$ whose fibers are $k$-dimensional complex vector spaces, with local diffeomorphisms ${\Phi }_i:{\pi }^{-1}(U_i)\to U_i\times {\mathbb{C}}^k$ commuting with projection and linear on every fiber. Define transition functions of a vector bundle byThey are smooth and obeyon the appropriate double/triple overlaps. The structure group of a vector bundle is a Lie subgroup $G\subset GL(k,\mathbb{C})$ in which a chosen set of transitions takes values. It records allowed changes of fiber frame; different trivializations may exhibit different reductions of that group.

Using the same cocycle, glue the disjoint union of $U_i\times G$ byThe cocycle makes this an equivalence relation and makes its local charts compatible. Right multiplication $(b,h{)}_i\cdot a=(b,ha{)}_i$ is well-defined because it commutes with the left gluing matrices. It is free and transitive on each fiber. These charts therefore construct the associated right principal bundle $P\to B$ with group $G$.

For the natural line realization, take the complex tautological line bundle $L=\{(\ell ,v):\ell \in {\mathbb{CP}}^1,v\in \ell \subset {\mathbb{C}}^2\}$. Its nonzero vectors identify with ${\mathbb{C}}^2\setminus \{0\}$ by $(\ell ,v)\mapsto v$, with projection $v\mapsto [v]$. On the two standard charts, use $\zeta =z_2/z_1$ and $\eta =z_1/z_2=1/\zeta$. The local frames are $e_0=(1,\zeta )$ and $e_1=(\eta ,1)$, so $e_1=e_0/\zeta$. Normalize them using the ambient Hermitian norm:If $v=t_0{u}_0=t_1{u}_1$, then $t_0=(|\zeta |/\zeta )t_1$. Thus the unitary transitions of the tautological line over the projective line areThese are smooth on the overlap $\zeta \ne 0$. A Hermitian metric on a smooth complex vector bundle generally permits precisely this unitary reduction; here the ambient norm supplies it explicitly.

The corresponding principal circle bundle consists of unit vectors in the tautological line. Sending $(\ell ,v)$ to $v$ identifies its total space with $S^3\subset {\mathbb{C}}^2$, and the right circle action is $v\cdot e^{i\theta }=e^{i\theta }v$. Identify ${\mathbb{CP}}^1$ with $S^2$ usingIts affine-coordinate inverse on the chart $Z\ne -1$ is $\zeta =(X-iY)/(1+Z)$; the other chart handles the missing pole. This gives a diffeomorphism, and the projection becomes the Hopf fibration

There is a distinction if the stated punctured-bundle identification is interpreted only as a projection-preserving diffeomorphism, rather than a fiber-linear identification. It does not determine whether the complex line is tautological or dual: for a nonzero $\varphi \in L_{\ell }^{\ast }$, the unique $v\in \ell$ with $\varphi (v)=1$ gives a smooth map $L^{\ast }\setminus 0\to L\setminus 0$. Locally it is inversion of a nonzero complex number. Thus punctured line bundles do not determine their duality sign.

For completeness, these are the only possible signs here. Complex line bundles over $S^2$ are described by the clutching construction with a loop in ${\mathbb{C}}^{\ast }$, reducible to $S^1$, and its integer winding number determines the bundle: a zero-degree ratio has a logarithm and can be removed by changes of trivializations extending over the two disks. For winding number $d$, the unit circle bundle has fundamental group $\mathbb{Z}/d\mathbb{Z}$, as the two solid-torus trivializations identify the common fiber generator and impose its $d$th power as the equatorial gluing relation. There is a fiberwise radial deformation retraction from the punctured line bundle onto its unit circle bundle. Since ${\mathbb{C}}^2\setminus 0$ retracts to simply connected $S^3$, the hypothesis forces $|d|=1$.

Consequently the allowed unitary transitions are the displayed $g_{01}$ or its reciprocal, according to the bundle's sign. For the dual, the same underlying Hopf projection has the inverse principal action $v\cdot e^{i\theta }=e^{-i\theta }v$. In either case the principal total space and projection are $S^3\to S^2$; the purely diffeomorphic hypothesis alone leaves the circle-action sign unspecified.

Over the Grassmannian ${\mathrm{Gr}}_k({\mathbb{C}}^N)$, the complex tautological bundle on a Grassmannian isIts fibre at $W$ is the k-plane $W$ itself. A neighbourhood of a fixed plane consists of graphs of linear maps $A:W\to W^{\perp }$; $(A,w)\mapsto (\mathrm{graph}A,w+Aw)$ gives a local trivialization. The inclusions of coordinate spaces give the infinite Grassmannian and its tautological rank-k bundle ${\gamma }_k^{\infty }$.

Use the customary compact Hausdorff base convention for the classification of complex vector bundles by a Grassmannian; equivalently the argument uses finite subordinate partitions of unity. Give a rank-k complex vector bundle $E\to X$ a continuous fiber metric given by Hermitian inner products. Choose a finite trivializing cover with local orthonormal coordinates $t_i:E{|}_{U_i}\to U_i\times {\mathbb{C}}^k$, and a subordinate partition of unity ${\rho }_i$ with support contained in $U_i$. Defineextending each component by zero off its support. This is continuous and satisfies $\Vert J_x(v){\Vert }^2={\sum }_i{\rho }_i(x)\Vert v{\Vert }^2=\Vert v{\Vert }^2$, so it is a fibrewise embedding. The image planes vary continuously: in local frames, their orthogonal projection matrix is $J(J^{\ast }J{)}^{-1}{J}^{\ast }$. Thus they define a map $c_E:X\to {\mathrm{Gr}}_k({\mathbb{C}}^{kr})$, and $v\mapsto (x,J_{x}v)$ identifies $E$ with $c_E^{\ast }{\gamma }_k^{\infty }$. This proves that every bundle is a tautological pullback vector bundle, by the finite-dimensional embedding of a complex vector bundle.

We next prove the two independence assertions that turn this construction into a bijection. First, homotopic maps have isomorphic pullback vector bundles. Pulling back along a homotopy gives a bundle over compact Hausdorff $X\times I$; embed that bundle in a finite trivial vector bundle by the construction just given. Its image has a continuous family of rank-k orthogonal projection matrices $P(x,t)$. Compactness gives a subdivision $0=t_0<\cdots <t_s=1$ withRestriction of $P(x,t_{j+1})$ to the image at $t_j$ is injective: if it killed $v$, then $v=(P(x,t_j)-P(x,t_{j+1}))v$, impossible by the strict norm bound unless $v=0$. Equal ranks make it an isomorphism, with continuous local inverses. Composing these bundle maps identifies the endpoint vector bundles. The fact that close orthogonal projections identify their image bundles therefore makes the pullback assignment well-defined on homotopy classes.

Conversely, suppose two classifying maps give isomorphic vector bundles. The infinite Grassmannian has its standard weak CW topology; the compact-subset property of CW complexes puts the compact images of the two maps in finite stages. Their tautological pullback vector bundles therefore give two finite-dimensional embeddings $J_0:E\to {\mathbb{C}}^{N_0}$ and $J_1:E\to {\mathbb{C}}^{N_1}$ of the same bundle, after using the vector bundle isomorphism. In orthogonal coordinate blocks interpolate byAt least one coefficient is nonzero, so every $J_t$ is injective and its image planes give a continuous Grassmannian homotopy. One endpoint uses the first block and the other the second block. Moving the latter coordinate copy to the standard one is a fixed unitary change of coordinates, connected to the identity by a path in the unitary group. Such a path exists by diagonalizing the unitary matrix and continuously varying its eigenvalue phases. Hence the original two maps are homotopic in the infinite Grassmannian. This also proves independence of all embedding and metric choices. Together the two directions establishFor arbitrary non-Hausdorff compact spaces without the required numerability, that usual bundle-classification statement needs additional hypotheses; the construction above specifies precisely the conventional setting being used.

Write $B={\mathrm{Gr}}_k({\mathbb{C}}^{\infty })$. For the assumed fiber bundle $U_k\to \nu \to B$ with contractible total space, the long exact sequence of homotopy groups of a fibration has segmentFor $q\ge 2$ this gives group isomorphisms. For $q=1$, the relevant pointed-set part and connectedness of $U_k$ give ${\pi }_1(B)=0$, corresponding to the single component ${\pi }_0(U_k)$. Thus the claimed formula includes its endpoint:Finally the determinant gives a fiber bundle $S{U}_2\to U_2\to S^1$. Since ${\pi }_3(S^1)={\pi }_4(S^1)=0$, its exact sequence yields ${\pi }_3(U_2)\cong {\pi }_3(S{U}_2)$. The given identification $S{U}_2\cong S^3$ and the degree calculation ${\pi }_3(S^3)=\mathbb{Z}$ therefore giveThe equality of free and based homotopy classes uses the simple connectedness just proved. HenceThe classification of rank-two complex vector bundles over the four-sphere is a bijection of isomorphism classes, labelled by the integer clutching function homotopy class after choosing a generator. It is not an assertion that Whitney sum gives a group operation on bundles of fixed rank two.

For a real or complex vector bundle $E$, choose a fiber metric. Its Thom space is the pointed quotientcollapsing the sphere bundle to one basepoint. When the base is compact, this is the one-point compactification of the total space: fiberwise radial compression identifies the total space with the interior of $D(E)$, and all directions approaching its boundary become the single point at infinity.

Decompose ${\mathbb{C}}^{n+m+2}=V\oplus W$ with $V={\mathbb{C}}^{n+1}$, $W={\mathbb{C}}^{m+1}$, so the subspace being collapsed is $\mathbb{P}(V)={\mathbb{CP}}^n$. Every line outside it has a representative $(v,w)$ with $w\ne 0$. Its projection to $W$ gives the line $\ell =\mathbb{C}w\in \mathbb{P}(W)={\mathbb{CP}}^m$, and there is a unique complex-linear map $A:\ell \to V$ such that $A(w)=v$. The line in $V\oplus W$ is precisely the graph of $A$. This construction is unaffected by replacing $(v,w)$ with $(\lambda v,\lambda w)$.

Let $\gamma ={\eta }_1$ be the tautological line over $\mathbb{P}(W)$. The graph construction and its inverse are continuous, indeed smooth in the usual affine charts, and identifyA Hermitian metric gives a complex-linear bundle isomorphism $\bar{\gamma }\cong {\gamma }^{\ast }$. With the Hermitian form linear in its first argument, it sends $\bar{v}$ to the functional $w\mapsto ⟨w,v⟩$. Linearity in the conjugate vector is exactly what makes this a complex, rather than merely real, isomorphism. Thus the bundle is $({\bar{\eta }}_1{)}^{\oplus (n+1)}$, with the conjugation bars present in the original PDF.

Collapsing the closed subspace ${\mathbb{CP}}^n$ in compact Hausdorff space ${\mathbb{CP}}^{n+m+1}$ gives the one-point compactification of its open complement: neighborhoods of the collapsed point have compact complements, and conversely every compact subset of the complement is closed in the ambient space. The graph homeomorphism therefore extends over the added point. This proves the projective-space quotient as a Thom space of conjugate tautological lines:

The graph coordinates also determine the normal complex structures requested in the second part. The copy $\mathbb{P}(W)$ corresponds to the zero section of the graph bundle, whose normal bundle is that bundle itself. For a coordinate embedding ${\mathbb{CP}}^k\subset {\mathbb{CP}}^n$, use $W={\mathbb{C}}^{k+1}$ and its complementary coordinate space $V={\mathbb{C}}^{n-k}$. Then the normal bundle of a linear complex-projective embedding isThe complex structure is the linear structure in these graph coordinates. Equivalently, applying the preceding homeomorphism with its parameters $n-k-1$ and $k$ identifies the Thom space of this normal bundle with ${\mathbb{CP}}^n/{\mathbb{CP}}^{n-k-1}$, after reordering coordinates. Define ${\nu }_m$ in the identical way. The Hermitian-metric identification with the conjugate line does not change the complex normal orientation.

The original coordinate embeddings may be nested, so first move one into transverse position. Keep ${\mathbb{CP}}^k=\mathbb{P}(A)$ for the first $k+1$ coordinates, and move ${\mathbb{CP}}^m$ to $\mathbb{P}(B)$ for the last $m+1$ coordinates. A unitary coordinate permutation accomplishes this. Every unitary matrix can be joined to the identity by diagonalizing it and varying its eigenvalue phases continuously, so this move is an ambient isotopy. Its trace gives a cobordism carrying the transported normal complex structure, and hence leaves the input cobordism class unchanged.

If $k+m\ge n$, thenTheir projectivizations are transverse and meet in ${\mathbb{CP}}^r$, where $r=k+m-n$. The direct-sum normal structure from question 1 restricts toThe quotient map defining the transverse normal-bundle isomorphism is complex-linear here, so it agrees with the standard normal complex structure and contributes no orientation sign. If $k+m<n$, the first and last coordinate subspaces have no nonzero vector in common, so their projectivizations are disjoint.

Consequently the product of linear projective subspaces in complex cobordism isThe product degree is $2(2n-k-m)$, equal to the real codimension of the stated intersection when it exists. In the equality case $k+m=n$, the representative is one point with its complex-oriented normal space.

Here is an intrinsic definition that also proves well-definedness. For a complex line bundle $L$, define its First Chern class to be the Euler class of its canonically oriented underlying real rank-two bundle: pull its integral Thom class back along the zero section after forgetting relative support. The complex orientation fixes the sign, so this construction makes no arbitrary choice of generator.

For a rank-$r>0$ complex vector bundle $E$, let $\pi :\mathbb{P}(E)\to X$ be its projective bundle of lines, let $S\subset {\pi }^{\ast }E$ be the tautological bundle, and put $h=-c_1(S)=c_1(S^{\ast })$. On every fiber ${\mathbb{CP}}^{r-1}$, $h$ is the positive degree-two generator. The Leray-Hirsch theorem says that if globally defined cohomology classes restrict to a free basis of the cohomology of every fiber, then multiplication by those classes identifies the cohomology of the total space with a free module over the base. Applied here, it givesThe finite trivializing cover in the question is sufficient for this application: the assertion holds on each trivializing open set by the Künneth theorem, since the fiber has finite free cohomology, and the Mayer–Vietoris sequence and the Five lemma glue it over the finite cover. The same local argument constructs the oriented Thom class used for line bundles. It does not require a choice of classifying map.

There are therefore unique classes $c_i(E)\in H^{2i}(X;\mathbb{Z})$ such thatDefine $c_0(E)=1$ and $c_i(E)=0$ for $i>r$. For rank zero the Total Chern class is $1$. This is the projective bundle definition of Chern classes. Existence and uniqueness follow by expressing $h^r$ in the displayed free module basis, with degrees determining each coefficient. The projective bundle and tautological bundle are intrinsic to $E$, and the line Thom class is uniquely fixed by orientation. Hence the resulting Chern classes do not depend on trivializations or other auxiliary choices. For a line bundle the relation is $h+c_1(E)=0$, agreeing with the original normalization. Pulling back this unique relation also proves naturality. This standard construction and the sum theorem are treated in Vector Bundles and K-Theory, Section 3.1.

The requested result is the Whitney sum formula for Chern classes:Here $c(E)=1+c_1(E)+\cdots +c_r(E)$, and the formula holds for complex vector bundles over a common base. In particular, a trivial bundle has total Chern class $1$.

Now take $B={\mathbb{CP}}^{n-1}$ and let $L\subset B\times {\mathbb{C}}^n$ be its tautological bundle. The standard Hermitian inner product gives the rank-$(n-1)$ complex bundle $Q=L^{\perp }$, with $L\oplus Q\cong {\underline{\mathbb{C}}}^n$. The orthogonal complex line flag manifold in the question is precisely $\mathbb{P}(Q)$: over a first line $\ell$, the second line is any line in ${\ell }^{\perp }$. Local orthonormal frames give this identification as a fiber bundle, with fiber ${\mathbb{CP}}^{n-2}$.

Let $x=c_1(L^{\ast })$ on $B$, also writing $x$ for its pullback to $\mathbb{P}(Q)$. By part 3(a), $H^{\ast }(B;\mathbb{Z})=\mathbb{Z}[x]/(x^n)$. The Whitney sum formula for Chern classes givesLet $S_2$ be the second tautological line on $\mathbb{P}(Q)$, and set $y=c_1(S_2^{\ast })$. Thus $x,y$ are exactly the pullbacks of the positive hyperplane classes from the two projective factors. The projective bundle definition of Chern classes for $Q$ givesTogether with $x^n=0$, this gives a surjective graded ring mapThere are no additional relations. Indeed the second relation is monic of degree $n-1$ in $y$, so polynomial division makes its source free over $\mathbb{Z}[x]/(x^n)$ on $1,y,\dots ,y^{n-2}$. The projective bundle formula for complex vector bundles gives exactly the same free basis on the target. The map sends each basis element to its corresponding basis element, and is therefore an isomorphism. ConsequentlyThis is the cohomology ring of the orthogonal complex line flag manifold. Its additive basis is $x^i{y}^j$ with $0\le i<n$, $0\le j<n-1$. As a symmetry check, multiplying the second relation by $y-x$ gives $y^n-x^n=0$, so $y^n=0$ as expected from the second projection. For $n=2$, every line has a unique orthogonal line, and the relations become $x^2=0$, $x+y=0$, giving the ring of ${\mathbb{CP}}^1$. If $n=1$, the space is empty and the second relation is $1=0$, so the printed formula still gives the zero cohomology ring.

Let $E_0,E_1$ be complex vector bundles of rank $d\ge 1$ over a finite CW complex $X$ with $\dim X\le 2d$. Iffor some $r$, then $E_0\cong E_1$: in this dimension range, stable isomorphism already determines the actual vector bundle.

The stabilization $BU(d)\to BU$ of the classifying space for rank-$d$ complex vector bundles is an n-connected map with $n=2d+1$. One sees the range from the fibration with fiber $U(d+1)/U(d)\cong S^{2d+1}$ and then iterates stabilization. The vanishing of the fiber's homotopy groups through degree $2d$ allows a stable homotopy between classifying maps to lift over $X\times [0,1]$, relative to its ends. Thus the original classifying maps are homotopic and the bundles are isomorphic.

The rank bound is useful when invariants such as the Chern character first identify stable classes: it supplies the final cancellation step in the stated rank and dimension range.

A complex vector bundle has structure group $G$ when it admits fiber-linear local trivializations whose transition matrices take values in $G$. Replacing frames by $h_i$ changes transitions to $h_i^{-1}{g}_{ij}{h}_j$ in the frame convention. Reducing the structure group means choosing new trivializations with values in a specified subgroup. The same transitions glue $U_i\times G$ by left multiplication to a right principal bundle.