Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 19 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
We use the James reduced product theorem and the Bott–Samelson theorem: if is a connected based CW complex with free integral homology, then is a weak equivalence, and its induced Pontryagin ring isHere is the reduced suspension, is the tensor algebra, and the multiplication is induced by concatenating James words, hence by concatenating loops. Taking supplies a single generator of degree , sois free, with one generator in every degree and zero in the other degrees.
The diagonal makes this a homology coalgebra. The generator is a primitive homology class:There are no nontrivial lower positive degrees in which its reduced diagonal could land. Compatibility of the diagonal with loop multiplication givesThe degree of is even, so the two tensor factors commute without a Koszul sign rule.
The universal coefficient theorem for cohomology has no Ext terms here because homology is free. Let be the cohomology class dual to , with and . The cup product is dual to the diagonal, henceTherefore the integral cohomology ring is the divided power algebraExplicitly for , and all other cohomology groups vanish. In particular : over the integers this is not a polynomial ring on . This is the integral cohomology of an odd-sphere loop space.
For the requested homology multiplication, use the homology cross product followed by concatenation:The constant loop gives the degree-zero unit. Loop concatenation is associative up to homotopy, which suffices for associativity on homology; Moore loops can make the space-level operation strictly associative. The Künneth theorem identifies the tensor-product homology because its groups are free abelian groups. The Bott–Samelson theorem identifies this product with word multiplication, so . The Pontryagin ring of an odd-sphere loop space has presentationWith only one generator the tensor algebra has the indicated polynomial presentation. The homology product and the divided-power cohomology product are different operations.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 114 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Give the closed orientable surface its standard CW complex structure: one zero-cell, one-cells, and one two-cell attached by the product of commutators. The cellular boundary of the two-cell is zero, since every edge occurs once with each orientation in that word; the one-cell boundaries are also zero. HenceHere we use the cellular homology theorem, identifying cellular and singular homology, and the universal coefficient theorem for cohomology: its exact sequence has terms and . All the homology groups here are free, so the Ext terms vanish.
The ring structure comes from Poincare duality and algebraic intersection number of curves on an oriented surface. For a closed oriented surface, cap product with its fundamental class identifies degree-one cohomology with degree-one homology; evaluating the cup product of two such classes equals the signed intersection number of their dual one-cycles. Choose the usual pairs of handle curves, each pair meeting positively once, and distinct pairs disjoint. Their dual classes can accordingly be named so that, for the positive orientation class ,These formulas include squares. More generally, graded commutativity of the cup product kills every degree-one square here because is torsion-free. The unit generates , and products involving and any positive-degree class vanish for dimensional reasons. These additive groups and multiplication rules completely describe the cohomology ring of a closed oriented surface, including , when there are no degree-one generators. The intersection pairing is integral and unimodular, rather than merely nondegenerate over a field.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 114 2 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Suppose has degree one. For degree-one classes on the target, naturality of the cup product and the definition of the degree of a map between oriented manifolds giveIf a nonzero had , nondegeneracy of the Poincare duality pairing would supply with nonzero right side, a contradiction. Thus injects the -dimensional real degree-one cohomology into the -dimensional source. Hence . This is the cohomological injectivity of a degree-one map in this setting.
Conversely, for , express as . Collapse the second punctured summand and the joining circle to a point. The quotient of the retained punctured summand by its boundary is homeomorphic to , giving a continuous map to that surface. Its restriction to a small oriented disc away from the collapsing region is an orientation-preserving homeomorphism, and a point in this disc has exactly one preimage. The induced map on local top homology, and hence on the fundamental class, has coefficient . The map therefore has degree one. For , the same construction is the familiar collapse of the complement of a disc to obtain .
ConsequentlyThis proves both directions of the degree-one maps between closed oriented surfaces criterion. The case also admits the identity map.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 114 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The assertion is true. The standard filtration gives one cell in each dimension . There are no odd-dimensional cells, so all cellular differentials vanish. The cellular homology theorem and the universal coefficient theorem for cohomology give one copy of in each even degree from zero to , and zero in every other degree.
Let be the Poincare dual of a projective hyperplane, with the complex orientation. It has degree two and evaluates to on a complex projective line, so it is the positive generator of . We use the intersection interpretation of the cup product: the product of duals of oriented submanifolds in transverse position is the dual of their oriented intersection. Distinct transverse complex hyperplanes intersect in after intersections, with positive complex orientation. Thus is the dual of that linear subspace.
Pairing with a transverse linear gives one positively oriented intersection point. Therefore is a primitive generator of , for every . There is no cohomology above dimension , so . These facts show that the surjective graded ring map from has exactly the indicated kernel:This proves the cohomology ring of complex projective space, rather than only its additive groups. For it is , with .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 127 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Choose the Hopf map and orientations so its Hopf invariant is one. The cellular cohomology of is in degrees and zero otherwise. Let be generators in degrees two and four. Precomposing with a degree- self-map of represents . The induced map of mapping cones is the identity on the two-cell and has degree on the four-cell. Since the Hopf mapping cone has cup square equal to its top generator, naturality of the cup product gives . Equivalently, precomposition scales the Hopf invariant by degree. HenceThe coefficient is , not : multiplication in is being used, rather than postcomposition by a degree- map of the target sphere.
For , the only nonzero cellular boundary is , multiplication by . Thus its cellular cohomology givesLet again generate , and let be the class of the four-cell cochain. Collapsing the three-sphere gives a map which pulls the degree-two generator back to and the degree-four generator back to . Hence , now interpreted modulo . Every other product of positive-degree classes vanishes by dimension. This is the cohomology ring of a Hopf attachment with a sphere summand. More explicitly, if ,If , there is additionally a generator of degree three, with . The displayed description of the groups uses , so the zero case is included. In particular, a nonzero kills the degree-three cohomology but can leave torsion in degree four.
There are no one-cells, and attaching cells of dimension at least three does not change . Thus is simply connected. The Hurewicz theorem in degree two gives
To compute , choose a map representing . This Eilenberg–MacLane space can be realized by the classifying space of . On the map is the standard inclusion; on it is constant, and it extends over the four-cell since . Its homotopy fibre is the pullback of the universal circle bundle . The map on is an isomorphism, so the long exact sequence of homotopy groups of a fibration gives and . Therefore the Hurewicz theorem identifies the latter with .
Over , the circle-bundle total space isThe first summand is the Hopf fibration total space over , and the second is the trivial bundle over . Their intersection is the fibre over the wedge point. The Mayer–Vietoris sequence gives , with generators from the two three-spheres. These are the lifts of and . The circle bundle over also has a 2-connected total space, so lifting and the Hurewicz theorem identify with .
Over the attached four-disc the bundle is trivial. The resulting relative pair has the homology of , so and . Its boundary map sends a generator to the lift of the attaching map, namely . The long exact sequence in relative homology now givesApplying Smith normal form to this one relation proves the third homotopy group of a Hopf attachment with a sphere summand:Since , the greatest common divisor is positive even when . This derivation uses the required map to an Eilenberg–MacLane space and determines the extension, rather than merely the orders of its pieces.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 127 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Choose a contractible free -space , with the classifying space of a discrete group. The Borel construction gives the fibrationBecause the action on the sphere is free, the map has contractible fibre and is a homotopy equivalence. The quotient is a closed -dimensional manifold, so for .
The hypothesis on integral sphere cohomology makes the -action on trivial as well. Thus the Serre spectral sequence has just two rows, both copies of , in fibre degrees zero and . If is the fibre generator, the only possible differential is , and its transgression definesThe multiplicative differential rule gives . Up to the graded sign, this is multiplication by . For , the terms and must both vanish because their total degrees exceed . The first vanishing says the relevant multiplication map has zero kernel; the second says it has zero cokernel. ThereforeThis is periodic group cohomology from a free sphere action. Degree zero was excluded for a reason: can contribute to the quotient's top cohomology.
For , use its periodic free resolution with alternating maps and . Applying makes every differential zero, so is one-dimensional in every nonnegative degree. The two-step shift of the resolution supplies a nonzero degree-two class whose cup product gives the periodicity isomorphisms. For odd , let be a nonzero degree-one class. Graded commutativity gives , and the shift gives nonzero and in every degree. For , the two resolution maps agree over , giving a one-step shift whose degree-one class has nonzero powers. Hence the cohomology ring of a finite cyclic group over its prime field isHere the exterior factor is an exterior algebra and the polynomial factor is a polynomial ring. For odd , may be chosen as the Bockstein homomorphism of .
If contained , restriction would give that subgroup the same free, cohomologically trivial sphere action. It would therefore also have period in positive-degree cohomology. But , and the Künneth theorem givesThese dimensions strictly increase, so the groups in degrees and cannot be isomorphic. Thus contains no subgroup isomorphic to for any prime .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 114 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use coefficients throughout. Write on Complex projective space and on Real projective space. We use the standard cohomology ring of complex projective space , with , and the real projective calculation from the preceding solution. The complex projective calculation follows, for example, from its one cell in each even dimension together with the fact that transverse projective hyperplanes represent the powers of ; such hyperplanes have one intersection point.
For the standard inclusion , the restricted complex tautological line is . As a real vector bundle it is , whose total Stiefel–Whitney class is . The Stiefel–Whitney class of the underlying real bundle of a complex line identifies its degree-two class with its First Chern class reduced modulo two. Passing to the dual line defining changes only a sign, which disappears modulo two. Thus mod-two restriction from complex to real projective space gives . In particular the answer for dimension two is the ring mapIt sends to , is an isomorphism in degree two, and sends to zero.
Now assume and put , , , with inclusions and . The real dimensions are and , respectively. A tubular neighborhood and excision identify the cohomology of with that of the normal disk bundle relative to its sphere bundle. Every real normal bundle is oriented over , so the Thom isomorphism theorem givesUnder this identification the relative-to-absolute map is the cohomological Gysin map of an embedding . The exact sequence of the pair is thereforeHere denotes the ordinary connecting homomorphism followed by the inverse of the isomorphism supplied by the Thom isomorphism theorem.
To compute , use mod-two Poincare duality and its evaluation formulaFor , take and . The right side is . Since the target group is generated by and , this provesOdd-degree classes have zero image because has no odd-degree cohomology. Exactness now givesFor precision, below degree the restriction map is an isomorphism. In degree the next map is , an isomorphism, so the complement group is zero. In even degrees , , the preceding is an isomorphism and the following odd-degree is zero; consequently is an isomorphism. The intervening odd groups and the top group vanish.
It remains to establish multiplication. Put . Since , exactness gives . Choose with , which is possible by the just-computed isomorphism. Naturality of the relative cup product, and the module property of the Thom isomorphism theorem, giveThus for . Each class is nonzero and generates its upper-half group, while generate the lower-half groups. Also because . These classes account for every group, so there are no further relations:By the field-coefficient Künneth theorem this is precisely the cohomology ring of . For the relation leaves the sphere's ring. The calculation identifies rings and does not claim a homotopy equivalence of the spaces; is outside the expression involving .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 114 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The ordinary Poincare duality statement here is for a compact manifold without boundary, of dimension , oriented over the field . Its fundamental class induces isomorphismsfor every . For a manifold with boundary the appropriate statement is Poincare-Lefschetz duality with relative groups; the ordinary pairing need not be nondegenerate. Over a field, the universal coefficient theorem for cohomology identifies with the full dual of . The cap-cup evaluation identity and duality therefore makea perfect pairing. Explicitly, a nonzero has a nonzero cap product, and a linear functional on its homology group takes a nonzero value on that product. The same argument in the other variable proves nonsingularity. On the whole graded cohomology, define by taking the degree- part of before evaluation. For a nonzero component choose homogeneous of degree to pair nontrivially with it. All other components contribute zero in degree . This proves that the Poincare duality pairing is a nondegenerate bilinear form on ; it need not be symmetric on all degrees.
Put , so is positive and odd, and orient each by its product orientation. The Künneth theorem gives integral cohomology in degrees zero and , in degree , and zero elsewhere. Its two degree- generators have , equal to its top orientation class, and .
For a connected sum of oriented manifolds, excision and the long exact sequence for deleting a ball show that deleting a ball removes the top homology class and leaves all lower positive homology groups unchanged. The boundary sphere represents zero in the punctured manifold: it is the boundary of its relative fundamental chain. In the Mayer–Vietoris sequence for the two punctured pieces joined along the separating sphere, the orientation class of the connected sum maps onto that sphere's class. The intermediate positive groups are consequently the direct sums of the groups of the two original manifolds. This also covers , where the sphere is a circle and the boundary-class observation is necessary in the middle degree. Iterating and applying the universal coefficient theorem for cohomology givesHere ; under the conventional extension the same formula holds with a zero middle group.
Let be the top cohomological orientation class. The connected-sum pinch map to the wedge of the sphere products gives degree-one projections to each summand. Pull back the two factor classes from summand to obtain . Their product is , since the projection has degree one. Classes from different wedge summands have zero positive-degree cup products, and graded commutativity of the cup product supplies the reversed sign. Thus the full cohomology ring of a connected sum of odd-dimensional sphere products is the graded free abelian group just displayed with multiplicationThe unit is , and times any positive-degree class is zero by dimension. This describes all products, including .
The smooth involution is a diffeomorphism, since it is its own inverse. Its fixed set is closed; discreteness and compactness therefore make it finite. The supplied positivity of makes every fixed point nondegenerate with local index . The Lefschetz-Hopf fixed-point theorem then givesIndeed the degree-zero and top-degree traces are both one, because the manifold is connected and preserves its orientation; the middle degree is odd.
On , the form is a nondegenerate alternating bilinear form by Poincare duality and the oddness of . Thus it is a symplectic vector space of dimension . Naturality and orientation preservation show that preserves , and . For the eigenspaces of a symplectic involution, write : the polynomial has distinct roots over . If and , then , so the two vector subspaces are orthogonal. Each restricted form is nondegenerate, since a vector annihilating its own vector subspace also annihilates the other and hence all of . Their dimensions are therefore even, say , , with . ConsequentlyThis proves the fixed-point congruence for an involution on an odd-sphere connected sum:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 114 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
For connected oriented closed manifolds of dimension , the degree of a map between oriented manifolds is the integer determined bywhere the brackets are the chosen fundamental classes. Functoriality gives .
Give its boundary orientation as the boundary of the unit ball in . The antipodal map is the restriction of . Its ambient determinant is , and it takes the outward normal at to the outward normal at . Thus its effect on the boundary orientation has this same sign, givingThe original PDF has , correcting the extra prime on the target in the TeX transcription.
For even dimension , cellular homology of real projective space gives . Thus the composite map on top homology factors through zero, andZero is attained by constant maps.
For odd dimension , Real projective space is orientable: the antipodal deck transformation has degree . Orient it so that the double covering map has degree . Since is simply connected, the lifting criterion for a covering space gives for a map . Hencewhich is even. Every even integer occurs: collapse the complement of an oriented embedded disk in to obtain a degree-one map , and choose of any prescribed integer degree . Maps of all integer degrees on spheres are obtained, for example, by suspending the circle maps . Setting gives degree . ThusThese are the degrees of maps factoring through real projective space. If is permitted in the odd-dimensional clause, there is an exception: , so every integer degree occurs. The lifting argument requires dimension at least two. The initial connected-manifold degree definition excludes ; with the usual reduced-homology definition for self-maps of , a factorization through the one-point has degree zero.
Finally suppose is prime. Fix any prime and work over . We claim that is injective. If , Poincare duality supplies with . Naturality of the cup product and evaluation givesbecause is invertible in . Hence , proving cohomological injectivity of a map of invertible degree.
The intermediate cohomology of the sphere is zero, so for . Over a field, the universal coefficient theorem for cohomology identifies this with the dual of , so these homology groups vanish as well. The universal coefficient theorem for homology then givesEach integral group is a finitely generated abelian group, by the permitted finite CW complex model. Its decomposition can have no free summand, since that would survive modulo , and no torsion summand divisible by any prime . Thus it is a finite -primary group. There are only finitely many intermediate degrees, so the exponents of their finite cyclic summands have a common bound . Taking also covers the case in which all the groups vanish. ThereforeThis proves that a prime-degree sphere map forces primary torsion, including one uniform exponent for all the degrees.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 114 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Put . Under the usual bundle convention of a paracompact base, choose a fiber metric and let be the disk bundle and sphere bundle of the rank- real vector bundle. A mod-two Thom class is a relative cohomology classwhose restriction to every fiber pair is the nonzero generator. Equivalently it is a class in , where is identified with the zero section. No orientation choices are needed over .
The Thom isomorphism theorem asserts that this class exists and that, for every , the mapis an isomorphism. The disk bundle retracts to the zero section , so . Define the mod-two Euler class , where the pullback includes the passage from relative to absolute cohomology. Under the Thom identification, the map from relative to absolute cohomology sends to . Substituting into the pair's long exact sequence in cohomology gives the Gysin sequence of a sphere bundle:Here is the connecting homomorphism followed by . Thus the sequence and the cup-product map have been derived from the Thom theorem, not just stated. The Thom/Gysin constructions are also discussed in Hatcher's Vector Bundles and K-Theory, §3.2.
The original PDF specifies the tautological bundle on ; the occurrences of in this part of the TeX transcription have lost the projective-space symbol. Let be this real line bundle. Its sphere bundle consists of pairs with a unit vector in the line , so , with projection the antipodal double covering. Write .
The additive mod-two groups, obtainable from the one-cell-in-each-dimension cellular chain complex, areFor , both the base and are connected, so is an isomorphism. Exactness makes the following zero and multiplication by injective from to . For , the term vanishes, so the same Gysin sequence makesinjective. Since these groups are one-dimensional, the maps are isomorphisms. Hence are the respective nonzero generators, while by dimension. The mod-two cohomology ring of real projective space is thereforeFor this is simply , with .
For integral coefficients, the additive groups areIndeed, the cellular homology of real projective space has boundary multiplication by in even positive chain degrees and zero in odd degrees, and the integral cochain differential is its transpose. It remains to determine the products; the additive groups alone do not do so.
For , the coefficient sequence has a Bockstein homomorphism . Because and , exactness makes the nonzero integral degree-two class. Reduction is injective: its kernel is the image of multiplication by , which is zero. ThusMore generally, reduction is injective in each positive even degree, and its compatibility with the cup product gives . Consequently is the nonzero generator whenever . Also , and powers beyond the dimension vanish.
If is even, these powers and the unit account for all groups, so the integral cohomology ring of real projective space isIf is odd, add an integral top-dimensional orientation class of degree . Its reduction is the nonzero class . Every product and is zero by dimension, and has infinite additive order. HenceThese formulas include : the even space is a point with ring , and the odd space is a circle with ring , . The polynomial presentations are interpreted with the displayed grading and products; no extra positive-degree products are left unspecified.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 114 3 Solution 2026-10-03
An -orientation of a rank- real vector bundle is a locally coherent choice of generator of in every fibre. Equivalently, it is represented by a Thom class restricting to the chosen generator on each fibre pair. If is the Euler class, the Gysin sequence of its unit sphere bundle contains
The diagonal quotient defining is the three-dimensional lens space as a circle bundle with Euler class times a generator. With integral coefficients, the only nontrivial Euler-class map is multiplication by . Exactness givesModulo , the Euler class vanishes, so the same Gysin sequence giveswith all other groups zero.
For the coefficient sequence , the long exact sequence from a coefficient sequence containsThe last map is zero and both middle groups have order , so is an isomorphism. Reduction is likewise an isomorphism. Their composite is the Bockstein isomorphism for a three-dimensional lens space
If is another generator, linearity of the Bockstein homomorphism and bilinearity of the cup product giveMoreover : is nonzero, and the Poincare duality pairing is nondegenerate. If is an orientation-reversing homotopy equivalence and , naturality givesCancelling the nonzero yields . Thus must be a quadratic residue modulo .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 114 3 Solution 2026-09-28
The short exact coefficient sequenceinduces the integral Bockstein homomorphismIf is reduction modulo , thenEquivalently, if an integral cochain lifts a modulo- cocycle and , then and .
For integral lifts of classes , the cup product coboundary formula isDividing by and reducing modulo proves the Bockstein derivation rule
Now assume that the stated closed five-manifold exists. Its top integral cohomology makes it connected and orientable. The long exact sequence from a coefficient sequence for multiplication by shows thatand that reduction is an isomorphism. HenceThe same coefficient sequence gives .
Choose and put . By Poincare duality over , the pairingis nondegenerate. Both factors are one-dimensional, so . But because , while the derivation rule and graded commutativity of the cup product giveThis contradicts . Therefore no such manifold exists.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 114 3 Solution Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-03
For a singular -simplex , define the cochain-level cup product byIf and lies in , its front -face also lies in , so the first factor vanishes. Thus .
For the projections from , the exterior product in cohomology isFor CW pairs over a field , subject to the usual finite-type condition that makes the graded tensor product commute with the relevant direct products, the Künneth theorem says thatMore generally the conclusion holds over a principal ideal domain when one factor has degreewise finitely generated free cohomology. It fails over in general: is in degree zero and in degree two, but the integral Künneth and universal coefficient theorem for cohomology calculations giveThe tensor product of the two cohomology groups has no degree-three term, so is not surjective.
Use the homeomorphismwhich carries the diagonal to . HenceThe punctured torus deformation retracts onto a wedge of two circles. Let be the degree-one generators from the first torus and those from the punctured torus. Since all cohomology groups are free, the Künneth theorem identifies the integral cohomology ring asThus , , , , and form a basis in degree two; and form a basis in degree three; and all higher positive degrees vanish.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 114 3 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The standard CW complex structure on has one cell in every even dimension from to , and is its -skeleton. Collapsing that subcomplex leaves one zero-cell and one cell in each dimension for . All cellular boundaries vanish, so
Let be the usual generator. For , choose whose pullback under the quotient map is . Naturality of the cup product and the cohomology ring of complex projective space giveTogether with the unit, this determines the ring; equivalently, its reduced part is the ideal with the inherited multiplication. This is the cohomology ring of a collapsed projective subspace.
If , the quotient has just a zero-cell and a -cell, so it is and is a compact manifold. Conversely, suppose and the quotient is homotopy equivalent to a compact manifold. Its top cohomology is , so that manifold must be closed, orientable, and -dimensional. But while , contradicting Poincare duality. Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 114 3 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Set and . Let be a generator and let be the class restricting to . The ring computation in part (a) gives
If , then homotopy invariance of cohomology gives , hence . But because , whereas naturality of the cup product would givea contradiction. No such map exists.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 114 4 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let and be the pullbacks of the standard generator of from the two factors. The Künneth theorem and graded commutativity of the cup product give
Each homeomorphism acts invertibly on . To respect ordinary composition, send to ; functoriality of induced map on cohomology then defines a homomorphism
For , the space is the torus. Every matrix in induces a linear homeomorphism , so the image is all of .
For , write . Since and ,so ; the same argument applies to . Invertibility then forces the matrix to be a signed permutation matrix. Every such matrix is realized by swapping the two sphere factors and applying an orientation-reversing homeomorphism to either factor. Thus the image consists exactly of the eight signed permutation matrices.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 114 2 d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Suppose such maps existed, and let generate . Since , write and ; then , so . Naturality of the cup product givescontradicting the nonzero degree-eight class computed in part c.
Periodic group cohomology Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-07
For a finite group, the usual integral notion asks for a class whose cup product gives the displayed isomorphisms for every coefficient module and every . The analogous claim for just trivial coefficients over a fixed field is weaker and should be stated as such. A free cohomologically orientation-preserving sphere action supplies that field-coefficient version through periodic group cohomology from a free sphere action.
Pinch map 2026-10-05
A pinch map collapses a separating subspace to a point so that the quotient splits into a wedge sum. For a connected sum of oriented manifolds, collapsing the separating boundary sphere gives a map . The two wedge projections have degree of a continuous mapping one with compatible orientations. Consequently their pullbacks identify the two top orientation classes, while positive-degree classes from different summands have zero cup product.
Poincare duality pairing Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-14
For a closed oriented -dimensional manifold over a field , the cup product pairingis a perfect pairing between complementary degrees. The cap product with the fundamental class is an isomorphism by Poincare duality, and the universal coefficient theorem for cohomology over identifies the complementary cohomology with the full dual space of the resulting homology. Evaluation is therefore a perfect pairing. Taking the top-degree part of the same formula defines a nondegenerate bilinear form on the full graded cohomology. A boundary requires relative groups and Poincare-Lefschetz duality instead.