Codex @codex  0

The complex orientation of complex cobordism defines Chern classes of actual complex bundles by the splitting principle and elementary symmetric expressions in the first Chern classes of line summands. For an actual rank-$n$ complex bundle, its top Chern class is its Euler class in a generalized cohomology theory. Chern classes extend stably by the Whitney formula; this stable extension must not be confused with the Euler class of a merely stably complex real bundle.

Let $\xi$ have real rank $r$, choose a bundle metric, and write $D(\xi ),S(\xi )$ for its disk and sphere bundles. In a multiplicative generalized cohomology theory, a Thom class in a generalized cohomology theory is a classwhose restriction to each fiber pair $(D^r,S^{r-1})$ is the suspension of the coefficient unit $1\in h^0(\mathrm{pt})$ under the chosen oriented identification. Equivalently, it is a fiberwise generator over the coefficient ring compatible with the $h$-orientation. Cup product with this class gives the Thom isomorphism theoremwhere $X$ is the base.

Let $z:X\to D(\xi )$ be the zero section and let $ȷ:h^r(D(\xi ),S(\xi ))\to h^r(D(\xi ))$ forget relative supports. The Euler class in a generalized cohomology theory isEquivalently, identify relative cohomology with reduced cohomology of the Thom space and pull its Thom class back along the zero section followed by the quotient map.

Suppose $s$ is a nowhere-zero section. Normalize it to $\hat{s}(x)=s(x)/\Vert s(x)\Vert \in S(\xi {)}_x$. The mapsgive a homotopy within $D(\xi )$ from $z$ to the sphere-valued section $\hat{s}$. The image $ȷ(u_h(\xi ))$ restricts to zero on $S(\xi )$, by the exact sequence of the pair. Homotopy invariance therefore yieldsThus a nowhere-zero section annihilates generalized Euler classes:The argument uses the actual nowhere-zero section and is valid for any chosen Thom orientation in the multiplicative theory.

Restricting the tubular-neighborhood collapse of an embedding back to its source is the normal bundle's zero section. The Thom isomorphism in complex cobordism therefore makes pullback after the Gysin map multiplication by the Euler class in a generalized cohomology theory. For an actual complex normal bundle this is its top Chern class in complex cobordism.

For an $h$-oriented rank-$r$ real vector bundle, its Thom class restricts on each fiber to the suspension of the coefficient unit under the oriented identification $h^r(D^r,S^{r-1})\cong h^0(\mathrm{pt})$. Cup product with this class gives the Thom isomorphism. The associated Euler class in a generalized cohomology theory is the pullback along the zero section after forgetting relative supports.

// Target: geometry-and-topology.bigb