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For a locally compact space, replace finite singular chains by chains for which every compact subset meets the images of only finitely many simplices with nonzero coefficients. The boundary operator preserves this local finiteness, giving the Borel-Moore chain complex and its homology. On a compact space it reduces to ordinary singular homology. A noncompact manifold has a locally finite fundamental class, with its orientation local system when necessary. The chain groups and homology are zero in negative degrees.

The standard CW complex structure on Complex projective space has one cell in every even dimension from zero through $2n$, and no odd-dimensional cells. Its cellular chain complex therefore has zero differential. The fundamental classes of the inclusions ${\mathbb{CP}}^j\hookrightarrow {\mathbb{CP}}^n$ generate its even-degree integral homology; all other groups vanish.

On a compact oriented $2r$-manifold without boundary, an integral product of Chern classes of total complex degree $r$ pairs with the fundamental class to give a Chern number. A unitary connection supplies Chern-Weil theory representatives, but the integer is independent of that connection. The Second Chern number on a four-manifold is one important example; the integral of the First Chern class over a closed surface is another.

For a compact oriented submanifold without boundary in an oriented manifold, the normal Thom class gives a compactly supported cohomology class dual to its pushed-forward fundamental class. It is independent of the tubular neighborhood and its ordinary-cohomology image vanishes on the complement of the submanifold. A noncompact submanifold closed only as a subset generally has its dual in ordinary cohomology, using locally finite homology instead.

Let $M,N$ be closed connected oriented manifolds of the same dimension, and suppose $a^r$ generates the top integral cohomology of $N$. If every class of degree $|a|$ on $M$ has zero rth cup power, every continuous map $f:M\to N$ has mapping degree zero. Indeed, $f^{\ast }(a^r)=(f^{\ast }a{)}^r=0$, and evaluation on the fundamental class gives $\mathrm{deg}f=0$. For $S^2\times S^4\to {\mathbb{CP}}^3$, the degree-two class is a multiple of the sphere class $u$, whose square vanishes.

For a continuous map $f:M\to N$ of closed connected oriented $d$-dimensional manifolds, suppose $f^{-1}(y)=\{x_1,\dots ,x_s\}$ is finite. ThenBy excision, the degree-$d$ relative homology group $H_d(M,M\setminus f^{-1}(y);\mathbb{Z})$ is the direct sum of the local groups at $x_j$. The fundamental class maps to the tuple of local orientation generators. Mapping this tuple to $H_d(N,N\setminus \{y\};\mathbb{Z})$ adds their local degrees. Naturality identifies the result with the image of $(\mathrm{deg}f)[N]$. If the fiber is empty, the same argument gives degree zero.

Give Complex projective space its complex orientation. In the homology cross product basis of $H_{2n}({\mathbb{CP}}^n\times {\mathbb{CP}}^n;\mathbb{Z})$, the diagonal has the displayed class. If $a,b$ are the two normalized degree-two hyperplane classes, its Poincare dual is ${\sum }_{j=0}^n{a}^j{b}^{n-j}$. Indeed every degree-$2n$ monomial $a^r{b}^{n-r}$ restricts on the diagonal to the top power of the hyperplane class, whose evaluation on the fundamental class is one. These evaluations determine all coefficients.

The diagonal map sends $x$ to $(x,x)$. It is an embedding of a topological space onto its diagonal subset, because either coordinate projection is its inverse on the image. For a closed oriented manifold, that subset has a fundamental class, whose Poincare dual is the cohomology class of the diagonal.

When an oriented rank-$d$ vector bundle $E$ has a closed oriented $d$-dimensional base $B$, its Euler number is the integer obtained by evaluating the Euler class of a vector bundle on the fundamental class of $B$. A nonzero Euler number obstructs a nowhere-zero section and therefore obstructs a framing.

Give $(S^2{)}^m$ its product orientation and ${\mathbb{CP}}^m$ its complex orientation. If $u_i$ are the degree-two sphere classes and $h$ the normalized projective class, write $f^{\ast }h={\sum }_i{a}_i{u}_i$. In the source cohomology ring, $u_i^2=0$ and the generators commute. Hence $f^{\ast }{h}^m=m!({\prod }_i{a}_i)u_1\cdots u_m$. Evaluation on the fundamental class gives the displayed mapping degree. Every positive degree is therefore at least $m!$, and the polynomial multiplication map to complex projective space attains that bound.

Collapse a separating simple closed curve on a closed orientable surface of genus $g$. If its two sides have genera $g_1,g_2$, the quotient is homeomorphic to ${\Sigma }_{g_1}\vee {\Sigma }_{g_2}$. Its integral homology is $\mathbb{Z}$ in degree zero, ${\mathbb{Z}}^{2g}$ in degree one, ${\mathbb{Z}}^2$ in degree two, and zero above degree two. In relative homology, the circle maps to zero in $H_1({\Sigma }_g)$, and the second relative group fits into a split sequence $0\to \mathbb{Z}\to H_2({\Sigma }_g,A)\to \mathbb{Z}\to 0$. The two collapsed sides retain independent fundamental classes.

The complement of a closed tubular neighborhood of a smooth plane conic has the displayed integral homology. The Excision theorem and Thom isomorphism theorem reduce the calculation to the relative long exact sequence: the ambient degree-four fundamental class restricts with coefficient one, while the degree-two map is intersection with the conic and has coefficient two. A collar neighborhood identifies the open and compact exterior homotopy equivalence types. The boundary instead has first homology $\mathbb{Z}/4$, from the Gysin sequence and the normal Euler class four.

For maps between oriented connected closed manifolds of the same dimension, a homotopy induces equal maps on top-dimensional homology, hence equal coefficients on the fundamental class. For smooth maps and a smooth homotopy, the degree by integration of a pullback volume form gives another proof: the Generalized Stokes theorem on the homotopy cylinder makes the difference of endpoint pullback integrals zero because the target top form is closed. This is an obstruction to extending a degree-one sphere identity over a ball.

The First Chern class of the hyperplane line bundle. On Complex projective space it generates degree-two integral cohomology, and on ${\mathbb{CP}}^n$ its top power evaluates as one on the complex-oriented fundamental class.

For a compact oriented $n$-manifold $W$ with boundary, cap product with its relative fundamental class gives

The cohomology ring of the product of two real projective planes is ${\mathbb{F}}_2[x,y]/(x^3,y^3)$, with $|x|=|y|=1$. Pairing against $x^2$, $xy$ and $y^2$ identifies the Poincare dual of the diagonal as $x^2+xy+y^2$. For a self-map $f$ with $f^{\ast }x=\epsilon x$, the graph pullback evaluates on the mod-two fundamental class as $1+\epsilon +{\epsilon }^2=1$. Thus no graph of a map on the whole projective plane can avoid the diagonal. The argument uses a relative Thom class and does not assume transverse intersections.

For a closed connected $k$-manifold smoothly embedded in $S^n$, with $k<n$ and $n\ge 1$, its complement hasand zero reduced homology for $i\ge n-1$, where negative-index groups are zero. The Thom isomorphism theorem for the normal bundle and the pair's exact sequence give this formula. The top ambient fundamental class maps isomorphically to the fundamental class of $M$, canceling the exceptional top term.

For a closed $n$-dimensional manifold, Poincare duality holds over ${\mathbb{F}}_2$ without an orientation assumption. The mod-two fundamental class exists because orientation signs disappear. The resulting complementary-degree intersection pairing is a perfect pairing.

A simple closed curve in a connected oriented topological surface is nonseparating when cutting along it leaves a connected topological surface. In that case an arc joining the two new boundary components closes to a simple closed curve meeting the original once. Their algebraic intersection number of curves on an oriented surface is $\pm 1$. Consequently the original curve represents a nonzero primitive homology class.

On a closed oriented topological surface, a separating simple closed curve bounds a compact subsurface, whose fundamental class exhibits it as a boundary in homology. Thus on a closed oriented topological surface, separation is equivalent to vanishing of its integral first homology class.

The closed-surface condition cannot be omitted. In the open annulus $S^1\times \mathbb{R}$, the core $S^1\times \{0\}$ separates the two ends, yet generates $H_1(S^1\times \mathbb{R};\mathbb{Z})\cong \mathbb{Z}$. Either side is noncompact and supplies no finite singular chain bounding that core.

A chain cycle is null-homologous with the chosen coefficients when its homology class is zero. Equivalently it is a chain boundary: there is a chain $b$ one degree higher such that $\partial b=c$.

A geometric bounding argument over the integers needs compatible orientations. If a compact oriented submanifold $W$ has oriented boundary $C$, a chain representing its relative fundamental class has boundary representing $C$, so $[C]=0$ in the ambient integral homology. With mod-two coefficients, orientation signs disappear and an unoriented bounding submanifold suffices.

For example, the boundary circle of a Möbius band bounds that band as an unoriented surface, but represents twice the core generator in $H_1(\text{Mo¨bius band};\mathbb{Z})\cong \mathbb{Z}$. It is not integrally null-homologous inside the band. Its mod-two homology class is zero. This distinguishes bounding a geometric subset from bounding a chain with the required coefficients.