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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.

The topological degree assigns an integer to a continuous map $f:M\to N$ between closed, connected, oriented manifolds of the same dimension $d$. Their top homology groups are infinite cyclic, generated by their fundamental classes. The induced map definesFor a smooth map and a regular value $y$, its equivalent local description iswhere the sign records preservation or reversal of orientation. The preimage is a finite set because the manifolds are compact and $y$ is regular. This is a signed count; opposite-orientation preimages cancel. If $\omega$ is a normalized target volume form with ${\int }_N\omega =1$, the pullback of a differential form gives the equivalent integral $\mathrm{deg}f={\int }_M{f}^{\ast }\omega$.

The homotopy invariance of mapping degree follows because homotopic maps induce the same homology map. In the smooth description, apply Stokes theorem to a homotopy $F:M\times [0,1]\to N$:since a top-dimensional form on $N$ is closed. Thus degree cannot change during a smooth deformation preserving the relevant boundary conditions. Degrees multiply under composition, and a nonzero-degree map is surjective: a missed target point would give a regular value with an empty preimage and hence degree zero.

For maps $S^d\to S^d$, the homotopy group ${\pi }_d(S^d)=\mathbb{Z}$ is completely detected by degree. This supplies integer topological sectors for many classical field-theory solitons. It is important to distinguish two ways spheres arise. In a nonlinear sigma model with the field approaching one fixed target value at infinity, compactify all of ${\mathbb{R}}^d$ to $S^d$ and classify the resulting map into the target. For a defect whose vacuum field varies with direction, retain the sphere $S_{\infty }^{d-1}$ surrounding the core and map it into the vacuum manifold. This is the vacuum-boundary degree as a defect charge. An asymptotic limit is a boundary hypothesis; finite energy alone in every possible model need not imply one.

For an Abelian Higgs vortex, the phase at infinity defines $S^1\to U(1)\cong S^1$. Its degree is the winding numberNonzero $n$ forces a zero of the Higgs field inside: a nowhere-vanishing field would extend its normalized phase through the disk and make the boundary loop contractible. This is also the flux classification of the Bogomolny vortex equations.

For a 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole, the normalized adjoint Higgs field $\hat{\Phi }$ gives $S_{\infty }^2\to SU(2)/U(1)\cong S^2$. With outward orientation its degree isThe integrand is the normalized target area form, so the hedgehog ansatz for a monopole has degree one. Nonzero degree obstructs extending the normalized Higgs direction through the ball; the full Higgs field must leave the vacuum manifold, normally vanishing in its core. The asymptotic unbroken Abelian magnetic flux measures the same integer with a convention-dependent sign.

For the Skyrme model, a field $U:{\mathbb{R}}^3\to SU(2)$ with $U\to 1$ at infinity gives $S^3\to S^3$, because SU(2) as the three-sphere identifies the target. A choice of orientations gives its topological baryon number in the Skyrme model as the winding integral $\pm (24{\pi }^2{)}^{-1}\int \mathrm{tr}(U^{-1}dU{)}^3$; specifying the orientation fixes the sign. Similarly, the transition map at infinity of a four-dimensional Yang-Mills instanton has degree in ${\pi }_3(SU(2))$, measured by its Chern charge.

A scalar-field kink illustrates the discrete-vacuum case: its endpoint data lie in ${\pi }_0(\{\pm 1\})$, rather than being a map between connected positive-dimensional spheres. For the double-well field its topological charge is $Q=[\varphi (+\infty )-\varphi (-\infty )]/2$. A kink has $Q=1$, an antikink $Q=-1$; they cannot individually deform to vacuum while their endpoints are fixed.

Degree classifies topology, rather than every solution. Smooth motion or local perturbations with fixed boundary data preserve it, and a nonzero degree obstructs decay to the vacuum within that class. It does not guarantee existence of a smooth energy minimizer, a fixed size, uniqueness, or dynamical stability. The degree and energetic stability of a field configuration are distinct: a field can shrink towards a singular limit at fixed degree, as Derrick's theorem diagnoses in many two-derivative theories. Moreover degree need not classify all homotopy classes for an arbitrary target; other homotopy groups or invariants may be needed. Within one degree there can be continuous moduli spaces and several stationary solutions.

For a continuous map $f:S^2\times S^4\to {\mathbb{CP}}^3$, use the classes from part (a). Since $H^2(S^2\times S^4;\mathbb{Z})=\mathbb{Z}u$, there is an integer $k$ with $f^{\ast }c=ku$. Naturality of the cup product and $u^2=0$ yieldWith the product orientation on the source and the complex orientation on the target, the mapping degree $d$ is defined by $f_{\ast }[S^2\times S^4]=d[{\mathbb{CP}}^3]$. Evaluation on the fundamental class givesThus the induced group homomorphism on $H_6$ is zero. This is a cup-power obstruction to nonzero degree, rather than a consequence of the additive homology groups alone.