Classifying space of a discrete group Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-14
Give a discrete group a contractible free CW complex . The quotient has universal cover , so it has fundamental group and no higher homotopy groups. It is thus an Eilenberg–MacLane space , even when is nonabelian. The cohomology of with the appropriate local coefficients computes group cohomology.
For a topological group module, use continuous maps with pointwise addition and the inhomogeneous group-cohomology differential. The kernel modulo the image defines continuous group cohomology as an abelian group. With general topological coefficients the quotient topology need not be Hausdorff; the cohomology here is the algebraic quotient of continuous cocycles by continuous coboundaries. With trivial discrete coefficients in a prime field, its first cohomology is the space of continuous group homomorphisms to that field's additive group.
Embed a module over the group ring in a module with vanishing positive group cohomology, and write . The connecting map in the long exact group cohomology sequence of is an isomorphism for , since the groups involving on both sides vanish. For a finite group and a module with vanishing Tate cohomology of a finite group in every degree, the same argument shifts every Tate degree. Repeating this construction transports computations to a convenient resolution.
If a nontrivial finite group acted freely on , a prime-order cyclic subgroup would too. The quotient is an -manifold with contractible universal cover. The singular version of cellular free resolution from a contractible universal cover identifies its cohomology with group cohomology of . The periodic resolution of a finite cyclic group gives for every . But Poincaré duality for noncompact manifolds makes the quotient cohomology zero above dimension . This contradiction excludes the action, for arbitrary homeomorphisms, not only Euclidean isometries.
Galois cohomology 2026-09-28
Galois cohomology is the group cohomology of a Galois group acting on a module. For a discrete -module , the first group is the quotient of crossed homomorphisms by maps .
Group coboundary Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Group cocycle 2026-09-24
A group cocycle is an element of the kernel of the coboundary map in the standard cochain complex computing group cohomology.
The integral cohomological dimension is the least length of a projective resolution of the trivial group ring module , equivalently the largest degree in which group cohomology with some module can be nonzero. A group containing torsion has infinite integral cohomological dimension. For the dimension is , realized by its torus classifying space and detected by its top cohomology.
Put and . Give its trivial left -module structure, through the augmentation , . The universal cover has the lifted cell structure, with acting by deck transformations.
For each cell of , choose one lifted cell and orient every translate compatibly with its projection. The translates form one copy of the regular -module. Thus
is a free left -module, and its boundary is -linear. The augmentation sends every vertex to one. The contractibility of says that its reduced homology vanishes, so the augmented complex
is exact. It is therefore a free resolution of the trivial module. By the definition of the Ext functor,
An -linear cochain with values in the trivial module has the same value on every translate of a lifted cell. It is therefore exactly an ordinary integral cellular cochain on . The correspondence does not depend on which lift was initially chosen. It also respects the coboundary: applying a constant-on-orbits cochain to the lifted cellular boundary sums precisely the incidence coefficients of the boundary in the base. Hence
as cochain complexes, not just as graded groups. Cellular cohomology computes the cohomology of a cell complex, giving
At both sides are , by connectedness and . This is the cellular free resolution from a contractible universal cover description of group cohomology.
For a based space and , the homotopy group is the set of based homotopy classes of maps , equivalently based maps . Concatenating along one coordinate defines its group operation; reversing that coordinate gives the inverse. The group is abelian for . The symbol records path components and is generally only a pointed set. An Eilenberg–MacLane space is a connected CW space with and all other positive homotopy groups zero; for the group must be abelian.
Projection onto coordinates gives
a map to a product is exactly a pair of maps, and a based homotopy to the product is exactly a pair of based homotopies. These identifications respect concatenation. Thus has exactly the homotopy groups required of . Taking CW models and using the allowed uniqueness of Eilenberg–MacLane spaces gives
Let be prime. Take in complex coordinates, with acting by scalar multiplication by a primitive th root of unity. This is a free action. Every map from a finite-dimensional sphere lands in a finite stage and becomes null-homotopic in a sufficiently higher sphere, so is weakly contractible; the Whitehead theorem for CW complexes makes it contractible. Therefore the infinite lens space has contractible universal cover, fundamental group , and no higher homotopy: it is a model of .
Here is the group cohomology computation, including the ring structure. For the cyclic group generated by , the standard free resolution alternates the maps and . Applying makes both maps zero, so each cohomology degree is one-dimensional. The period-two identity chain map represents a class in degree two, and cup multiplication by this periodicity class is an isomorphism from each degree to the degree two higher. For odd , a nonzero degree-one class has by graded commutativity, while and are nonzero by periodicity. For the model is homotopy equivalent to , whose ring is the infinite version of that computed in question 2. Consequently the mod-p cohomology ring of a cyclic group is
The standard results used are the contractible-cover description of a , its identification of singular cohomology with group cohomology, and the cyclic periodic resolution with cup-periodicity just stated.
The product equivalence and the assumed Künneth theorem over the field give
The tensor product is graded: for odd , and each . The dimensions in degree are : for count ; for odd the generating series is .
If an -dimensional CW complex has exactly one cell in dimension , then . Cellular cohomology is the quotient of the kernel of its outgoing coboundary by the image of the incoming one, a quotient of a subspace of this one-dimensional vector space. Thus
This one-cell bound on next-degree cohomology is valid even with infinitely many higher cells; the printed finite-per-dimension hypothesis is more than it needs.
Now a free finite-group action makes a covering. For the sphere is simply connected, so , for , and . The covering also identifies every higher homotopy group with that of . Use the homotopy-group effect of attaching higher cells: attaching -cells, , preserves homotopy groups below and quotients by the subgroup generated by the attaching classes and their fundamental-group translates. Attach a single -cell along a generator of ; its translates do not require additional cells since the original generator already generates the underlying group. This kills without changing or the lower groups.
Successively in each higher degree attach cells representing generators of the remaining homotopy group. In the union every higher homotopy group vanishes, since a map and its relevant homotopy have compact domain and are handled at a finite stage. The result is a with exactly one -cell. No finiteness assumption on the number of later cells is needed for the preceding cochain bound. If desired, one can retain finitely many per degree using the Serre finiteness theorem for homotopy groups: a simply connected CW complex of finite type has finitely generated homotopy groups. At each finite stage the universal cover is simply connected and finite type, since is finite; choosing finitely many generators then preserves finite type inductively. The first stage needs just the stated .
If , the resulting would have by its single cell, but its already computed cohomology has dimension in that degree. This contradiction proves
This is the free sphere actions exclude elementary abelian subgroups of rank two obstruction.
For a left -module, group cohomology is
with the trivial module. Equivalently take a projective resolution and the cohomology of . This also describes the right-derived functors of the invariant-module functor .
For an explicit model, the homogeneous bar free resolution has , with diagonal -action and boundary the alternating sum of coordinate deletions. It is free over : each orbit has a unique representative with first coordinate . The augmented complex is exact because inserting as a first coordinate supplies a contracting homotopy of underlying abelian groups; its lack of -equivariance does not affect exactness. The associated inhomogeneous group cochains are functions , with
For group cochains of degree zero, . Adjacent deletions cancel in pairs, giving and hence .
In degree zero this gives
It is also , since a map is determined by the invariant image of .
In degree one the cocycle condition is , so
These are crossed homomorphisms modulo principal crossed homomorphisms. For trivial action they reduce to ordinary group homomorphisms, so .
There are two further useful descriptions. If is the augmentation ideal, a crossed homomorphism gives an equivariant map by , because . Applying to therefore gives
Also a section of has the form and is a group homomorphism exactly when is a crossed homomorphism. Conjugation of sections by an element of changes by a principal crossed homomorphism. Thus classifies the -conjugacy classes of such sections, or equivalently of complements to in the semidirect product.
In degree two, a normalized two-cocycle satisfies
Define multiplication on by
The displayed cocycle identity is precisely associativity; normalization gives the identity and inverses exist. This produces a group extension with the prescribed action on .
Conversely a set-theoretic section , , gives in the additive kernel of a group homomorphism. Associativity gives the cocycle condition. Replacing by changes by
The resulting extensions are equivalent through a change of coordinates in . Conversely any extension equivalence preserving both kernel of a group homomorphism and quotient yields such a change of section. Hence
The zero class corresponds exactly to a split extension. With trivial action these are central group extensions; addition of classes corresponds to the Baer sum. This proves the second group cohomology classifies group extensions interpretation.
For and trivial coefficients , put . The Koszul resolution for a rank-two free abelian group is
where and . To check exactness at , reduce modulo . Since is not a zero divisor in , write , and cancellation gives . Injectivity of follows because is a domain. The augmentation kernel is generated by , proving the other exactness statement.
Applying makes both differentials zero, since act trivially. Thus
Degree-one classes assign arbitrary integers to the two generators. Geometrically these are also the cohomology groups of the torus, a classifying space for ; its cohomology ring is the exterior algebra on the two degree-one classes.
The integer in degree two has an explicit extension representative. On triples , set
The bilinear term is a two-cocycle. With generators , and central ,
Every central extension of by has this form: choose lifts of the two generators and the fixed generator of the kernel of a group homomorphism, then their group commutator determines and every element has a unique form . Changing the lifts by central elements leaves that commutator unchanged. Thus distinct integers give inequivalent extensions, and the cocycles add with . The case is ; is the integer Heisenberg group. This realizes the integral central extensions of a rank-two free abelian group concretely.
Galois cohomology and the finite division quotient. Let be a number field, with its profinite topology, and a discrete continuous -module. Its Galois cohomology is continuous group cohomology. In degrees zero and one,
Thus a crossed homomorphism measures the failure of a choice to be Galois-invariant, and changing the choice changes the cocycle by a coboundary. A short exact sequence of such modules gives a long exact sequence in group cohomology. The connecting map sends an invariant element to the cocycle obtained by lifting it and comparing its Galois translates.
For an elliptic curve and , multiplication by is surjective on and has kernel . The Kummer exact sequence of an elliptic curve therefore gives
Explicitly, choose and set . Replacing changes this by a coboundary; replacing by , , does not change it. If its class is zero, some torsion translate of is Galois-invariant, so . This proves injectivity of the Kummer map of an elliptic curve.
The whole group need not be finite. The crucial restriction is ramification. Let contain the finite primes of bad reduction of an elliptic curve and those dividing . At , good reduction and prime-to-residue-characteristic multiplication imply that every division point of a local point is in an unramified extension, by the formal-group lifting argument. Thus every global Kummer class restricts trivially to inertia there.
Choose a finite Galois extension containing and the th roots of unity, and enlarge to include its ramified primes. Over , the torsion module is constant and can be identified with . By Kummer theory,
For classes unramified outside the primes above , valuations outside must be divisible by . Their restriction images therefore lie in , the square of an S-unramified power class group. Its finiteness can be seen without assuming the Mordell-Weil theorem: the finiteness of S-unramified Kummer classes follows from
The S-unit group is finitely generated by the Dirichlet unit theorem and its valuations at . The localized ideal class group is a quotient of the ordinary ideal class group of , which is finite by the finiteness of the ideal class group. The Minkowski bound for ideal classes supplies an integral ideal of bounded norm in each class, and only finitely many integral ideals have bounded norm.
The kernel of restriction from to is also finite: a cocycle trivial after restriction can, after subtracting a coboundary, be made to factor through the finite group . There are only finitely many maps from that group to the finite module . This is the finite-extension kernel of a Kummer map mechanism. Consequently the possible Kummer classes form a finite set, proving
This is the Weak Mordell-Weil theorem. Imposing membership in the local Kummer image at every place refines the finite unramified collection to the n-Selmer group. Its relation with the obstruction to a globally rational point is
where the last group is the -torsion of the Tate–Shafarevich group. Thus local solubility gives a finite computable upper bound but can leave a genuine global obstruction.
Heights and finite generation. For the other essay, normalize the absolute values on a field so that the product formula holds. The Absolute logarithmic Weil height of is
At the infinite places the local degrees are one or two and the usual real or complex modulus is used. The product formula makes this independent of scaling; it is also unchanged by extending . Over , using coprime integral coordinates gives , the naive height on the projective line. The Northcott theorem says that points of bounded height and bounded field degree form a finite set; in particular this holds over the fixed field . One way to see the finiteness is the height-Mahler measure formula: for an algebraic number of degree , the coefficients of its primitive minimal integer polynomial are bounded by binomial factors times . Bounds on and therefore leave only finitely many integer polynomials and hence only finitely many algebraic numbers.
Set for , and . Since has degree two, bounded gives only finitely many points of . The height growth under a morphism of the projective line states that a degree- morphism gives . The upper bound follows from its homogeneous coordinate polynomials; the lower bound follows from their having no common zero, using a resultant identity at each place. Applied to the degree-four duplication map, it gives a uniform constant with
Consequently is Cauchy: the absolute difference of consecutive terms is at most . Define the canonical height of an elliptic curve by
It is nonnegative and satisfies . The factor one-half is the conventional normalization for the divisor , since the first-coordinate height belongs to .
The addition-divisor identity also gives the bounded-error height identity
uniformly in . This is the height form of the identity for the sum and difference pullbacks of the line bundle associated to ; it includes points where the affine addition formulas have a zero denominator. Apply it to , divide by , and take the limit. Thus satisfies the parallelogram law, and its polarization is a bilinear form, the height pairing. Nonnegativity implies the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality for that pairing, by evaluating its nonnegative quadratic polynomial on for all integers and approximating real ratios by rational numbers. In particular
These properties do not presuppose finite generation. Bounded canonical height gives a finite set by the bounded difference and the Northcott theorem. Torsion points have canonical height zero. Conversely, if , all have bounded naive height, so two coincide; their difference makes torsion. Thus the height detects precisely the free part, once finite generation is proved.
Use the Weak Mordell-Weil theorem with and choose finitely many coset representatives . Write , and put . The height inequality yields
Iteration enters the finite set , since after steps the height is at most . Unwinding expresses every point using that finite set and the . This proves the canonical-height proof of Mordell-Weil finite generation and hence
The Fundamental theorem of finitely generated abelian groups supplies this decomposition. The Mordell-Weil theorem combines a finite quotient from arithmetic Galois cohomology with a contracting height descent; either ingredient alone would not establish finite generation.
The inhomogeneous group cochain group is
with . Its group coboundary is
One checks that , and group cohomology is .
The natural map
has finite image by hypothesis. It remains to bound its kernel. If becomes for , then
is a one-cocycle for . Changing by an -torsion point changes this cocycle by a coboundary, producing a well-defined map from the kernel to
If its cohomology class is zero, subtracting the corresponding torsion point from makes Galois fixed, so . The map is therefore injective. Both and are finite, so this group cohomology set is finite. A finite kernel and finite image give
The Affleck--Kennedy--Lieb--Tasaki state places two virtual spin-one-half degrees of freedom at every site, puts neighboring virtual spins into singlets, and projects the two virtual spins at each site onto their symmetric spin-one triplet. Its local tensor is equivalently proportional to in the spin-one Cartesian basis, and its Affleck--Kennedy--Lieb--Tasaki parent Hamiltonian is
The one-dimensional cluster state is the simultaneous eigenstate of the commuting stabilizers
On a periodic chain it is obtained by applying a controlled- gate on every neighboring pair of the product state .
After suitable blocking, the two states have the same nontrivial projective virtual symmetry of a matrix product state for the protecting group . The two virtual symmetry generators can be represented by anticommuting Pauli matrices, so they realize the nontrivial projective class in group cohomology. Consequently the AKLT and cluster states can be connected by a symmetry-preserving gapped path, or equivalently by a symmetry-preserving finite-depth local circuit: this is the Symmetry-protected equivalence of the Affleck--Kennedy--Lieb--Tasaki state and cluster state.
Both states therefore exhibit one-dimensional symmetry-protected topological order. On an open chain their nontrivial virtual representation produces protected edge degrees of freedom and a characteristic degeneracy in the entanglement spectrum of a matrix product state. They do not have intrinsic topological order: if the protecting symmetry is discarded, either state can be connected to a product state by a finite-depth local circuit.
For , the map is a principal crossed homomorphism. It is the group coboundary of the zero-cochain , so first group cohomology is the quotient of crossed homomorphisms by principal crossed homomorphisms.
Projective-resolution definition of group cohomology Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Choose a projective resolution of the trivial -module. For a -module , group cohomology is
Different projective resolutions give naturally isomorphic groups.
For a finite group , Tate cohomology joins group cohomology and group homology through the norm map . For it equals ordinary group cohomology; for it equals . The middle terms are and , where is generated by . For the trivial module , . With multiplicative coefficients the norm is the product of the translates.