Define the Lie derivative of a differential form by , using the local flow. The pullback of a differential form respects the wedge product of differential forms and commutes with the exterior derivative. Therefore is a derivation of an algebra of degree zero and commutes with .
Let , where is the interior product of a differential form. The graded product rules for and show that their anticommutator is also a degree-zero derivation of an algebra: the two mixed terms cancel. Since , it commutes with . On a function , and . Hence .
In a manifold chart, every differential form is a sum of functions times products . The two derivations agree on its generators and , and therefore agree on every such form. This proves Cartan's magic formula, including the case :
For , differentiation gives and . Thus is an anti-symplectic involution of the symplectic vector space . By part (a), its eigenspace is a Lagrangian subspace.
In the local manifold chart supplied in the question, is linear, so its fixed-point set is the intersection of the chart with this eigenspace. Therefore the fixed-point set is an embedded submanifold and
Every such tangent space has half the ambient dimension and the symplectic form vanishes on it. Hence every nonempty fixed-point set is a Lagrangian submanifold. The fixed-point set itself need not be connected.
As usual for Complex projective space and Real projective space, homogeneous coordinates are represented by nonzero vectors. Componentwise complex conjugation descends to the diffeomorphism
It is well defined because , and . Every standard manifold chart is invariant under , with . Part (d) and the gluing of the Fubini-Study form therefore imply .
A point in the fixed-point set satisfies . Applying complex conjugation again gives . Choose with ; then , so has a real representative. Conversely every real representative determines a point in the fixed-point set. Hence , and part (c) gives
Let denote the quotient map and write for a point of Real projective space. For , take the open set
It is open in the quotient topology because its inverse image under is the open set . These sets cover, since a nonzero vector has at least one nonzero coordinate. Define the manifold chart
The hat means that the th coordinate is omitted. Ratios are unchanged by multiplying by any nonzero real number, so the chart is well defined. Its inverse inserts into position and takes the resulting equivalence class. The ratios and this inverse are continuous, giving a homeomorphism .
For a compact description of the smooth transition maps, write and let for . On one has , and
Each coordinate is a rational smooth function on the open domain ; reversing gives a smooth inverse. Thus these charts form the standard affine atlas of real projective space.
For completeness, the underlying space is Hausdorff: normalizing identifies it with the antipodal quotient of the unit sphere, and the continuous injective map into the space of symmetric matrices separates any two distinct classes by disjoint open neighborhoods. It is also a second-countable space: pull back the countable bases of rational balls in these finitely many charts, and take their union. Therefore
An abstract smooth surface is a Hausdorff second-countable topological space with an atlas of charts to open subsets of whose transition maps are smooth. It is orientable when it has such an atlas for which every transition map has positive Jacobian determinant. A map is a smooth map when every coordinate representation
is smooth wherever it is defined.
The map is a smooth involution with no fixed point: the equation
would force , which is impossible on . For each , choose a sufficiently small coordinate neighbourhood such that
Then the quotient projection restricts to a homeomorphism
Transporting a smooth chart across this homeomorphism gives the quotient chart
On an overlap, a lift lies either in another chosen neighbourhood or in its image under . The corresponding transition map is therefore a transition map on , possibly composed with the diffeomorphism , and is smooth. Since this is a free action of the finite group , the quotient is Hausdorff and second countable. This constructs the smooth quotient by a free finite group action, and in these charts is locally the identity. Hence is a local diffeomorphism, in particular smooth.
To test orientability, parametrize the cylinder by
The involution acts in these coordinates as
whose derivative has determinant . Thus is an orientation-reversing diffeomorphism of the cylinder.
If the quotient surface were orientable, its orientation would pull back through the local diffeomorphism to an orientation of . The identity would then force to preserve that pulled-back orientation, contradicting the negative determinant above. Therefore
Product manifold 2026-10-07
Products of manifold charts form a smooth atlas on the topological product of two smooth manifolds. The transition maps are products of the two smooth transition maps, so the dimension is the sum of the dimensions. The smooth structure is independent of the chosen compatible atlases.
Second-countable space 2026-10-05
A second-countable topological space has a countable collection of open sets such that every open set is a union of members of that collection. A space covered by countably many open manifold charts is second countable because each coordinate domain has a countable basis of rational balls.
Smooth atlas 2026-10-05
A smooth atlas is a collection of manifold charts covering a topological manifold whose coordinate changes are smooth transition maps. It determines a smooth manifold structure by adjoining every compatible chart.
Smooth transition map 2026-10-05
On overlapping manifold charts, a transition map changes one coordinate representation to the other. In a smooth atlas it and its inverse are smooth on the corresponding open coordinate domains.
Standard affine atlas of real projective space Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-06
The manifold charts have coordinates , with . Their inverse inserts as the th homogeneous coordinate. On an overlap, changing the denominator from to divides each remaining coordinate by the nonzero coordinate . These rational smooth transition maps give Real projective space its standard smooth manifold structure.
A tangent vector is a linear map on germs of smooth functions satisfying . In a manifold chart, first-order expansion shows . Thus the coordinate derivations form a basis, and the dimension equals the manifold dimension. Composition of germs with a smooth map defines its differential of a smooth map without choosing charts.
A local trivialization of a rank- vector bundle is a bundle isomorphism over an open set , linear on each fiber. Overlapping trivializations differ by for a smooth -valued function . A tangent bundle chart uses the derivative of its base manifold chart for this fiber identification.