Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2024 / iii / Paper 114 / 2 / a / Solution

Write ${\mathbb{F}}_2=\mathbb{Z}/2$. A double covering has a deck transformation $\tau$ that exchanges the two points in every fibre. Every singular simplex $\sigma :{\Delta }^q\to Y$ has exactly two lifts $\tilde{\sigma }$ and $\tau \tilde{\sigma }$. Define the mod-two transfer chain map of a double covering byand let $f_{\#}$ send a simplex of $X$ to its composite with $f$. Uniqueness of lifted faces shows that $T$ commutes with the boundary operator, so both maps are chain maps.

For each base simplex, its two lifts span a copy of ${\mathbb{F}}_2^2$. On this summand, $T$ is $a\mapsto (a,a)$ and $f_{\#}$ is $(a,b)\mapsto a+b$. Hence the sequence is exact in every degree: