Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 17 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let and . Around any , choose a local frame of the vector subbundle . Choose additional smooth sections of which complement these vectors at . They can be obtained by constant-coordinate sections in a vector bundle trivialization. The determinant of the resulting frame is nonzero at , hence on a sufficiently small neighborhood. Thusis an adapted local frame of near .
On the fiberwise quotient, the classes form a basis. Give the quotient vector bundle its local coordinates byAn overlap between adapted frames has a smooth transition function of a vector bundle represented by an invertible block upper triangular matrix,The zero lower-left block expresses that both sets of first frame vectors span . Its lower-right block is smooth and invertible. Passing to quotient coordinates removes the upper block, leaving precisely the transition . These lower-right blocks satisfy the cocycle identity because the original transition matrices do. Consequently they define a compatible smooth bundle atlas of rank . This proves is a smooth vector bundle, and its fiberwise quotient map is a smooth vector bundle morphism. The construction is independent of the adapted frames: any two choices have the same type of compatible transition. The usual quotient topology agrees with this atlas, since in adapted coordinates is an open linear projection on each fiber.