Algebraic topology (Autumn 2014)

The class hours are MWF 9-10:20 in Eck 206.

Homework is due Monday morning.
There will be a midterm (Wednesday October 29) and a final.

I will hold office hours at 10:30, and occasional other times -- also by appointment in my
office , Eck 403. My email is shmuel@math.uchicago.edu

Bena Tshishiku (tshishikub@gmail.com) and Nick Salter (nks@math.uchicago.edu) will
be doing the grading and giving office hours (alternate weeks). They will have office
hours on Friday 11-12. Bena will do odd weeks and Nick even. Benas will be in Jones
205 and Nicks in Eckhart 11.

Recommended texts are by May, Hatcher and Spanier.

Monday October 20 there will be no class. Also Wednesdays November 12 and 19.

Homework 1. (Do 7 or as much as you can)

1. Show that any subgroup G of a free group F is free. Show that the rank, if the
index is finite, only depends on [F: G]. Give a counterexample for infinite index.

2. Suppose f: S
1
! S
1
is a continuous map, so that f(f(x)) = x, and f has no fixed
points, show that there is a homeomorphism h: S
1
! S
1
so that hfh
-1
(x) = -x. (for all
x)

3. Suppose that f: C! C is of the form f(z) = z
n
+ h(z) and lim h(z)/||z||
n
= 0, show
that f has a root (i.e. a solution to the equation f(x) = 0). Can it have infinitely
many roots?

4. What is the universal cover of RP
2
! RP
2
? Write down the covering map. What
is !
2
(RP
2
! RP
2
)?

5. Suppose X is simply connected and f:X ! C is a nowhere 0 function. Show that
log(f) can be defined to be a continuous function. Is there a nonsimply connected
X for which this is true?

6. Suppose f: M ! N is a smooth map between compact smooth manifolds of the
same dimension, and Jac(f) is nowhere vanishing, M connected and N is simply
connected, show that f is a diffeomorphism. Show that if M is not compact, this
need not be true.

7. Prove that the (p,q) torus knot is not isomorphic to the (r,s) torus knot unless {p,
q} = {r, s}. Recall that the (a,b) torus knot is the embedding of S
1
in S
3
which
lies in the standard unknotted torus, via z ! (z
a
,z
b
). (Here a and b are relatively
prime integers > 1.)

8. Let PU(n) = SU(n)/Z where Z is the center of SU(n) (the group of unitary n x n
complex matrices with determinant = 1). What is !
1
(PU(n))?

9. Consider S
1
! S
2
! D
2
! S
2
What is an element of !
2
that is nontrivial in the
domain, but becomes trivial in the range? (There is an old conjecture that for 2
complexes X!Y, if !
2
Y = 0, then so is !
2
X. This exercise shows that the
conjecture cannot be that inclusions of 2-complexes give injections of !
2
.)

10. Suppose that X is a contractible polyhedron, show that for all k there is a function
f:X
k
!X that commutes with permuting the coordinates, and has f(x,...x) = x.
Show that for X = RP
2
no such f exists for k=2.

Homework 2 . (Do 7 or as much as you can)

1. Give maps from S
1
into the figure 8 that are homotopic but not pointed
homotopic.

2. Suppose X and Y are simply connected and homotopy equivalent, then they are
pointed homotopy equivalent. (Assume X and Y are decent according to your
own reasonable definition of decency). (*) Is this true without simple
connectivity?

3. Let X be decent and connected. Consider the set of homotopy classes of maps
from X to S
1
which send a base point to 1. Call this !
1
(X). Show that

a. !
1
(X) is an abelian group using pointwise multiplication on the circle.
b. If f: X ! Y is a map, then there is an iduced map f*: !
1
(Y) ! !
1
(X). (fg)*
= g*f*.
c. !
1
(X) is determined by the fundamental groups of the components of X.
Whats a formula?
d. Show that there is a homotopy equivalence between Maps(X: S
1
) and
!
1
(X).

4. Definition: A line bundle over X is a pair (Z,f), where f: Z !X is a map so that X
has a cover by open sets O
i
, so that over O
i
one has f
-1
(O
i
) ! O
i
" R so that with
this identification f is projection to the first factor. One also assumes that over
O
i
"O
j
the map O
i
"O
j
" R ! O
j
"O
i
" R is linear over each point. Two line
bundles are isomorphic if there is a map h: Z!Z so that f = fh and h is linear on
each fiber (inverse image of a point of X).

Show that there is an invariant of line bundles taking values in Hom(!
1
X : Z/2Z)
obtained by sending a line bundle to the following (not quite) covering space. Send Z
to Z -0-section and mod out by the multiplicative action of positive real numbers.

(Can you show that this invariant is complete?)

5. Suppose Z is a compact subset of Euclidean space and a neighborhood retract.
Show that there is an #>0, so that for any X, if f,g:X!Z have d(f,g) < #, then f and
g are homtopic and that the same is true rel A for any A in X. Deduce that the set
of homotopy classes of maps from X to Z is always countable (for X a compact
metric space).

6. (continuation) Same Z as in #5. Show that for any L, there are only finitely many
homotopy classes of maps in !
d
(Z) with Lipschitz constant at most L. Indeed,
show that the number grows at most like exp(L
d
).

7. A space X is an H-space if there is a continuous function :X $X % X, for which
for a suitable e"X, (e,x) = (x,e) = x. Show that !
1
(X,e) is abelian if X is an H-
space.

8. Suppose G and H are groups, show that any finite subgroup of G
*
H is conjugate
to a subgroup of either G or of H.

Remark: A useful lemma is that no nontrivial free product is finite. If g is in G and h
is in H, (both nontrivial), then gh has infinite order.

9. Show that S
3
$CP
2
and S
2
$S
5
have isomorphic homotopy groups. (These
manifolds are not homotopy equivalent. Why does this not contradict the
Whitehead theorem?)

Hint: You might first think about the analogous problem for S
3
$RP
2
and S
2
$RP
3
.

10. If M and N are connected n-manifolds, the result of removing little open n-balls
from M and N and then glueing them together is called the connected sum of M
and N and denoted by M#N. (Actually there are two isotopy classes of glueing
maps, so if M and N are orientable, one must use the orientations to make a well
defined construction.) Show that if n>2, !
1
(M#N) = !
1
M
*
!
1
N. Why is this not
true for n=2? Give an example of a connected sum of 2-manifolds that is not a
free product.

Remark: If n=3 a wonderful theorem of Stallings
1
asserts the converse of the first
part of this problem: A closed 3 dimensional manifold is a connected sum iff its
fundamental group is a nontrivial free product. Similarly, Stallings showed that a
map f:M
3
%S
1
is homotopic to the projection of a fiber bundle iff f
*
is nontrivial and
its kernel is finitely generated. Do you see why this is necessary?


1
In combination with the Poincare conjecture. (With PC, the statement is slightly more
complicated.)
11. Show that no infinite group acts properly discontinuously on the Moebius strip.
(Hint: Show that any homeomorphism h of the Moebius strip satisfies the
condition h(C) " C & #.)


Homework 3 (Do 5 problems)

1. Suppose X is a 2-complex and !
2
X = 0, then show that !
3
X = 0.

2. Let L
k
2n-1
(a
1
....a
n
) and L
k
2n-1
(b
1
....b
n
) be two lens spaces (of the same dimension
and same fundamental group). Show that there is a map f: L
k
2n-1
(a
1
....a
n
)%
-
L
k
2n-
1
(b
1
....b
n
) that induces an isomorphism on !
1
.

3. If A, B and C are groups and i:C % A and j: C % B are injections induced by
maps of spaces K(C,1) % K(A,1) and K(C,1) % K(B,1), then show that K(A,1)
!
K(C,1)
K(B,1) is a K(A*
C
B, 1). Give a counterexample if they are not injections.

4. Show that any complex line bundle over S
n
is trivial for n>2. (Change the
definition from 2.4 from an R to a C.)

5. Show that if f:S
1
% S
1
satisfies f(x) = -f(-x), then the element of !
1
(S
1
) " Z is
odd. If f(x) = f(-x) then it is even. (These are both true for S
n
for all n; you will
be able to prove this in a few weeks).

6. Show that '(T
2
) is homotopy equivalent to S
2
! S
2
! S
3
(Hint: use a cell
decomposition; remember !
2
is abelian.)

7. Show that k and l are relatively prime iff every map from L
k
2n-1
(1,1,...1) to
L
l
2n+1
(1,....1) is null homotopic.

8. What is !
2
(RP
2
, RP
1
)?

9. Let SO(n) be the group of orthogonal matrices of determinant 1. Check that
SO(2) is the circle. Observe that SO(n) acts on S
n-1
transitively (i.e. with a single
orbit) and with isotropy SO(n-1). Deduce SO(n) is connected for all n. Show that
SO(n) % SO(n+1) induces an isomorphism on !
i
for all i<n-1.

Remark: The limit groups !
i
(SO(n)) as n%( form a periodic sequence in i, with
period 8. They are Z
2
, Z
2
, 0, Z, 0, 0, 0, Z according to Bott periodicity. We will not
prove this in this course. (Sadly)


Homework 4: (Due November 5 - do all of these, if you can; October 27 is the midterm -
- it will be put on the web on Wednesday)

1. Show that any map T
2
% 8 (The figure 8) is homotopic to one that is not
surjective. Show that the identity map 8 % 8 is not homotopic to a map that is
not surjective.

2. Let X,x be a pointed space and let )X = the space of maps f:[0,1] % X, such that
f(0) = f(1) = x. Show that !
i
()X) ! !
i+1
()X). More generally, for any pointed Z,
the homotopy classes of pointed maps ['Z % X] is isomorphic to the homotopy
classes of pointed maps [Z % )X]

3. Show that if X is a CW complex with !
i
(X) = 0 for ik, then X is homotopy
equivalent to a CW complex Z, with Z
k
= a point.

For the remaining problems you can assume that you know that !
n
(S
n
) = Z.

4. Show that for every n there is a space K(Z, n) with the property that !
i
(K(Z, n)) =
0 unless i=n and !
n
(K(Z, n)) = Z. Show that this space is uniquely determined up
to homotopy type by n.

5. Show that for all n, the space K(Z, n) has a multiplication :K$K % K with an
identity, i.e. (k, e) = (e, k) = k.

6. Show that )K(Z, n) = K(Z, n-1); using this show that for any X, the pointed maps
[X: K(Z, n)] forms an abelian group. We shall denote this group E
n
(X).

7. Show that if X is a k-dimensional CW complex, then E
n
(X) = 0 for n>k.

8. Show that E
k+1
('X) ! E
k
(X)

9. Show that if A!X is an inclusion of CW complexes, then there is an exact
sequence ...% E
k
(X/A) % E
k
(X) % E
k
(A) %E
k+1
(X/A) %...

The map E
k
(A) %E
k+1
(X/A) is induced by considering X/A as X#AcA and using any
map X % cA that is the identity on A (why is there such a thing) to give a map
X/A%'A, and making use of problem 8.

10. Show that there is an exact sequence if Z = X # Y and A = X " Y, all CW
complexes:
% E
k
(Z) % E
k
(X)E
k
(Y) % E
k
(A) %E
k+1
(Z) %...

11. Compute all E
k
(RP
n
) (by induction on n). Deduce that there is no finite
dimensional K(Z/2Z, 1).