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2010 Fall 4530 HW7 Solfinal
2010 Fall 4530 HW7 Solfinal
HW 7 solutions
Please declare any collaborations with classmates; if you find solutions in books or online,
acknowledge your sources in either case, write your answers in your own words.
Please attempt all questions and justify your answers.
t [0, 1/2]
k(H(x, 2t))
F(x, t) :=
K(h0 (x), 2t 1) t [1/2, 1]
Check that maps on RHS are continuous maps from X [0, 1/2] and X [1/2, 1] to Z and
they agree on X {1/2} so that by the pasting lemma, F is a well-defined continuous map.
Now this F is a homotopy from k h and k0 h0 because
F(x, 0) = k(H(x, 0)) = k(h(x)),
(2) Let Homot(X; Y) be the set of homotopy classes of continuous maps from X to Y.
(a) Let I := [0, 1]. Show that Homot(X; I) has a single element.
(b) Show that if Y is path-connected, then Homot(I; Y) has a single point.
Solution:
(a) Let f, g Homot(X; I) and consider a straight-line homotopy between them defined by
H(x, t) = tg(x) + (1 t) f (x). Since any two elements are homotopic, Homot(X; I) has
just a single element.
(b) Let f, g : I Y be continuous maps. We need to show that f g. For f , consider the
following map:
F : I [0, 1] Y, F(s, t) = f ((1 t)s).
It is a continuous since F is a composition of obvious continuous maps (Ill leave this
to you). Because F(s, 0) = f (s) and F(s, 1) = f (0), F is a homotopy from f to a
constant map e f (0) : I { f (0)} Y. Similarly we have a homotopy from g to eg(0) .
Now since Y is path-connected, we have a path k : [0, 1] Y from f (0) to g(0). k
induces a homotopy from e f (0) to eg(0) :
K : I [0, 1] Y, K(s, t) = k(t).
Thus f e f (0) eg(0) g.
(3) A space X is said to be contractible if the identity map iX : X X is homotopic to a constant
map.
1
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Solution:
(a) Consider a straight-line homotopy from the points of the disk to the origin.
(b) Let x, y X be any two points. Since X is contractible, H : X I X, that is the
homotopy from the identity map to a constant map in X. Consider the map f : I X,
defined by f (s) = H(x, 2s) for 0 s 1/2 and f (s) = H(y, 2 2s) for 1/2 s 1.
(c) Let f, g Homot(X; Y). Since Y is contractible, H : Y I Y, that is the homotopy
from the identity map to a constant map in Y. Consider the homotopy K : X I Y,
defined by K(x, t) = H( f (x), 2t) for 0 t 1/2 and K(x, t) = H(g(x), 2 2t) for
1/2 t 1.
(d) Since X is contractible, idX is homotopic to a constant map c : X {x0 } X. By
Lemma 8.9 [L], if f : X Y, f idX = f is homotopic to c = f c where f c : X
{y0 := f (x0 )} Y is a constant map.
To prove the claim, we need to show that f f 0 for any two maps f, f 0 : X Y.
From the first paragraph, f and f 0 are homotopic to constant maps c and c 0 . By the
same argument in the last part of the proof of Problem (2,b), we can show that c c 0
since Y is path-connected. Thus f c c 0 f 0 .
(4) Spaces X and Y is said to have the same homotopy type if there are maps f : X Y and
g : Y X such that f g is homotopic to 1Y and g f is homotopic to 1X .
(a) Show that if X is contractible, then X and a single point have the same homotopy type.
(b) Show that if X and Y are homeomorphic, then X and Y have the same homotopy type.
Solution:
(a) Since X is contractible, H : XI X, that is the homotopy from the identity map, 1X
to a constant map 1c for some point c X. Let f : X c be a constant map f (x) = c
and g : c X be the inclusion map g(c) = c. Then clearly we have f g sends c to c.
By assumption, since X is contractible, we also have g f = 1c is homotopic to 1X .
(b) Take f to be the homeomorphism from X to Y and g = f 1 .
References
[M]
[S]
[L]
Munkres, Topology.
Basic Set Theory, http://www.math.cornell.edu/matsumura/math4530/basic set theory.pdf
Lecture notes, available at http://www.math.cornell.edu/matsumura/math4530/math4530web.html