DIFFERENTIAL TOPOLOGY. HW 2.

1. Show that every connected smooth 1-dimensional manifold is diffeomorphic to

either an open, closed, semi-open interval, or to a circle.
2. Let f : M → N be a smooth map between closed manifolds. The rank of f
at x ∈ M is the dimension of the image of the differential df (x) : Tx,M → Tf (x),N .
Assume that the rank of f is constant on an open neighbourhood of a point p ∈ M .
Prove that f is equivalent to a linear map at p i.e. there are an open neighbourhood
U of p, an open neighbourhood U 0 of f (p), and diffeomorphisms h (resp. h0 ) of U
(resp. U 0 ) onto an open neighbourhood of 0 ∈ Tp,M (resp. of 0 ∈ Tf (p),N ) carring p
(resp. f (p)) to 0) such that f|U = h0−1 ◦ df (p) ◦ h.
Definition. A smooth map f : M → N between smooth closed manifolds is said
to be an immersion if for every point x ∈ M the differential df (x) : Tx,M → Tf (x),N
is injective. We say that f is an imbedding if it is an immersion and f induces a
homeomorphism between M and f (M ) (where f (M ) carries the subspace topology
inherited from N ).
3. Prove that every compact manifold M can be imbedded into Rk . (Hint: using
partition of unity check that for every x ∈ M there exists a smooth map M → Rm
whose restriction to some neighbourhood of x is an imbedding.)
4. Prove that there is no immersion of the Mobius band into R2 .
5. (a) Let U ⊂ Rn be a convex neighborhood of 0 and f : U → Rn a smooth
function, f (0) = 0. Then X
f (x) = ai (x)xi
i
for some smooth functions a1 (x), ..., an (x) satisfying ai (0) = fx0 i (0).
(b) Prove that derivations f 7→ fx0 i (0) (i = 1, · · · , n) form a basis in T0,Rn .
6. Let i : Y ,→ X be a CW pair and i a homotopy equivalence. Prove that Y is a
deformation retract of X.

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 DIFFERENTIAL TOPOLOGY. HW 3.

1. (a) Let f : M → N be a smooth map with dim M < dim N . Prove that
N − Im f is dense in N .
(b) Prove that every compact smooth manifold of dimension n can be embedded in
R2n+1 . (Hint: according to Problem 3 from HW2, M can be embedded into some
Euclidean space, say f : M ,→ Rk . Assuming k > 2n + 1 and using part (a) show
that there is a linear projection p : Rk → Rk−1 such that p ◦ f : M → Rk−1 is an
embedding. )
(c) Let M be a non-orientable compact manifold of dimension n. Prove that there is
no embedding M ,→ Rn+1 .
Definition. Let p : E → X a vector bundle, f : X 0 → X a continuous map. The
pullback of E on X 0 is defined to be f ∗ E := X 0 ×X E. Denote by p0 : f ∗ E → X 0
the projection. Note that p0−1 (x) = p−1 (f (x)). In particular, one has a vector space
structure on each fiber of p0 , which makes p0 : f ∗ E → X 0 a vector bundle over X 0
2. (a) Let X paracompact space. Show that every vector bundle E over X × [0, 1]
has the form v ∗ E 0 , where E 0 is a vector bundle over X and v : X × [0, 1] → X is the
projection.
(b) Show that for two homotopic maps f, g : X 0 → X from a paracompact space X 0
and a vector bundle E over X the pullbacks f ∗ E and g ∗ E are isomorphic.
Remark 1: It follows from Problem 2 (b) that the set of isomorphism classes of
vector bundles over a paracompact space X is a homotopy invariant of X.
Definition. Given vector bundles p : E → X and p0 : E 0 → X over X the tensor
product q : E ⊗ E 0 → X is a vector with q −1 (x) = p−1 (x) ⊗ p0−1 (x). The topology on
E ⊗ E 0 is characterized by the property that for any continuous sections s and s0 of
E and E 0 respectively s ⊗ s0 is a continuous section of E ⊗ E 0 . Similarly, one defines
the notion of dual bundle E ∗ .
3. Show that the set of isomorphism classes of rank 1 vector bundles over any
space X together with the tensor product operation is a group. Moreover, if X is
paracompact this group is isomorphic to H 1 (X, Z/2Z).
4. Classify all vector bundles over S q for q ≤ 3.
5. Let G be a Lie group and h ⊂ Lie G a subalgebra of the Lie algebra of G.
Use the Frobenius theorem to show that h can be integrated to a virtual subgroup
of G i.e., there is a Lie group H together with a smooth injective homomorphism
i : H ,→ G such that the image of the differential of i at the identity element e ∈ G
is h.

1
 DIFFERENTIAL TOPOLOGY. HW 4.

1. Let M be a smooth compact manifold and f : M → R a Morse function (i.e.,

all the critical points of f are nondegenerate). Denote by λi the number of critical
points of index i. Assume that, for every i, if λi 6= 0 then λi+1 = 0. Prove that, for
every i, the group Hi (M ) is torsion free of rank λi .
2. Construct a Morse function on CP n with precisely n + 1 critical points.
3. (a) Assume that a smooth compact manifold M admits a smooth function
f : M → R with m critical points (possibly, degenerate). Prove that M can be
covered by m + 1 contractible open sets.
(b) Show that CP n does not admit a smooth function with less then n + 1 critical
points.
4. (a) Let X ⊂ CP n+1 be a hypersurface i.e., the zero locus of a non-zero homoge-
nous polynomial in n + 2 variables. Prove that the restriction map
H k (CP n+1 , Z) → H k (X, Z)
is an isomorphism for k < n. In particular, H k (X, Z) = 0 for k odd, k < n, and
H 2k (X, Z) = Z for 2k < n.
(b) Compute the Betti numbers of the hypersurface X ⊂ CP 3 given by equation
x30 + x31 + x32 + x33 = 0.

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 DIFFERENTIAL TOPOLOGY. HW 5.

1. Prove that CP 2n+1 is the boundary of a manifold.

2. Let M be a compact closed manifold of dimension n, wi = wi (TM ) ∈ H i (M, F2 )
the Stiefel-Whitney classes of the tangent bundle. Any product of Stiefel-Whitney
classes wi of total degree n can be paired with the Z/2Z-fundamental class of the
manifold to give an element of Z/2Z, a Stiefel-Whitney number of M . (For example,
if n = 3 there are 3 numbers: ([M ], w3 ), ([M ], w2 w1 ), ([M ], w13 ).) Prove that if M is a
boundary then all the Stiefel-Whitney numbers of M are equal to 0.
3. Let M ⊂ RP 4 × RP 2 be a smooth hypersurface given by a polynomial equation
in homogenious coordinates x0 , x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 , y0 , y1 , y2 of degree (1, 1). Show that M
∼
is not a boundary. (In fact [M ] generates Ω4 −→ Z/2Z.)
4. Prove that the homotopy type of a simply connected compact four-manifold M
is determined by its intersection form H2 (M ) ⊗ H2 (M ) → Z.

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 DIFFERENTIAL TOPOLOGY. FINAL EXAM

The solutions are due Monday, December 28. I will give you the grade “A+” if
you do correctly at least 3 problems.
Problem 1. (a) Show that π2 (SO(3, R)) = 0. (Hint: construct a 2-fold cover
∼
SU (2) → SO(3, R) and a homeomorphism SU (2) −→ S 3 .)
(b) Prove that every compact orientable 3-manifold is parallelizable i.e., its tangent
bundle is trivial. (Hint: Use the Wu formula (Theorem 11.14 from the book by Milnor
and Stasheff).)
Problem 2. Let X be a non-singular algebraic hypersurface in CP n+1 of degree d.
(An algebraic hypersurface of degree d is the set of zeroes of a homogeneous polynomial
of degree d.) Let x ∈ H 2 (X, Z) be the image of the generator H 2 (CP n+1 , Z) under
the restriction map H 2 (CP n+1 , Z) → H 2 (X, Z). Express the total Chern class of TX
as a polynomial in x. Using this, compute the Euler characteristic of X. (Hint: Apply
Corollary 11.12 from the book by Milnor and Stasheff).
Problem 3. (a) Prove that π1 (SO(n, R)) = Z/2Z for every n > 2.
For n > 2, define the Spin group Spin(n) to be a universal cover of SO(n, R). By
part (a) we have a short exact sequence of groups
0 → Z/2Z → Spin(n) → SO(n, R) → 0.

∼ ∼
(b) Show that Spin(3) −→ SU (2) and Spin(4) −→ SU (2) × SU (2)
Let E → B be a real oriented rank n (n > 2) vector bundle equipped with a
Riemann metric, and let X → B be the associated principle SO(n, R)-bundle. A Spin
structure on E consists of a principal Spin(n)- bundle X̃ → B and an isomorphism
∼
X̃/(Z/2Z) −→ X of principal SO(n, R)-bundles. Here Z/2Z is regarded as the kernel
of the surjection Spin(n) → SO(n, R).
(c) Prove that E admits a Spin structure if and only if w2 (E) = 0. Show that
inequivalent Spin structures are parametrized by H 1 (B, Z/2Z).
(d) Take n = 3. Using the above notation, let V → B be the rank 2 complex vector
bundle associated to X̃ → B. Express p1 (E) in terms of c2 (V ).
Problem 4. Let M be a smooth compact simply-connected manifold of dimension
4. Fix an orientation on M .
(a) Show that H 2 (M, Z) is a free abelian group.

Denote by
(·, ·) : H 2 (M, Z) ⊗ H 2 (M, Z) → H 4 (M, Z) = Z
the intersection form. Note that by the Poincaré duality and (a) the form (·, ·) is
unimodular.
(a) Prove that, for any α ∈ H 2 (M, Z) one has
(w̃2 (TM ), α) = (α, α) mod 2.
2
Here w̃2 (TM ) ∈ H (M, Z) denotes any lift of the Stiefel-Whitney class w2 (TM ) ∈
H 2 (M, Z/2Z). In particular, the intersection form (·, ·) is even if and only if w2 (TM ) =
0.
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2 DIFFERENTIAL TOPOLOGY. FINAL EXAM

(b) Check that (w̃2 (TM ), w̃2 (TM )) mod 8 is independent of the choice of lifting w̃2 (TM )
and that
(w̃2 (TM ), w̃2 (TM )) = σ mod 8,
where σ is the signature of the form (·, ·).
(c) Prove that if w2 (TM ) = 0 then the signature is divisible by 16.
 DIFFERENTIAL TOPOLOGY. HW 1.

In all problems below the word “manifold” means “topological manifold”. Many
of the problems are based on the Poicaré duality Theorem for such manifolds (see,
for example, §3.3 in Hatcher’s book on Algebraic Topology.)

1. Show that deleting a point from a manifold of dimension greater than 1 does
not affect orientability of the manifold.
2. For a map f : M → N between connected closed compact orientable n-manifolds
with fundamental classes [M ] and [N ], the degree of f is defined to be the integer d
such that f∗ ([M ]) = d[N ], so the sign of the degree depends on the choice of funda-
mental classes. Show that for any connected closed compact orientable n-manifold M
there is a degree 1 map M → S n .
3. For a map f : M → N between connected closed compact orientable n-
manifolds, suppose there is a ball B ⊂ N such that f −1 (B) is the disjoint union
of balls Bi each mapped homeomorphically by f onto B . Show the degree of f is
P
i i where i is +1 or −1 according to whether f : Bi → B preserves or reverses
local orientations
Sn induced from given fundamental classes [M ] and [N ].
4. LetX = i=1 Wi be a cover of a space X by contractible open subsets. Prove
that for any αi ∈ H qi (X, A), (i = 1, 2, . . . , n ), with qi > 0, one has α1 ∪α2 ∪· · ·∪αn =
0. As a corollary show that, for any space Y and every p, q > 0, the cup product
H p (ΣY, Z) ⊗ H q (ΣY, Z) → H p+q (ΣY, Z)
is 0. Here ΣY stands for the suspension of Y .
5. Show that if the closed compact orientable surface Mg of genus g retracts onto
a graph X ⊂ Mg , then H1 (X) has rank at most g.
6. Prove that the genus of a connected, compact, orientable surface is equal to the
integer representing the maximum number of cuttings along non-intersecting closed
simple curves without rendering the resultant manifold disconnected.
7. (a) Let N be a closed compact connected oriented 4n-dimensional manifold.
The signature of N is defined to be the signature of the symmetric bilinear form1
∨
H 2n (N, R) × H 2n (N, R) −→ H 4n (N, R) = R.
Prove that if N is the boundary of a compact orientable manifold M then the signature
of N is zero. (Hint: show that the signature of a non-degenerate symmetric bilinear
on a real vector space V is 0 if and only if there is a subspace W ⊂ V , with 2 dim W =
dim V , such that the restriction of the form to W is 0. Then use the Poincaré duality
for manifolds with boundary.)
(c) Show that CP 2n1 × CP 2n2 × · · · × CP 2nk is not homotopy equivalent to the
boundary of a compact orientable manifold.
8. Let M be a closed manifold. A d-dimensional submanifold N ⊂ M is a closed
subspace such that for every point x ∈ N there exists an open neighborhood x ∈ V ⊂
1The signature of a non-degenerate symmetric bilinear form on a real vector space is computed
as follows: choose a basis in which the form is represented by a diagonal matrix. Then the signature
is the number of positive diagonal entries minus the number of negative diagonal entries.
1
2 DIFFERENTIAL TOPOLOGY. HW 1.

∼
M and and a homeomorphism V −→ Rd ×Rn−d which maps N ∩V homeomorphically
to Rd = Rd × 0 ⊂ Rd × Rn−d .
(a) Let N ⊂ M be as above. Prove that for an open cover M = U ∪ W , one has the
Mayor-Vietoris long exact sequence
· · · → H q (M, M − N, A) → H q (U, U − U ∩ N, A) ⊕ H q (W, W − W ∩ N, A)
→ H q (U ∩ W, U ∩ W − U ∩ W ∩ N, A) → H q+1 (M, M − N, A) → · · ·
(b) Define the homomorphism
φ : H q (N, A) ⊗ H p (M, M − N, A) → H p+q (M, M − N, A)
as follows: given α ∈ H q (N, A) choose an open neighborhood N ⊂ U ⊂ M such
∼
that α is a restriction of some class α̃ ∈ H q (U, A). Given β ∈ H p (M, M − N, A) −→
H p (U, U − N, A), set
∼
φ(α ⊗ β) = α̃ ∪ β ∈ H p+q (U, U − N, A) −→ H p+q (M, M − N, A).
Show that φ is well defined (i.e. does not depend on the choice of U and α̃ and defines
a structure of a H ∗ (N, A)-module on H ∗ (M, M − N, A).
(c) Assume that M and N are A-oriented. Prove that there exists a unique element
]N [∈ H n−d (M, M − N, A) with the following property: for every point x ∈ N and a
coordinate neighborhood x ∈ V ⊂ M , the restriction ]N ∩ V [ of ]N [ to H n−d (V, V −
∼
N ∩ V, A) −→ H n−d (Rd × Rn−d , Rd × Rn−d − Rd , A) = A is the generator determined
by the A-orientations of M and N , that is
]N ∩ V [ ∩µM N
x = µx .
(The image of ]N [ in H n−d (M, A) is called the fundamental class of N . )
(d) Moreover, show that H ∗ (M, M − N, A) is a free H ∗ (N, A)-module generated by
]N [. That is H q (M, M − N, A) = 0, for q < n − d and the map
H i (N, A) → H n−d+i (M, M − N, A),
which takes α ∈ H i (N, A) to φ(α, ]N [) is an isomorphism. Remark: this is a difficult
problem; you may first try to prove this assuming the existence of an open neighbor-
hood N ⊂ U ⊂ M , such that N is a deformation retract of U , and that A is a field.
As a corollary, we obtain the Gysin long exact sequence
· · · → H q−n+d (N, A) → H q (M, A) → H q (M − N, A) → H q−n+d+1 (N, A) → · · ·