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Cohomology and Poincare duality
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sanchopanch...@web.de  
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 More options Jul 5, 1:24 pm
Newsgroups: sci.math
From: sanchopanch...@web.de
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 10:24:04 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Sat, Jul 5 2008 1:24 pm
Subject: Cohomology and Poincare duality
Hello,

I am trying to understand Poincare duality at a concrete example.
Consider X as the boundary of the embedded standard 2-simplex, i.e. X
looks like this
           a
         /   \
        /     \
       v       v
       b --- > c
where the opposite edge of a,b,c gets the name A,B,C respectively.
This is an orientated 1-manifold without boundary which is
homeomorphic to S^1. To calculate the homology with integer
coefficients one has to consider the chain complex
0 ----> Z[A,B,C] --D--> Z[a,b,c] ---->0
where D=[[0,-1,1],[-1,0,1],[-1,1,0]] so a basis of the kernel of D is
for example (A,-B,C) and H_1(X)=Z.
Now one obtains the dual cell structure (which is a simplicial complex
too in this case) by taking the center of the edge A as a new 0-
simplex a', b' and c' the same way and an edge connecting for example
a' and b' is named C' (because it runs over the vertex c). The new
simplicial complex (let's call it X' even X and X' are the same
topological spaces) yields a canonical orientation a' > b' > c'.
Now I like to show that there is a map f_* of cell complexes
0 ----> Z[A,B,C] --D--> Z[a,b,c] ------>0
|           | f_1           | f_0       |
v           v               v           v
0 ----> Z[a',b',c'] --D'-> Z[A',B',C'] -->0
which means that f_0D=D'f_1. From this I can go further to show that
the two complexes are chain-homotopic.

But here is my problem: What is the map D'? Every time I have seen
cohomology the co-chain complex which have occurred has been of the
form hom(C_*,Z) where C_* has been a normal chain complex. What can I
doo here? I can't see how to interpretate the elements a' or A' (for
example) as a map ?-->Z...? Can anybody help me to see how the
relation to the cohomology occurs in my above example?

Thanks,
S.


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Mariano Suárez-Alvarez  
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 More options Jul 5, 2:33 pm
Newsgroups: sci.math
From: Mariano Suárez-Alvarez <mariano.suarezalva...@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 11:33:41 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Sat, Jul 5 2008 2:33 pm
Subject: Re: Cohomology and Poincare duality
On 5 jul, 14:24, sanchopanch...@web.de wrote:

Poincaré duality is an isomorphism from homology
to cohomology. What you are doing is constructing
a map between the complexes which compute *homology*
for two related triangulations.

I doubt I'd be able to explain how Poincaré duality
works in ASCII. The very besy you can do is get
a textbook and follow the construction.
Greenberg's book has a very nice discussion, for
example.

-- m


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sanchopanch...@web.de  
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 More options Jul 5, 5:36 pm
Newsgroups: sci.math
From: sanchopanch...@web.de
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 14:36:06 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Sat, Jul 5 2008 5:36 pm
Subject: Re: Cohomology and Poincare duality
On 5 Jul., 20:33, Mariano Suárez-Alvarez

Thank you for your answer. Anyway, I don't think that my construction
from above is very far from what is done in the Poincare duality
construction. Some textbook of mine gives a similar example with S^2
and wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Poincaré_duality#Dual_cell_structures) starts the same way as I have
done as far as I have understood that. My problem from above rises in
the wikipedia article here:

"Then one can show that the boundary operator
C_k(X) \to C_{k-1}(X)
is the transpose of the boundary operator
C_{n-k+1}(Y)=Hom_Z(C_{k-1}(X),Z) \to C_{n-k}(Y)=Hom_Z(C_k(X),Z)."

If I can answer that problem and get to know what the boundary map D'
is, I can show that the two complexes from above are chain homotopic
because they are both chain homotopic to the complex of the
barycentric subdivision. I am pretty confident, that the second
complex my be easily seen as a simplicial cochain complex.

I don't want to proof anything of the Poincare duality theorem, I'd
just like to understand this 'nearly obvious' (like the statement fom
wikipedia) things written everywhere which are sadly not obvious to
me.

Thanks,
S.


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Mariano Suárez-Alvarez  
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 More options Jul 5, 5:50 pm
Newsgroups: sci.math
From: Mariano Suárez-Alvarez <mariano.suarezalva...@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 14:50:38 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Sat, Jul 5 2008 5:50 pm
Subject: Re: Cohomology and Poincare duality
On Jul 5, 6:36 pm, sanchopanch...@web.de wrote:

The boundary map for the complex arising from the dual
triangulation is computed in exactly the same way as one
compuex the boundary map arising from any triangulation.

-- m


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sanchopanch...@web.de  
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 More options Jul 6, 6:47 am
Newsgroups: sci.math
From: sanchopanch...@web.de
Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2008 03:47:30 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Sun, Jul 6 2008 6:47 am
Subject: Re: Cohomology and Poincare duality
On 5 Jul., 23:50, Mariano Suárez-Alvarez

Ok. here is my problem more exactly: This
0 ----> Z[A,B,C] --D--> Z[a,b,c] ------>0
is the chain complex arising from the original traingulation and D is
the matrix [[0,-1,1],[-1,0,1],[-1,1,0]]. If I apply hom(-,Z) I get
0 <---- Z[A,B,C] <--M-- Z[a,b,c] <------0
where M is the transposed matrix D. Calculating the homology of the
last complex gives me the cohomology of the space X. Now wikipedia
says in other symbols that

"Then one can show that the boundary operator
D: C_1(X) \to C_0(X)
is the transpose of the boundary operator
D' C_1(X')=Hom_Z(C_0(X),Z) \to C_0(X')=Hom_Z(C_1(X),Z)."

Where X' denotes the space X with the dual simplicial structure as
considered above. D' should be the boundary map which you get by
concerning this dual simplicial structure X' and forming the ordinary
simplicial complex to calculate homology of X'. I can't see that D'
equals M. More precise: To get this second complex I have to choose an
orientation of the vertices of X'. Every orientation I can imagine
does not give D' as the boundary map in the related complex. Can you
help me?

Thanks,
S.


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