Example of two spaces indisinguishable by their homology modules (with $mathbbZ$ coefficients) but with different cohomology rings
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I'm running a student seminar on cohomology (for masters students) and would like to motivate the dualisation of homology by talking about cup products. So I'm looking for an example of two spaces $X$ and $Y$ with the same homology modules but different cohomology rings. Are there any nice-ish examples which would be reasonable to talk about in a seminar?
I do already have the example of $X=mathbbRP^n$ and $Y=vee_ileq nS^i$ with $mathbbZ/2$ coefficients. The problem with this is that these spaces are distinguished by their homology with $mathbbZ$ coefficients. This might still be sufficient motivation for this kind of seminar, but I'd still prefer to have an example of two spaces where you really need the extra ring structure to tell them apart.
Thanks for any help
algebraic-topology homology-cohomology
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up vote
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I'm running a student seminar on cohomology (for masters students) and would like to motivate the dualisation of homology by talking about cup products. So I'm looking for an example of two spaces $X$ and $Y$ with the same homology modules but different cohomology rings. Are there any nice-ish examples which would be reasonable to talk about in a seminar?
I do already have the example of $X=mathbbRP^n$ and $Y=vee_ileq nS^i$ with $mathbbZ/2$ coefficients. The problem with this is that these spaces are distinguished by their homology with $mathbbZ$ coefficients. This might still be sufficient motivation for this kind of seminar, but I'd still prefer to have an example of two spaces where you really need the extra ring structure to tell them apart.
Thanks for any help
algebraic-topology homology-cohomology
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
I'm running a student seminar on cohomology (for masters students) and would like to motivate the dualisation of homology by talking about cup products. So I'm looking for an example of two spaces $X$ and $Y$ with the same homology modules but different cohomology rings. Are there any nice-ish examples which would be reasonable to talk about in a seminar?
I do already have the example of $X=mathbbRP^n$ and $Y=vee_ileq nS^i$ with $mathbbZ/2$ coefficients. The problem with this is that these spaces are distinguished by their homology with $mathbbZ$ coefficients. This might still be sufficient motivation for this kind of seminar, but I'd still prefer to have an example of two spaces where you really need the extra ring structure to tell them apart.
Thanks for any help
algebraic-topology homology-cohomology
I'm running a student seminar on cohomology (for masters students) and would like to motivate the dualisation of homology by talking about cup products. So I'm looking for an example of two spaces $X$ and $Y$ with the same homology modules but different cohomology rings. Are there any nice-ish examples which would be reasonable to talk about in a seminar?
I do already have the example of $X=mathbbRP^n$ and $Y=vee_ileq nS^i$ with $mathbbZ/2$ coefficients. The problem with this is that these spaces are distinguished by their homology with $mathbbZ$ coefficients. This might still be sufficient motivation for this kind of seminar, but I'd still prefer to have an example of two spaces where you really need the extra ring structure to tell them apart.
Thanks for any help
algebraic-topology homology-cohomology
asked Jul 18 at 5:08
Tsein32
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3 Answers
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An easy example is the torus $S^1 times S^1$, which has the same homology as but different cohomology ring than the wedge $S^1 vee S^1 vee S^2$ (which has no nontrivial cup products).
A more interesting question is whether there are examples which are both closed manifolds. There might be 3-manifold examples but I don't know how to construct them off the top of my head.
For 4-manifolds we can construct examples by finding simply connected closed 4-manifolds with the same middle Betti number $b_2$ but such that the absolute value of the signature is different, which implies that the cohomology rings are not isomorphic. I think we can take $mathbbCP^2 # mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1 times mathbbCP^1$; these both satisfy $b_2 = 2$ but the first one has signature $2$ and the second has signature $0$ (although you don't need to know what signature is to compute that the cohomology rings aren't isomorphic). See this blog post for more background.
Thanks, the example of $mathbbCP^2# mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1×mathbbCP^1$ in particular is perfect, as these also can't be distinguished by their fundamental group. This was exactly what I was hoping to find.
– Tsein32
Jul 18 at 7:17
1
The triple cup product is a good place to distinguish 3-manifolds with their ring structure; the simplest example that comes to mind is $T^3$ vs $#^3 (S^2 times S^1)$.
– Mike Miller
Jul 21 at 4:48
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up vote
4
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A similar example to yours is $mathbb CP^n$ and $bigveeS^i:0<ileq 2n$ with $i$ even$$, as the cohomology ring of $mathbb CP^n$, with coefficients in $Bbb Z$, is
$$mathbb Z[alpha]/alpha^n+1,text deg(alpha)=2.$$
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
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This simple example may be outside the scope of your seminar, but it adds a layer of complexity to the other examples already given.
Consider $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ and $bigvee_i=1,dots n S^2i+1$. These spaces have the same cohomology groups for all coefficients, and indeed the same cohomology rings, since all cup products in the suspension $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ are trivial.
How can cohomolgoy distinguish between the homotopy types of these spaces? Their mod $p$ cohomology rings are not isomorphic as modules over the Steenrod algebra, since $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ will admit non-trivial operations for suitable $p$ whilst $bigvee_i=1,dots n S^2i+1$ will not. In particular, if $xin H^2(mathbbCP^2mathbbZ_2)$ is a generator then so is $Sq^2x=x^2in H^4(mathbbCP^2;mathbbZ_2)$. Thus if $sigma$ denotes the supension isomorphism, which commutes with the Steenrod operations, then $Sq^2(sigma x)=sigma(Sq^2x)=sigma (x^2)in H^5(SigmamathbbCP^2;mathbbZ_2)$ is non-trivial.
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
7
down vote
accepted
An easy example is the torus $S^1 times S^1$, which has the same homology as but different cohomology ring than the wedge $S^1 vee S^1 vee S^2$ (which has no nontrivial cup products).
A more interesting question is whether there are examples which are both closed manifolds. There might be 3-manifold examples but I don't know how to construct them off the top of my head.
For 4-manifolds we can construct examples by finding simply connected closed 4-manifolds with the same middle Betti number $b_2$ but such that the absolute value of the signature is different, which implies that the cohomology rings are not isomorphic. I think we can take $mathbbCP^2 # mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1 times mathbbCP^1$; these both satisfy $b_2 = 2$ but the first one has signature $2$ and the second has signature $0$ (although you don't need to know what signature is to compute that the cohomology rings aren't isomorphic). See this blog post for more background.
Thanks, the example of $mathbbCP^2# mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1×mathbbCP^1$ in particular is perfect, as these also can't be distinguished by their fundamental group. This was exactly what I was hoping to find.
– Tsein32
Jul 18 at 7:17
1
The triple cup product is a good place to distinguish 3-manifolds with their ring structure; the simplest example that comes to mind is $T^3$ vs $#^3 (S^2 times S^1)$.
– Mike Miller
Jul 21 at 4:48
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
accepted
An easy example is the torus $S^1 times S^1$, which has the same homology as but different cohomology ring than the wedge $S^1 vee S^1 vee S^2$ (which has no nontrivial cup products).
A more interesting question is whether there are examples which are both closed manifolds. There might be 3-manifold examples but I don't know how to construct them off the top of my head.
For 4-manifolds we can construct examples by finding simply connected closed 4-manifolds with the same middle Betti number $b_2$ but such that the absolute value of the signature is different, which implies that the cohomology rings are not isomorphic. I think we can take $mathbbCP^2 # mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1 times mathbbCP^1$; these both satisfy $b_2 = 2$ but the first one has signature $2$ and the second has signature $0$ (although you don't need to know what signature is to compute that the cohomology rings aren't isomorphic). See this blog post for more background.
Thanks, the example of $mathbbCP^2# mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1×mathbbCP^1$ in particular is perfect, as these also can't be distinguished by their fundamental group. This was exactly what I was hoping to find.
– Tsein32
Jul 18 at 7:17
1
The triple cup product is a good place to distinguish 3-manifolds with their ring structure; the simplest example that comes to mind is $T^3$ vs $#^3 (S^2 times S^1)$.
– Mike Miller
Jul 21 at 4:48
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
accepted
up vote
7
down vote
accepted
An easy example is the torus $S^1 times S^1$, which has the same homology as but different cohomology ring than the wedge $S^1 vee S^1 vee S^2$ (which has no nontrivial cup products).
A more interesting question is whether there are examples which are both closed manifolds. There might be 3-manifold examples but I don't know how to construct them off the top of my head.
For 4-manifolds we can construct examples by finding simply connected closed 4-manifolds with the same middle Betti number $b_2$ but such that the absolute value of the signature is different, which implies that the cohomology rings are not isomorphic. I think we can take $mathbbCP^2 # mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1 times mathbbCP^1$; these both satisfy $b_2 = 2$ but the first one has signature $2$ and the second has signature $0$ (although you don't need to know what signature is to compute that the cohomology rings aren't isomorphic). See this blog post for more background.
An easy example is the torus $S^1 times S^1$, which has the same homology as but different cohomology ring than the wedge $S^1 vee S^1 vee S^2$ (which has no nontrivial cup products).
A more interesting question is whether there are examples which are both closed manifolds. There might be 3-manifold examples but I don't know how to construct them off the top of my head.
For 4-manifolds we can construct examples by finding simply connected closed 4-manifolds with the same middle Betti number $b_2$ but such that the absolute value of the signature is different, which implies that the cohomology rings are not isomorphic. I think we can take $mathbbCP^2 # mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1 times mathbbCP^1$; these both satisfy $b_2 = 2$ but the first one has signature $2$ and the second has signature $0$ (although you don't need to know what signature is to compute that the cohomology rings aren't isomorphic). See this blog post for more background.
edited Jul 18 at 5:47
answered Jul 18 at 5:26
Qiaochu Yuan
269k32564900
269k32564900
Thanks, the example of $mathbbCP^2# mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1×mathbbCP^1$ in particular is perfect, as these also can't be distinguished by their fundamental group. This was exactly what I was hoping to find.
– Tsein32
Jul 18 at 7:17
1
The triple cup product is a good place to distinguish 3-manifolds with their ring structure; the simplest example that comes to mind is $T^3$ vs $#^3 (S^2 times S^1)$.
– Mike Miller
Jul 21 at 4:48
add a comment |Â
Thanks, the example of $mathbbCP^2# mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1×mathbbCP^1$ in particular is perfect, as these also can't be distinguished by their fundamental group. This was exactly what I was hoping to find.
– Tsein32
Jul 18 at 7:17
1
The triple cup product is a good place to distinguish 3-manifolds with their ring structure; the simplest example that comes to mind is $T^3$ vs $#^3 (S^2 times S^1)$.
– Mike Miller
Jul 21 at 4:48
Thanks, the example of $mathbbCP^2# mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1×mathbbCP^1$ in particular is perfect, as these also can't be distinguished by their fundamental group. This was exactly what I was hoping to find.
– Tsein32
Jul 18 at 7:17
Thanks, the example of $mathbbCP^2# mathbbCP^2$ and $mathbbCP^1×mathbbCP^1$ in particular is perfect, as these also can't be distinguished by their fundamental group. This was exactly what I was hoping to find.
– Tsein32
Jul 18 at 7:17
1
1
The triple cup product is a good place to distinguish 3-manifolds with their ring structure; the simplest example that comes to mind is $T^3$ vs $#^3 (S^2 times S^1)$.
– Mike Miller
Jul 21 at 4:48
The triple cup product is a good place to distinguish 3-manifolds with their ring structure; the simplest example that comes to mind is $T^3$ vs $#^3 (S^2 times S^1)$.
– Mike Miller
Jul 21 at 4:48
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
A similar example to yours is $mathbb CP^n$ and $bigveeS^i:0<ileq 2n$ with $i$ even$$, as the cohomology ring of $mathbb CP^n$, with coefficients in $Bbb Z$, is
$$mathbb Z[alpha]/alpha^n+1,text deg(alpha)=2.$$
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
A similar example to yours is $mathbb CP^n$ and $bigveeS^i:0<ileq 2n$ with $i$ even$$, as the cohomology ring of $mathbb CP^n$, with coefficients in $Bbb Z$, is
$$mathbb Z[alpha]/alpha^n+1,text deg(alpha)=2.$$
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
up vote
4
down vote
A similar example to yours is $mathbb CP^n$ and $bigveeS^i:0<ileq 2n$ with $i$ even$$, as the cohomology ring of $mathbb CP^n$, with coefficients in $Bbb Z$, is
$$mathbb Z[alpha]/alpha^n+1,text deg(alpha)=2.$$
A similar example to yours is $mathbb CP^n$ and $bigveeS^i:0<ileq 2n$ with $i$ even$$, as the cohomology ring of $mathbb CP^n$, with coefficients in $Bbb Z$, is
$$mathbb Z[alpha]/alpha^n+1,text deg(alpha)=2.$$
edited Jul 21 at 3:04
answered Jul 18 at 6:03


Camilo Arosemena-Serrato
5,50911847
5,50911847
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
This simple example may be outside the scope of your seminar, but it adds a layer of complexity to the other examples already given.
Consider $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ and $bigvee_i=1,dots n S^2i+1$. These spaces have the same cohomology groups for all coefficients, and indeed the same cohomology rings, since all cup products in the suspension $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ are trivial.
How can cohomolgoy distinguish between the homotopy types of these spaces? Their mod $p$ cohomology rings are not isomorphic as modules over the Steenrod algebra, since $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ will admit non-trivial operations for suitable $p$ whilst $bigvee_i=1,dots n S^2i+1$ will not. In particular, if $xin H^2(mathbbCP^2mathbbZ_2)$ is a generator then so is $Sq^2x=x^2in H^4(mathbbCP^2;mathbbZ_2)$. Thus if $sigma$ denotes the supension isomorphism, which commutes with the Steenrod operations, then $Sq^2(sigma x)=sigma(Sq^2x)=sigma (x^2)in H^5(SigmamathbbCP^2;mathbbZ_2)$ is non-trivial.
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
This simple example may be outside the scope of your seminar, but it adds a layer of complexity to the other examples already given.
Consider $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ and $bigvee_i=1,dots n S^2i+1$. These spaces have the same cohomology groups for all coefficients, and indeed the same cohomology rings, since all cup products in the suspension $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ are trivial.
How can cohomolgoy distinguish between the homotopy types of these spaces? Their mod $p$ cohomology rings are not isomorphic as modules over the Steenrod algebra, since $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ will admit non-trivial operations for suitable $p$ whilst $bigvee_i=1,dots n S^2i+1$ will not. In particular, if $xin H^2(mathbbCP^2mathbbZ_2)$ is a generator then so is $Sq^2x=x^2in H^4(mathbbCP^2;mathbbZ_2)$. Thus if $sigma$ denotes the supension isomorphism, which commutes with the Steenrod operations, then $Sq^2(sigma x)=sigma(Sq^2x)=sigma (x^2)in H^5(SigmamathbbCP^2;mathbbZ_2)$ is non-trivial.
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
This simple example may be outside the scope of your seminar, but it adds a layer of complexity to the other examples already given.
Consider $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ and $bigvee_i=1,dots n S^2i+1$. These spaces have the same cohomology groups for all coefficients, and indeed the same cohomology rings, since all cup products in the suspension $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ are trivial.
How can cohomolgoy distinguish between the homotopy types of these spaces? Their mod $p$ cohomology rings are not isomorphic as modules over the Steenrod algebra, since $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ will admit non-trivial operations for suitable $p$ whilst $bigvee_i=1,dots n S^2i+1$ will not. In particular, if $xin H^2(mathbbCP^2mathbbZ_2)$ is a generator then so is $Sq^2x=x^2in H^4(mathbbCP^2;mathbbZ_2)$. Thus if $sigma$ denotes the supension isomorphism, which commutes with the Steenrod operations, then $Sq^2(sigma x)=sigma(Sq^2x)=sigma (x^2)in H^5(SigmamathbbCP^2;mathbbZ_2)$ is non-trivial.
This simple example may be outside the scope of your seminar, but it adds a layer of complexity to the other examples already given.
Consider $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ and $bigvee_i=1,dots n S^2i+1$. These spaces have the same cohomology groups for all coefficients, and indeed the same cohomology rings, since all cup products in the suspension $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ are trivial.
How can cohomolgoy distinguish between the homotopy types of these spaces? Their mod $p$ cohomology rings are not isomorphic as modules over the Steenrod algebra, since $Sigma mathbbCP^n$ will admit non-trivial operations for suitable $p$ whilst $bigvee_i=1,dots n S^2i+1$ will not. In particular, if $xin H^2(mathbbCP^2mathbbZ_2)$ is a generator then so is $Sq^2x=x^2in H^4(mathbbCP^2;mathbbZ_2)$. Thus if $sigma$ denotes the supension isomorphism, which commutes with the Steenrod operations, then $Sq^2(sigma x)=sigma(Sq^2x)=sigma (x^2)in H^5(SigmamathbbCP^2;mathbbZ_2)$ is non-trivial.
answered Jul 18 at 8:59
Tyrone
3,24611125
3,24611125
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