Universal Coefficient Theorem Article Index for
Universal
Website Links For
Universal
 

Information About

Universal Coefficient Theorem




H


do in a certain, definite sense determine the groups

H


Here ''H'' might be the about Chain Complex es of Free Abelian Group s. The form of the result is that other coefficients ''A'' may be used, at the cost of using a Tor Functor .

For example it is common to take ''A'' to be Z/2Z, so that coefficients are modulo 2. This becomes straightforward in the absence of 2- Torsion in the homology. Quite generally, the result indicates the relationship that holds between the Betti Number s ''b''''i'' of ''X'' and the Betti numbers ''b''''i'',''F'' with coefficients in a Field ''F''. These can differ, but only when the Characteristic of ''F'' is a Prime Number ''p'' for which there is some ''p''-torsion in the homology.

The statement of the universal coefficient theorem runs as follows. Consider

: H_i \otimes A

where ''H''''i'' means ''H''''i''(''X'',Z). Then there is an Injective Group Homomorphism ι from it to ''H''''i''(''X'',''A''). The theorem describes the Cokernel of ι as

:Tor(''H''''i'' − 1,''A'').

This Tor group can therefore be described as the obstruction to ι being an isomorphism, which could be thought of as the 'expected' result.

This can be summarized saying there is a Natural Short Exact Sequence

: 0 ightarrow H_i\otimes A ightarrow H_i(X,A) ightarrow\mbox{Tor}(H_{i-1},A) ightarrow 0
Furthermore, this is a Split Sequence (but the splitting is not natural).

There is also a universal coefficient theorem for cohomology involving the Ext Functor , stating that there is a natural short exact sequence
: 0 ightarrow \mbox{Ext}(H_{i-1},A) ightarrow H^i(X,A) ightarrow\mbox{Hom}(H_i,A) ightarrow 0
As in the homological case, the sequence splits, though not naturally.

REFERENCES

  • Allen Hatcher , ''Algebraic Topology'' , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002. ISBN 0-521-79540-0. A modern, geometrically flavored introduction to algebraic topology. The book is available free in PDF and PostScript formats on the author's homepage .