A fiberwise analogue of the Borsuk-Ulam theorem for sphere bundles over a 2-cell complex

For a vector bundle α, let indα denote the largest integer m for which there exists a Z/2-map from Sm−1 to S(α). We prove that the equality indα=dimα holds for every vector bundle α over the complex Sn−1k_∪en, where n?2 and k≠0, if and only if either k is even and n≠2,3,4,8 or k is odd.     

A fiberwise analogue of the Borsuk-Ulam theorem for sphere bundles over a 2-cell complex II

We describe a finite complex B as I-trivial if there does not exist a Z₂-map from Si−1 to S(α) for any vector bundle α over B and any integer i with i>dimα. We prove that the m-fold suspension of projective plane FP² is I-trivial if and only if m≠0,2,4 for F=C, m≠0,4 for F=H. In the case where F is the Cayley algebra, the m-fold suspension is shown to be I-trivial for every m>0.     

A Borsuk-Ulam type theorem for sphere bundles over stunted projective spaces

A CW complex B is described as I-trivial if there does not exist a Z₂-map from Si−1 to S(α) for any vector bundle α over B and any integer i with i>dimα. For n>1, we determine all positive integers m for which the stunted projective space is I-trivial, where F=R,C or H.     

Characteristic classes and transversality

Let ξ be a smooth vector bundle over a differentiable manifold M. Let be a generic bundle morphism from the trivial bundle of rank n−i+1 to ξ. We give a geometric construction of the Stiefel-Whitney classes when ξ is a real vector bundle, and of the Chern classes when ξ is a complex vector bundle. Using h we define a differentiable closed manifold and a map whose image is the singular set of h. The ith characteristic class of ξ is the Poincaré dual of the image, under the homomorphism induced in homology by ?, of the fundamental class of the manifold . We extend this definition for vector bundles over a paracompact space, using that the universal bundle is filtered by smooth vector bundles.     

A classification of homogeneous operators in the Cowen–Douglas class

An explicit construction of all the homogeneous holomorphic Hermitian vector bundles over the unit disc D is given. It is shown that every such vector bundle is a direct sum of irreducible ones. Among these irreducible homogeneous holomorphic Hermitian vector bundles over D, the ones corresponding to operators in the Cowen–Douglas class Bn(D) are identified. The classification of homogeneous operators in Bn(D) is completed using an explicit realization of these operators. We also show how the homogeneous operators in Bn(D) split into similarity classes.     

Preservers of pairs of bivectors with bounded distance

We extend Liu’s fundamental theorem of the geometry of alternate matrices to the second exterior power of an infinite dimensional vector space and also use her theorem to characterize surjective mappings T from the vector space V of all n×n alternate matrices over a field with at least three elements onto itself such that for any pair A, B in V, rank(A-B)?2k if and only if rank(T(A)-T(B))?2k, where k is a fixed positive integer such that n?2k+2 and k?2.     

Classifying Hilbert bundles

A Hilbert bundle (p, B, X) is a type of fibre space p:B → X such that each fibre p^?1(x) is a Hilbert space. However, p^?1(x) may vary in dimension as x varies in X. We generalize the classical homotopy classification theory of vector bundles to a “homotopy” classification of certain Hilbert bundles. An (m, n)-bundle over the pair (X, A) is a Hilbert bundle (p, B, X) such that the dimension of p^?1(x) is m for x in A and n otherwise. The main result here is that if A is a compact set lying in the “edge” of the metric space X (e.g. if X is a topological manifold and A is a compact subset of the boundary of X), then the problem of classifying (m, n)-bundles over (X, A) reduces to a problem in the classical theory of vector bundles. In particular, we show there is a one-to-one correspondence between the members of the orbit set, [A, G_m($\text{C}$ⁿ)]/[X, U(n)] ¦ A, and the isomorphism classes of (m, n)-bundles over (X, A) which are trivial over X, A.     

Indecomposable modules over one-dimensional Noetherian rings

In this article we consider finitely generated torsion-free modules over certain one-dimensional commutative Noetherian rings R. We assume there exists a positive integer N_R such that, for every indecomposable R-module M and for every minimal prime ideal P of R, the dimension of M_P, as a vector space over the field R_P, is less than or equal to N_R. If a nonzero indecomposable R-module M is such that all the localizations M_P as vector spaces over the fields R_P have the same dimension r, for every minimal prime P of R, then r=1,2,3,4 or 6. Let n be an integer ≥8. We show that if M is an R-module such that the vector space dimensions of the M_P are between n and 2n−8, then M decomposes non-trivially. For each n≥8, we exhibit a semilocal ring and an indecomposable module for which the relevant dimensions range from n to 2n−7. These results require a mild equicharacteristic assumption; we also discuss bounds in the non-equicharacteristic case.     

A note on nonstable monomorphisms¶of vector bundles

In this paper we consider the question of the existence of a nonstable vector bundle monomorphism u:α→β over a closed, connected and smooth manifold M, when dimension of α= 3, dimension of β= dimension of M=n≡ 0(4). The singularity method provides the full obstruction to this problem and under some homological hypothesis we can compute it in terms of well known invariants. Received: 31 May 1999     

Stably extendible tangent bundles over lens spaces

The purpose of this paper is to study the stable extendibility of the tangent bundle τn(p) over the (2n+1)-dimensional standard lens space Ln(p) for odd prime p. We investigate for which m the tangent bundle τn(p) is stably extendible to Lm(p) but is not stably extendible to Lm+1(p), where we consider m=∞ if τn(p) is stably extendible to Lk(p) for any k?n, and determine m in the case n?p−3.     

K-Orbit Closures on G/B as Universal Degeneracy Loci for Flagged Vector Bundles with Symmetric or Skew-Symmetric Bilinear Form

We use equivariant localization and divided difference operators to determine formulas for the torus-equivariant fundamental cohomology classes of K-orbit closures on the flag variety G/B, where G = GL(n, $ \mathbb{C} $ ), and where K is one of the symmetric subgroups O(n, $ \mathbb{C} $ ) or Sp(n, $ \mathbb{C} $ ). We realize these orbit closures as universal degeneracy loci for a vector bundle over a variety equipped with a single flag of subbundles and a nondegenerate symmetric or skew-symmetric bilinear form taking values in the trivial bundle. We describe how our equivariant formulas can be interpreted as giving formulas for the classes of such loci in terms of the Chern classes of the various bundles.     

On the dimension of some real spaces of bounded rank matrices

Given n∈N, let X be either the set of hermitian or real n×n matrices of rank at least n-1. If n is even, we give a sharp estimate on the maximal dimension of a real vector space V⊂X∪{0}. The results are obtained, via K-theory, by studying a bundle map induced by the adjunction of matrices.     

Independence for partition regular equations

A matrix A is said to be partition regular (PR) over a subset S of the positive integers if whenever S is finitely coloured, there exists a vector x, with all elements in the same colour class in S, which satisfies Ax=0. We also say that S is PR for A. Many of the classical theorems of Ramsey Theory, such as van der Waerden's theorem and Schur's theorem, may naturally be interpreted as statements about partition regularity. Those matrices which are partition regular over the positive integers were completely characterised by Rado in 1933.Given matrices A and B, we say that A Rado-dominates B if any set which is PR for A is also PR for B. One trivial way for this to happen is if every solution to Ax=0 actually contains a solution to By=0. Bergelson, Hindman and Leader conjectured that this is the only way in which one matrix can Rado-dominate another. In this paper, we prove this conjecture for the first interesting case, namely for 1×3 matrices. We also show that, surprisingly, the conjecture is not true in general.     

On the relative connections

Abstract

We investigate relative connections on a sheaf of modules. A sufficient condition is given for the existence of a relative holomorphic connection on a holomorphic vector bundle over a complex analytic family. We show that the relative Chern classes of a holomorphic vector bundle admitting relative holomorphic connection vanish, if each of the fiber of the complex analytic family is compact and Kähler.     

Stiefel—Whitney currents

A canonically defined mod 2 linear dependency current is associated to each collection v of sections, v₁,…,v_m, of a real rank n vector bundle. This current is supported on the linear dependency set of v. It is defined whenever the collection v satisfies a weak measure theoretic condition called “atomicity.” Essentially any reasonable collection of sections satisfies this condition, vastly extending the usual general position hypothesis. This current is a mod 2 d-closed locally integrally flat current of degree q = n −m + 1 and hence determines a ℤ₂-cohomology class. This class is shown to be well defined independent of the collection of sections. Moreover, it is the qth Stiefel-Whitney class of the vector bundle. More is true if q is odd or q = n. In this case a linear dependency current which is twisted by the orientation of the bundle can be associated to the collection v. The mod 2 reduction of this current is the mod 2 linear dependency current. The cohomology class of the linear dependency current is 2-torsion and is the qth twisted integral Stiefel-Whitney class of the bundle. In addition, higher dependency and general degeneracy currents of bundle maps are studied, together with applications to singularities of projections and maps. These results rely on a theorem of Federer which states that the complex of integrally flat currents mod p computes cohomology mod p. An alternate approach to Federer’s theorem is offered in an appendix. This approach is simpler and is via sheaf theory.     

The Weyl bundle

Let F be a symplectic vector bundle over a space X. We construct a bundle of elementary C¹-algebras over X, and prove that the Dixmier-Douady invariant of this bundle is zero. The underlying Hilbert bundles, with their associated module structures, determine a characteristic class: we prove that this class is the second Stiefel-Whitney class of F.     

Classifying Hilbert bundles. II

A Hilbert bundle (p, B, X) is a type of fibre space p: B → X such that each fibre p^?1(x) is a Hilbert space. However, p^?1(x) may vary in dimension as x varies in X, even when X is connected. We give two “homotopy” type classification theorems for Hilbert bundles having primarily finite dimensional fibres. An (m, n)-bundle over the pair (X, A) is a Hilbert bundle over (p, B, X) such that the dimension of p^?1(x) is m for x in A and n otherwise. As a special case, we show that if X is a compact metric space, C₊X the upper cone of the suspension SX, then the isomorphism classes of (m, n)-bundles over (SX, C₊X) are in one-to-one correspondence with the members of [X, V_m($\text{C}$ⁿ)] where V_m($\text{C}$ⁿ) is the Stiefel manifold. The results are all applicable to the classification of separable, continuous trace C¹-algebras, with specific results given to illustrate.     

Local formulae for Stiefel-Whitney classes

We construct an explicit Čech cocycle representing the k-th Stiefel-Whitney class of a vector bundle. This construction involves only the transition functions of the bundle. We also give local formulae for the secondary Stiefel-Whitney classes. These may be useful in determining whether the Stiefel-Whitney numbers of a flat bundle are zero.