In algebraic topology, a branch of mathematics, an orientation character on a group is a group homomorphism where:

This notion is of particular significance in surgery theory.

Motivation

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Given a manifold M, one takes   (the fundamental group), and then   sends an element of   to   if and only if the class it represents is orientation-reversing.

This map   is trivial if and only if M is orientable.

The orientation character is an algebraic structure on the fundamental group of a manifold, which captures which loops are orientation reversing and which are orientation preserving.

Twisted group algebra

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The orientation character defines a twisted involution (*-ring structure) on the group ring  , by   (i.e.,  , accordingly as   is orientation preserving or reversing). This is denoted  .

Examples

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  • In real projective spaces, the orientation character evaluates trivially on loops if the dimension is odd, and assigns -1 to noncontractible loops in even dimension.

Properties

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The orientation character is either trivial or has kernel an index 2 subgroup, which determines the map completely.

See also

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References

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