Chern–Weil Theory and Characteristic Forms
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1 · Prerequisites
Abstract Algebra
- Binary Operations, Monoids, Groups and Subgroups
- Composition Series, the Jordan–Hölder Theorem and Solvable Groups
- Cosets, Index and Lagrange's Theorem
- Divisibility, Euclidean Domains, Principal Ideal Domains and Unique Factorisation
- Free Groups and Presentations
- Free Modules, Exact Sequences, Projective and Injective Modules
- Free Products and Amalgamation
- Group Actions, Orbits, Stabilisers and Cayley's Theorem
- Group Homomorphisms and the Isomorphism Theorems
- Ideals, Quotient Rings and the Isomorphism Theorems for Rings
- Modules, Submodules, Quotient Modules and the Isomorphism Theorems
- Normal Subgroups and Quotient Groups
- Polynomial Rings, the Division Algorithm and Roots
- Rings, Subrings, Integral Domains and Fields
- Simple Field Extensions and the Construction of the Complex Numbers
- Tensor Products of Modules
- The Group Algebra and Representations of Finite Groups
Algebraic Topology
- Bocksteins Steenrod Squares and Cohomology Operations
- Chern and Pontryagin Classes by Splitting and Complexification
- Cup Cap Cross Products and Cohomology Rings
- Cw Complexes and Cellular Homology
- Fibrations Fiber Bundles and Homotopy Exact Sequences
- Higher Homotopy Groups and Cofiber Sequences
- Homology Axioms Degree and Classical Applications
- Hurewicz Whitehead Freudenthal and Cw Approximation
- Leray–Hirsch, the Thom Isomorphism, and Gysin Sequences
- Local Coefficients, Twisted Homology, and Duality
- Obstruction Theory, Postnikov Towers, and Classifying Spaces
- Orientations Poincare Lefschetz and Alexander Duality
- Relative Homology Excision and Mayer Vietoris
- Simplicial Complexes and Simplicial Homology
- Simplicial Subdivision and Simplicial Approximation
- Singular Chains and Singular Homology
- Singular Cohomology and Coefficient Theorems
- Stiefel Whitney and Euler Classes by Universal Constructions
- The Serre Spectral Sequence and Applications
- Topological Vector Bundles and Grassmannian Classification
Category Theory
- Abelian Categories
- Categories, Functors and Natural Transformations
- Exactness and the Member Calculus
- Limits and Colimits
- Preadditive and Additive Categories and Biproducts
- Reflective Subcategories and the Adjoint Functor Theorems
- Subobject Lattices Generators and the Grothendieck Axioms
- The Diagram Lemmas in an Abelian Category
- Universal Properties, Representables and the Yoneda Lemma
Differential Geometry
- Connections Levi Civita and Parallel Transport
- Euclidean Ordinary Differential Equations with Smooth Dependence
- Integration of Forms and the General Stokes Theorem
- Manifolds with Boundary Collars and Orientations
- Rank Theorems and Embedded Submanifolds
- Riemann Curvature and Riemannian Submanifolds
- Sard Theorem and Transversality
- Singular Cochains Mayer Vietoris and Smooth Singular Comparison
- Smooth Manifolds and Smooth Maps
- Smooth Partitions of Unity and Exhaustions
- Smooth Vector Bundles and Sections
- Tangent Cotangent and the Differential
- Tensor Fields Exterior Algebra and Differential Forms
- The De Rham Complex Homotopy and Mayer Vietoris
- The de Rham Theorem and Degree
- The Exterior Derivative and Cartan Calculus
- Vector Fields Flows and Lie Derivatives
- Whitney Embedding Tubular Neighbourhoods and Approximation
Homological Algebra
- Chain Complexes and Homology
- Chain Homotopy and the Homotopy Category
- Derived Functors
- Double Complexes Exact Couples and Convergence
- Ext and Balanced Resolutions
- Kunneth Exactness and Splittings over Principal Ideal Domains
- Long Exact Sequences in Homology
- Projective and Injective Resolutions
- Spectral Sequences
- Universal Coefficients and Kunneth Theorems
Linear Algebra
- Determinants of Matrices over a Commutative Ring
- Diagonalisation and the Minimal Polynomial
- Dual Spaces, Bilinear and Quadratic Forms, and Sylvester's Law of Inertia
- Eigenvalues, Eigenvectors and the Characteristic Polynomial
- Exterior Powers, Orientation and Hodge Duality
- Gaussian Elimination, Elementary Matrices and Reduced Row Echelon Form
- Inner Product Spaces, Gram-Schmidt, Projections and Adjoints
- Linear Independence, Bases and Dimension
- Linear Transformations, Rank-Nullity and Quotient Spaces
- Matrices, the Matrix of a Linear Map, and Change of Basis
- The Determinant of a Linear Operator, Cofactors and Cramer's Rule
- Triangularisation, Generalised Eigenspaces and Jordan Canonical Form
- Vector Spaces, Linear Subspaces, Span and Direct Sums
Number Theory
Real Analysis
- Absolute and Conditional Convergence; Rearrangement; Products
- Constant Rank, Submersions, Immersions and Regular Level Sets
- Construction of the Real Numbers via Cauchy Sequences
- Construction of the Real Numbers via Dedekind Cuts
- Continuity, IVT, EVT, and Uniform Continuity
- Countability and Uncountability
- Darboux, L'Hôpital, and Taylor's Theorem
- Foundations of the Real Numbers for Analysis
- Fubini and Change of Variables
- Improper and Parameter-Dependent Multiple Integrals
- Limits of Real Functions
- limsup, liminf, and Subsequential Limits
- Mixed Partials, Taylor Formulae, and Extrema
- Monotone Functions, Discontinuities, and Continuity Sets
- Monotone Sequences, Bolzano-Weierstrass, and Cauchy Completeness
- Picard-Lindelöf and First-Order Ordinary Differential Equations
- Power Series and Real-Analytic Functions
- Properties of the Integral and the Working FTC
- Rⁿ as a Normed Space; Vector-Valued Functions
- Roots, Rational Powers, and Classical Inequalities
- Sequences and Limits
- Sequences and Series of Functions; Uniform Convergence
- Series: Convergence and the Nonnegative Tests
- Suprema and Infima
- The Cantor Set, Baire Category, and Measure Zero in ℝ
- The Derivative and the Mean Value Theorems
- The Divergence Theorem and Classical Stokes
- The Exponential Function
- The Fundamental Theorems of Calculus
- The Inverse and Implicit Function Theorems
- The Inverse Function Theorem Completed
- The Riemann Integral in Rᵐ and Jordan Content
- The Riemann Integral: Definition and Integrability
- The Total Derivative in ℝᵐ → ℝⁿ
- Topology of ℝ
- Volumes of Elementary Solids and Solids of Revolution
Set Theory
- Cardinal Arithmetic, Cofinality and the Alephs
- Construction of the Natural Numbers
- Filters and Ultrafilters
- Order, Zorn's Lemma, and the Axiom of Choice
- Ordinal Arithmetic and the First Uncountable Ordinal
- Ordinals, Cardinals, and Transfinite Recursion
- Relations, Functions, and Quotients
- The ZFC Axioms and the Basic Set Constructions
Topology
- Classification of Covering Spaces
- Compactness
- Compactness in Metric Spaces
- Completeness, Completion, and Uniform Continuity
- Connectedness
- Countability Axioms and Cardinal Functions
- Covering Spaces and Lifting
- Function Space Topologies and the Exponential Law
- Hausdorff via the Diagonal
- Hereditary and Productive Behaviour of the Separation Axioms
- Homotopy and Homotopy Equivalence
- Metric Spaces
- Partitions of Unity and Paracompactness
- Separation Axioms: the Hierarchy
- Subspaces, Products, and Quotients
- The Fundamental Group
- The Fundamental Group of the Circle
- The Seifert–van Kampen Theorem
- The Topology of Euclidean Space
- Topological Spaces and Continuity
- Uniform Spaces: the Three Definitions
- Urysohn's Lemma and the Tietze Extension Theorem
2 · Logical flowchart
3 · Items
Definition
Invariant symmetric polynomials on a matrix Lie algebra
Definition
Complex-linear and metric-compatible bundle connections
Lemma
Existence of compatible connections
Definition
Evaluation of an invariant polynomial on curvature
Lemma
Invariant polynomials cancel connection commutators
Lemma
Closedness of invariant curvature forms
Definition
Chern–Weil map for a chosen connection
Lemma
Explicit Chern–Simons transgression between two connections
Theorem
Connection independence and naturality of Chern–Weil classes
Definition
Chern, Pontryagin, and Euler characteristic forms
Lemma
Smooth manifolds have CW homotopy type
Lemma
First Chern form agrees with the topological line class
Lemma
Oriented real two-plane splitting with real-cohomology injection
Lemma
Complex flag splitting with injective real pullback on smooth bases
Theorem
Characteristic forms represent topological characteristic classes over the reals
Proposition
Direct-sum and pullback formulas for characteristic forms
Remark
Real characteristic forms do not detect integral torsion
Sources
- Raoul Bott, Lectures on Characteristic Classes and Foliations
- John Milnor and James Stasheff, Characteristic Classes
- Stefan Haller, The Atiyah–Singer Index Theorem
- Stefan Haller, The Atiyah–Singer Index Theorem, Vienna lecture notes (2013)
- Allen Hatcher, Algebraic Topology
- Allen Hatcher, Vector Bundles & K-Theory
- Kaiwen, Talk 13: Cohomology of Projective Bundles (2025)
- John W. Milnor and James D. Stasheff, Characteristic Classes
- Haynes Miller, MIT 18.906 Algebraic Topology II, Lecture 36