Pontryagin classes

E627990

Pontryagin classes are characteristic classes associated with real vector bundles that capture topological information about the bundle’s curvature and play a central role in differential topology and geometry.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Pontryagin classes in algebraic topology 1

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf characteristic classes
cohomology class
topological invariant
appliedTo tangent bundle to define Pontryagin classes of a manifold
appliesTo real vector bundles
are homotopy invariants for topological manifolds in many cases
associatedTo real vector bundle E
captures topological information about curvature
component first Pontryagin class
fourth Pontryagin class
second Pontryagin class
third Pontryagin class
constrainedBy Atiyah–Singer index theorem NERFINISHED
Hirzebruch signature theorem NERFINISHED
constructedFrom curvature of a connection
constructedUsing Chern–Weil theory NERFINISHED
definedFor oriented real vector bundles
definedOn smooth manifolds
field mathematics
firstNontrivialDegree degree 4
forComplexBundle expressible in terms of Chern classes of complexification
helpDistinguish homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic manifolds
invariantUnder bundle isomorphism
livesIn H^{4i}(B;Z)
namedAfter Lev Pontryagin NERFINISHED
naturalWithRespectTo pullback of bundles
notation p_i(E)
parityProperty lie in degrees divisible by 4
relatedTo Chern classes NERFINISHED
Euler class NERFINISHED
Stiefel–Whitney classes NERFINISHED
tangent bundle of a manifold
satisfies Whitney sum formula NERFINISHED
stableUnder Whitney sum with trivial bundles
subfield topology
takesValuesIn even-degree cohomology
usedIn algebraic topology
classification of smooth manifolds
classification of vector bundles over spheres
cobordism theory
differential geometry
differential topology
surgery theory
usedToDefine Hirzebruch signature theorem NERFINISHED
L-genus
Pontryagin numbers NERFINISHED
vanishFor contractible base space
WhitneySumFormula p(E⊕F)=p(E)·p(F)
zeroFor all bundles over a point

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Chern–Weil theory constructs Pontryagin classes
Lev Pontryagin notableWork Pontryagin classes
Lev Pontryagin notableIdea Pontryagin classes
this entity surface form: Pontryagin classes in algebraic topology
Chern classes relatedTo Pontryagin classes
Characteristic Classes hasSubject Pontryagin classes
Todd class relatedTo Pontryagin classes