NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT  
 
Geometry-Algebra-Singularities-Combinatorics  Seminar
 
 
Torsion in the homology of abelian coverings 

 
 

Daniel Matei

(Northeastern University)
 
 

Northeastern University

509 Lake Hall

1:30 p.m., Monday, May 10, 1999


 
 
 
Abstract:    The homology groups of abelian coverings provide invariants of the base space which are much more tractable than its homotopy groups, and, in general, much richer than its homology groups. This talk deals with an analysis of the first homology of a finite abelian covering space of a 2-dimensional complex. Cyclic coverings will be given particular attention, and both branched and unbranched coverings will be considered. The emphasis will be on the torsion part of the first homology, as the Betti number is already fairly well understood. The main technical tools are Fox calculus and the module theory over cyclotomic rings and cyclic groups. Applications to links in the 3-space and complex plane curves will be discussed.
 
Geometry-Algebra-Singularities-Combinatorics home page:
http://www.math.neu.edu/~suciu/GASC.html

 
Web page:  Alexandru I. Suciu  Created: May 6, 1999 
Comments to:  alexsuciu@neu.edu URL: http://www.math.neu.edu/~suciu/gas/matei.html