Notes for Math 227A: Algebraic Topology
NOTES FOR MATH 227A: ALGEBRAIC TOPOLOGY KO HONDA 1. CATEGORIES AND FUNCTORS 1.1. Categories. A category C consists of: (1) A collection ob(C) of objects. (2) A set Hom(A, B) of morphisms for each ordered pair (A, B) of objects. A morphism f ∈ Hom(A, B) f is usually denoted by f : A → B or A → B. (3) A map Hom(A, B) × Hom(B,C) → Hom(A, C) for each ordered triple (A,B,C) of objects, denoted (f, g) 7→ gf. (4) An identity morphism idA ∈ Hom(A, A) for each object A. The morphisms satisfy the following properties: A. (Associativity) (fg)h = f(gh) if h ∈ Hom(A, B), g ∈ Hom(B,C), and f ∈ Hom(C, D). B. (Unit) idB f = f = f idA if f ∈ Hom(A, B). Examples: (HW: take a couple of examples and verify that all the axioms of a category are satisfied.) 1. Top = category of topological spaces and continuous maps. The objects are topological spaces X and the morphisms Hom(X,Y ) are continuous maps from X to Y . 2. Top• = category of pointed topological spaces. The objects are pairs (X,x) consisting of a topological space X and a point x ∈ X. Hom((X,x), (Y,y)) consist of continuous maps from X to Y that take x to y. Similarly define Top2 = category of pairs (X, A) where X is a topological space and A ⊂ X is a subspace. Hom((X, A), (Y,B)) consists of continuous maps f : X → Y such that f(A) ⊂ B.
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