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It does not yet have a dedicated thread; feel free to create one, giving it the same name as the title of this page" style="color:black">Discuss this page</a> | <form accept-charset="utf-8" action="/nlab/search" id="navigationSearchForm" method="get"> <fieldset class="search"><input type="text" id="searchField" name="query" value="Search" style="display:inline-block; float: left;" onfocus="this.value == 'Search' ? this.value = '' : true" onblur="this.value == '' ? this.value = 'Search' : true" /></fieldset> </form> <span id='navEnd'></span> </div> <div id="revision"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head><meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="application/xhtml+xml;charset=utf-8" /><title>Contents</title></head> <body> <blockquote> <p>maybe you are looking for the (total) <em><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/derivative">derivative</a></em> (differential) of a map</p> </blockquote> <div class="rightHandSide"> <div class="toc clickDown" tabindex="0"> <h3 id="context">Context</h3> <h4 id="homological_algebra">Homological algebra</h4> <div class="hide"><div> <p><strong><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/homological+algebra">homological algebra</a></strong></p> <p>(also <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/nonabelian+homological+algebra">nonabelian homological algebra</a>)</p> <p><em><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/schreiber/show/Introduction+to+Homological+Algebra">Introduction</a></em></p> <p><strong>Context</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/additive+and+abelian+categories">additive and abelian categories</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Ab-enriched+category">Ab-enriched category</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/pre-additive+category">pre-additive category</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/additive+category">additive category</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/pre-abelian+category">pre-abelian category</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/abelian+category">abelian category</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Grothendieck+category">Grothendieck category</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/abelian+sheaves">abelian sheaves</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/semi-abelian+category">semi-abelian category</a></p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Basic definitions</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/kernel">kernel</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/cokernel">cokernel</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/complex">complex</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/differential">differential</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/homology">homology</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/category+of+chain+complexes">category of chain complexes</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/chain+complex">chain complex</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/chain+map">chain map</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/chain+homotopy">chain homotopy</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/chain+homology+and+cohomology">chain homology and cohomology</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/quasi-isomorphism">quasi-isomorphism</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/homological+resolution">homological resolution</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/cochain+on+a+simplicial+set">simplicial homology</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/generalized+homology">generalized homology</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/exact+sequence">exact sequence</a>,</p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/short+exact+sequence">short exact sequence</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/long+exact+sequence">long exact sequence</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/split+exact+sequence">split exact sequence</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/injective+object">injective object</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/projective+object">projective object</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/injective+resolution">injective resolution</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/projective+resolution">projective resolution</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/flat+resolution">flat resolution</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Stable homotopy theory notions</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/derived+category">derived category</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/triangulated+category">triangulated category</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/enhanced+triangulated+category">enhanced triangulated category</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/stable+%28%E2%88%9E%2C1%29-category">stable (∞,1)-category</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/stable+model+category">stable model category</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/pretriangulated+dg-category">pretriangulated dg-category</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/A-%E2%88%9E-category">A-∞-category</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/%28%E2%88%9E%2C1%29-category+of+chain+complexes">(∞,1)-category of chain complexes</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/derived+functor">derived functor</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/derived+functor+in+homological+algebra">derived functor in homological algebra</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Tor">Tor</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Ext">Ext</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/homotopy+limit">homotopy limit</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/homotopy+colimit">homotopy colimit</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/lim%5E1+and+Milnor+sequences">lim^1 and Milnor sequences</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/fr-code">fr-code</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/abelian+sheaf+cohomology">abelian sheaf cohomology</a></p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Constructions</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/double+complex">double complex</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Koszul-Tate+resolution">Koszul-Tate resolution</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/BRST-BV+complex">BRST-BV complex</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/spectral+sequence">spectral sequence</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/spectral+sequence+of+a+filtered+complex">spectral sequence of a filtered complex</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/spectral+sequence+of+a+double+complex">spectral sequence of a double complex</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Grothendieck+spectral+sequence">Grothendieck spectral sequence</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Leray+spectral+sequence">Leray spectral sequence</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Serre+spectral+sequence">Serre spectral sequence</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Hochschild-Serre+spectral+sequence">Hochschild-Serre spectral sequence</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Lemmas</strong></p> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/diagram+chasing">diagram chasing</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/3x3+lemma">3x3 lemma</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/four+lemma">four lemma</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/five+lemma">five lemma</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/snake+lemma">snake lemma</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/connecting+homomorphism">connecting homomorphism</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/horseshoe+lemma">horseshoe lemma</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Baer%27s+criterion">Baer's criterion</a></p> </li> </ul> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Schanuel%27s+lemma">Schanuel's lemma</a></p> <p><strong>Homology theories</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/singular+homology">singular homology</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/cyclic+homology">cyclic homology</a></p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Theorems</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Dold-Kan+correspondence">Dold-Kan correspondence</a> / <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/monoidal+Dold-Kan+correspondence">monoidal</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/operadic+Dold-Kan+correspondence">operadic</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Moore+complex">Moore complex</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Alexander-Whitney+map">Alexander-Whitney map</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Eilenberg-Zilber+map">Eilenberg-Zilber map</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Eilenberg-Zilber+theorem">Eilenberg-Zilber theorem</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/cochain+on+a+simplicial+set">cochain on a simplicial set</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/universal+coefficient+theorem">universal coefficient theorem</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/K%C3%BCnneth+theorem">Künneth theorem</a></p> </li> </ul> </div></div> </div> </div> <h1 id="contents">Contents</h1> <div class='maruku_toc'> <ul> <li><a href='#definition'>Definition</a></li> <li><a href='#examples'>Examples</a></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="definition">Definition</h2> <p>Abstractly, a <strong>differential</strong> is the morphism of a <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/differential+object">differential object</a> defining a <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/chain+complex">chain complex</a>: the <em>boundary operator</em>.</p> <p>So in a <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/category+with+translation">category with translation</a> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>T</mi><mo>:</mo><mi>C</mi><mo>→</mo><mi>C</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">T : C \to C</annotation></semantics></math> a differential is a morphism <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>d</mi> <mi>V</mi></msub><mo>:</mo><mi>V</mi><mo>→</mo><mi>T</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>V</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">d_V : V \to T(V)</annotation></semantics></math> for some <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/object">object</a> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>V</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">V</annotation></semantics></math> such that</p> <div class="maruku-equation"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="block" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>V</mi><mover><mo>→</mo><mrow><msub><mi>d</mi> <mi>V</mi></msub></mrow></mover><mi>T</mi><mi>V</mi><mover><mo>→</mo><mrow><mi>T</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msub><mi>d</mi> <mi>V</mi></msub><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow></mover><mi>T</mi><mi>T</mi><mi>V</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex"> V \stackrel{d_V}{\to} T V \stackrel{T(d_V)}{\to} T T V </annotation></semantics></math></div> <p>is the <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/zero+morphism">zero morphism</a>.</p> <p>Unwrapping this for the case where the <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/category+with+translation">category with translation</a> is a <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/category+of+chain+complexes">category of chain complexes</a>, it reproduces the ordinary notion of a differential as a degree-<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mo lspace="verythinmathspace" rspace="0em">−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">(-1)</annotation></semantics></math> morphism that squares to <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">0</annotation></semantics></math>.</p> <p>More concretely, the boundary operator on a chain complex is called a <em>differential</em> if this is part of the structure of a <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/dg-algebra">dg-algebra</a> on the complex.</p> <h2 id="examples">Examples</h2> <p>The archetypical example that gives the concept its name is the differential in the <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/de+Rham+complex">de Rham complex</a> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><msup><mi>Ω</mi> <mo>•</mo></msup><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>X</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">\Omega^\bullet(X)</annotation></semantics></math> of a <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/smooth+manifold">smooth manifold</a> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">X</annotation></semantics></math>, which is given by actual <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/differentiation">differentiation</a> of <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/smooth+function">smooth function</a>s and <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/differential+form">differential form</a>s. See also <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/differential+calculus">differential calculus</a>.</p> </body></html> </div> <div class="revisedby"> <p> Last revised on August 7, 2016 at 12:52:49. 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