Loops and the Fundamental Group

Dror Atariah
Freie Universität Berlin

What is Seminar, 21/11/2008

Outline

Motivation

Loops
Relations Between Loops
Loops Concatenation

Group Structure on Loops

Examples
Subset of plane
The Circle
The Torus

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Study the Topology of Spaces

É We want to study topological spaces

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Study the Topology of Spaces

É We want to study topological spaces

É What is the difference between the following two spaces?

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Let’s have some loops

First let us have a look into the first example:

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Let’s have some loops

First let us have a look into the first example:

Each loop can be continuously contracted into a point.

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And what about loops here?
Next, lets consider the second example:

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And what about loops here?
Next, lets consider the second example:

Here, the red loop cannot be contracted to a point.

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And what about loops here?
Next, lets consider the second example:

Here, the red loop cannot be contracted to a point.

Let’s introduce some definitions!
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Loop

Definition (Loop)
Given a topological space X and the unit interval I ⊂ R, a loop is a
continuous map
λ:I→X
such that λ(0) = λ(1).

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Some Conventions

É Later on, we will consider topological spaces with a base point (X, x0 ),
where X is the topological space, and x0 is the base point.

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Some Conventions

É Later on, we will consider topological spaces with a base point (X, x0 ),
where X is the topological space, and x0 is the base point.
É For any loop λ we have λ(0) = λ(1) = x0

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Outline

Motivation

Loops
Relations Between Loops
Loops Concatenation

Group Structure on Loops

Examples
Subset of plane
The Circle
The Torus

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How To Distinguish Between Loops?

Consider the following picture

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Homotopy

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Homotopy

Definition (Homotopy of loops)

Two loops λ, μ : I → (X, x0 ) are called homotopic with base point held fixed,
or for short:
λ ' μ rel(0, 1)
if there exists a continuous map F : I × I → (X, x0 ) such that the following
holds:
1. F(s, 0) = λ(s), ∀s ∈ I
2. F(s, 1) = μ(s), ∀s ∈ I
3. F(0, t) = F(1, t) = x0 , ∀t ∈ I

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Homotopy

Definition (Homotopy of loops)

Two loops λ, μ : I → (X, x0 ) are called homotopic with base point held fixed,
or for short:
λ ' μ rel(0, 1)
if there exists a continuous map F : I × I → (X, x0 ) such that the following
holds:
1. F(s, 0) = λ(s), ∀s ∈ I
2. F(s, 1) = μ(s), ∀s ∈ I
3. F(0, t) = F(1, t) = x0 , ∀t ∈ I

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Homotopy

Definition (Homotopy of loops)

Two loops λ, μ : I → (X, x0 ) are called homotopic with base point held fixed,
or for short:
λ ' μ rel(0, 1)
if there exists a continuous map F : I × I → (X, x0 ) such that the following
holds:
1. F(s, 0) = λ(s), ∀s ∈ I
2. F(s, 1) = μ(s), ∀s ∈ I
3. F(0, t) = F(1, t) = x0 , ∀t ∈ I
The map F is called the homotopy between λ and μ.

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Example of Homotopy
Let’s have a look at the following figure:

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Example of Homotopy
Let’s have a look at the following figure:

É The red loops are homotopic, so are the green loops.

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 Example of Homotopy
Let’s have a look at the following figure:

É The red loops are homotopic, so are the green loops.

É Alert!
No red loop is homotopic to a green one.

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Outline

Motivation

Loops
Relations Between Loops
Loops Concatenation

Group Structure on Loops

Examples
Subset of plane
The Circle
The Torus

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Concatenating Loops

Definition
Given two loops λ, μ : I → X with a base point x0 , we define the
concatenation of them as follows:

0 ≤ t ≤ 12
¨
λ(2t)
λ ∗ μ(t) =
μ(2t − 1) 12 ≤ t ≤ 1

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Example

We first traverse along the red loop and then along the green one.

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Equivalence Relation

The homotopy relation between loops is an equivalence relation, that is:

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Equivalence Relation

The homotopy relation between loops is an equivalence relation, that is:

É λ'λ rel(0, 1)
É λ'μ rel(0, 1) ⇒ μ ' λ rel(0, 1)
É λ'μ rel(0, 1) and μ ' τ rel(0, 1) ⇒ λ ' τ rel(0, 1)

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Equivalence Relation

The homotopy relation between loops is an equivalence relation, that is:

É λ'λ rel(0, 1)
É λ'μ rel(0, 1) ⇒ μ ' λ rel(0, 1)
É λ'μ rel(0, 1) and μ ' τ rel(0, 1) ⇒ λ ' τ rel(0, 1)

Equivalence Classes
So we can consider the set of equivalence classes of loops [λ] over a
topological space X with base point x0 .

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The Group Operation

In order to have a group structure on the set of equivalence classes, we

have to define a group operation.

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The Group Operation

In order to have a group structure on the set of equivalence classes, we

have to define a group operation.

Concatenation
We recall the concatenation ∗

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The Group Operation

In order to have a group structure on the set of equivalence classes, we

have to define a group operation.

Concatenation
We recall the concatenation ∗

Definition (Group Operation)

Given two loop classes [λ] and [μ] we define:
1. [λ] ∗ [μ] := [λ ∗ μ]
2. The inverse of [λ] is given by [λ−1 ] that is [λ]−1 = [λ−1 ], where
λ−1 (t) = λ(1 − t).

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The Fundamental Group

Definition
Given a topological space X with a base point x0 , the fundamental group,
π1 (X, x0 ), is the set of equivalence classes of loops along with the
operation ∗

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Two More Definitions

Before we go on, for the sake of completeness!

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Two More Definitions

Before we go on, for the sake of completeness!

Definition (The Constant Loop)

The constant loop in a pointed topological space (X, x0 ) is the the map:

ξ : I → x0

that is ξ(t) = x0 for all t ∈ I.

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Two More Definitions

Before we go on, for the sake of completeness!

Definition (The Constant Loop)

The constant loop in a pointed topological space (X, x0 ) is the the map:

ξ : I → x0

that is ξ(t) = x0 for all t ∈ I.

Definition (Null-Homotopic)
A loop λ is called null-homotopic if it is homotopic to the constant loop.

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Two More Definitions

Before we go on, for the sake of completeness!

Definition (The Constant Loop)

The constant loop in a pointed topological space (X, x0 ) is the the map:

ξ : I → x0

that is ξ(t) = x0 for all t ∈ I.

Definition (Null-Homotopic)
A loop λ is called null-homotopic if it is homotopic to the constant loop.

The Group’s Unit Element

Note that the class of null-homotopic loops is the unit element of the
fundamental group.

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Example

É Here, concatenating the green loop to

the red one does NOT change the
homotopy type of the red loop
É In other words the green loop’s class
is the identity of the fundamental
group

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Outline

Motivation

Loops
Relations Between Loops
Loops Concatenation

Group Structure on Loops

Examples
Subset of plane
The Circle
The Torus

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Set With No Holes
Consider the following pointed space

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Set With No Holes

É Here all loops are null-homotopic, i.e. all are homotopic to the
constant loop

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Set With No Holes

É Here all loops are null-homotopic, i.e. all are homotopic to the
constant loop
É This means that the fundamental group is trivial

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Contractible Space - A side Remark

É If all loops are null-homotopic

then the space is called
contractible
É A contractible space is one
which is homotopy equivalent
to a one-point space

Definition (Homotopy Equivalent)

Two topological spaces X and Y are called homotopically equivalent, or of
the same homotopy type, if there exists two maps f : X → Y and g : Y → X
such that f ◦ g ' idX and g ◦ f ' idY .

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Set With a Hole
Now Consider the following space

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Set With a Hole

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Set With a Hole

Here we have two types of loops:

É Those homotopically equivalent to the constant loop
É Those which enclose the hole

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Set With a Hole

Here we have two types of loops:

É Those homotopically equivalent to the constant loop
É Those which enclose the hole

The Fundamental Group

What is the fundamental group in this case?
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Outline

Motivation

Loops
Relations Between Loops
Loops Concatenation

Group Structure on Loops

Examples
Subset of plane
The Circle
The Torus

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The Circle

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The Fundamental Group of the Circle

Theorem
We have for any point x0 ∈ S1

π1 (S1 , x0 ) = Z

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The Fundamental Group of the Circle

Theorem
We have for any point x0 ∈ S1

π1 (S1 , x0 ) = Z

Proof Outline.
É Up to rotations, all loops in S1 are characterized by the number of
times they wind around the origin
É A negative integer i is isomorphic to a loop winding i times clockwise
É Concatenation of loops in π1 (S1 , x0 ) is equivalent to addition of
integers in Z

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Outline

Motivation

Loops
Relations Between Loops
Loops Concatenation

Group Structure on Loops

Examples
Subset of plane
The Circle
The Torus

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The Fundamental Group of The Torus
É The torus can be given as a product of two circles: T 2 = S1 × S1

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The Fundamental Group of The Torus
É The torus can be given as a product of two circles: T 2 = S1 × S1
É ∼ π1 (S1 ) × π1 (S1 ) =
Thus, π1 (T 2 ) = π1 (S1 × S1 ) = ∼Z×Z

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The Fundamental Group of The Torus
É The torus can be given as a product of two circles: T 2 = S1 × S1
É ∼ π1 (S1 ) × π1 (S1 ) =
Thus, π1 (T 2 ) = π1 (S1 × S1 ) = ∼Z×Z
É The pair (i, j) of integers corresponds to a loop winding i times around
the first circle and j times around the other one

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The Fundamental Group of The Torus
É The torus can be given as a product of two circles: T 2 = S1 × S1
É ∼ π1 (S1 ) × π1 (S1 ) =
Thus, π1 (T 2 ) = π1 (S1 × S1 ) = ∼Z×Z
É The pair (i, j) of integers corresponds to a loop winding i times around
the first circle and j times around the other one

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For Further Reading I

Marvin J. Greenberg
Lectures on Algebraic Topology.
Allen Hatcher
Algebraic Topology.

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 Thank you!
atariah@mi.fu-berlin.de

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