Chern class

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In mathematics, in particular in algebraic topology, differential geometry and algebraic geometry,
the Chern classes are characteristic classes associated with complex vector bundles. They have
since found applications in physics, Calabi-Yau manifolds, string theory, Chern-Simons theory, knot
theory, Gromov-Witten invariants, topological quantum field theory, the Chern theorem etc.

Chern classes were introduced by Shiing-Shen Chern (1946).

Contents
1 Geometric approach
1.1 Basic idea and motivation
1.2 Construction of Chern classes
2 The Chern class of line bundles
3 Constructions
3.1 Via the Chern–Weil theory
3.2 Via an Euler class
4 Examples
4.1 The complex tangent bundle of the Riemann sphere
4.2 Complex projective space
5 Chern polynomial
6 Computation formulae
6.1 Applications of formulae
7 Properties of Chern classes
7.1 Classical axiomatic definition
7.2 Grothendieck axiomatic approach
7.3 The top Chern class
8 Chern classes in algebraic geometry
8.1 Axiomatic description
8.2 Normal sequence
8.2.1 Quintic threefold
8.2.2 Degree d hypersurfaces
9 Proximate notions
9.1 The Chern character
9.2 Chern numbers
9.3 The Chern class in generalized cohomology theories
9.4 The Chern class in algebraic geometry
9.5 Chern classes of manifolds with structure
9.6 Chern classes on arithmetic schemes and Diophantine equations
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
13 External links
Geometric approach
Basic idea and motivation
Chern classes are characteristic classes. They are topological invariants associated with vector
bundles on a smooth manifold. The question of whether two ostensibly different vector bundles are
the same can be quite hard to answer. The Chern classes provide a simple test: if the Chern classes
of a pair of vector bundles do not agree, then the vector bundles are different. The converse,
however, is not true.

In topology, differential geometry, and algebraic geometry, it is often important to count how many
linearly independent sections a vector bundle has. The Chern classes offer some information about
this through, for instance, the Riemann–Roch theorem and the Atiyah–Singer index theorem.

Chern classes are also feasible to calculate in practice. In differential geometry (and some types of
algebraic geometry), the Chern classes can be expressed as polynomials in the coefficients of the
curvature form.

Construction of Chern classes

There are various ways of approaching the subject, each of which focuses on a slightly different
flavor of Chern class.

The original approach to Chern classes was via algebraic topology: the Chern classes arise via
homotopy theory which provides a mapping associated with V to a classifying space (an infinite
Grassmannian in this case). For any vector bundle V over a manifold M, there exists a mapping f
from M to the classifying space such that the bundle V is equal to the pullback, by f, of a universal
bundle over the classifying space, and the Chern classes of V can therefore be defined as the
pullback of the Chern classes of the universal bundle; these universal Chern classes in turn can be
explicitly written down in terms of Schubert cycles.

It can be shown that for any two maps f, g from M to the classifying space whose pullbacks are the
same bundle V, the maps must be homotopic. Therefore, the pullback by either f or g of any
universal Chern class to a cohomology class of M must be the same class. This shows that the
Chern classes of V are well-defined.

Chern's approach used differential geometry, via the curvature approach described predominantly in
this article. He showed that the earlier definition was in fact equivalent to his. The resulting theory
is known as the Chern–Weil theory.

There is also an approach of Alexander Grothendieck showing that axiomatically one need only
define the line bundle case.

Chern classes arise naturally in algebraic geometry. The generalized Chern classes in algebraic
geometry can be defined for vector bundles (or more precisely, locally free sheaves) over any
nonsingular variety. Algebro-geometric Chern classes do not require the underlying field to have
any special properties. In particular, the vector bundles need not necessarily be complex.

Regardless of the particular paradigm, the intuitive meaning of the Chern class concerns 'required
zeroes' of a section of a vector bundle: for example the theorem saying one can't comb a hairy ball
flat (hairy ball theorem). Although that is strictly speaking a question about a real vector bundle (the
"hairs" on a ball are actually copies of the real line), there are generalizations in which the hairs are
complex (see the example of the complex hairy ball theorem below), or for 1-dimensional
projective spaces over many other fields.

See Chern–Simons for more discussion.

The Chern class of line bundles

For a sheaf theoretic description, see Exponential sheaf sequence.
(Let X be a topological space having the homotopy type of a CW complex.)
An important special case occurs when V is a line bundle. Then the only nontrivial Chern class is
the first Chern class, which is an element of the second cohomology group of X. As it is the top
Chern class, it equals the Euler class of the bundle.

The first Chern class turns out to be a complete invariant with which to classify complex line
bundles, topologically speaking. That is, there is a bijection between the isomorphism classes of
line bundles over X and the elements of H2(X;Z), which associates to a line bundle its first Chern
class. Moreover, this bijection is a group homomorphism (thus an isomorphism):

{\displaystyle c_{1}(L\otimes L')=c_{1}(L)+c_{1}(L');}{\displaystyle c_{1}(L\otimes L')=c_{1}

(L)+c_{1}(L');}
the tensor product of complex line bundles corresponds to the addition in the second cohomology
group.[1][2]

In algebraic geometry, this classification of (isomorphism classes of) complex line bundles by the
first Chern class is a crude approximation to the classification of (isomorphism classes of)
holomorphic line bundles by linear equivalence classes of divisors.

For complex vector bundles of dimension greater than one, the Chern classes are not a complete
invariant.

Constructions
Via the Chern–Weil theory
Main article: Chern–Weil theory
Given a complex hermitian vector bundle V of complex rank n over a smooth manifold M, a
representative of each Chern class (also called a Chern form) ck(V) of V are given as the
coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of the curvature form Ω of V.

{\displaystyle \det \left({\frac {it\Omega }{2\pi }}+I\right)=\sum _{k}c_{k}(V)t^{k}}\det \left(\

frac {it\Omega}{2\pi} +I\right) = \sum_k c_k(V) t^k
The determinant is over the ring of n × n matrices whose entries are polynomials in t with
coefficients in the commutative algebra of even complex differential forms on M. The curvature
form Ω of V is defined as

{\displaystyle \Omega =d\omega +{\frac {1}{2}}[\omega ,\omega ]}\Omega =d\omega +{\frac

{1}{2}}[\omega ,\omega ]
with ω the connection form and d the exterior derivative, or via the same expression in which ω is a
gauge form for the gauge group of V. The scalar t is used here only as an indeterminate to generate
the sum from the determinant, and I denotes the n × n identity matrix.

To say that the expression given is a representative of the Chern class indicates that 'class' here
means up to addition of an exact differential form. That is, Chern classes are cohomology classes in
the sense of de Rham cohomology. It can be shown that the cohomology classes of the Chern forms
do not depend on the choice of connection in V.

Using the matrix identity {\displaystyle \mathrm {tr} (\ln(X))=\ln(\det(X))}{\displaystyle \mathrm

{tr} (\ln(X))=\ln(\det(X))} and the Maclaurin series for {\displaystyle \ln(X+I)}{\displaystyle \
ln(X+I)}, this expression for the Chern form expands as

{\displaystyle \sum _{k}c_{k}(V)t^{k}=\left[I+i{\frac {\mathrm {tr} (\Omega )}{2\pi }}t+{\frac {\

mathrm {tr} (\Omega ^{2})-\mathrm {tr} (\Omega )^{2}}{8\pi ^{2}}}t^{2}+i{\frac {-2\mathrm
{tr} (\Omega ^{3})+3\mathrm {tr} (\Omega ^{2})\mathrm {tr} (\Omega )-\mathrm {tr} (\
Omega )^{3}}{48\pi ^{3}}}t^{3}+\cdots \right].}\sum_k c_k(V) t^k = \left[ I
+ i \frac{\mathrm{tr}(\Omega)}{2\pi} t
+ \frac{\mathrm{tr}(\Omega^2)-\mathrm{tr}(\Omega)^2}{8\pi^2} t^2
+ i \frac{-2\mathrm{tr}(\Omega^3)+3\mathrm{tr}(\Omega^2)\mathrm{tr}(\Omega)-\
mathrm{tr}(\Omega)^3}{48\pi^3} t^3
+ \cdots
\right].
Via an Euler class
One can define a Chern class in terms of an Euler class. This is the approach in the book by Milnor
and Stasheff, and emphasizes the role of an orientation of a vector bundle.

The basic observation is that a complex vector bundle comes with a canonical orientation,
ultimately because {\displaystyle GL_{n}(\mathbb {C} )}{\displaystyle GL_{n}(\mathbb {C} )} is
connected. Hence, one simply defines the top Chern class of the bundle to be its Euler class (the
Euler class of the underlying real vector bundle) and handles lower Chern classes in an inductive
fashion.

The precise construction is as follows. The idea is to do base change to get a bundle of one-less
rank. Let π: E →B be a complex vector bundle over a paracompact space B. Thinking B is
embedded into E as zero section, let {\displaystyle B'=E-B}B'=E-B and define the new vector
bundle:

{\displaystyle E'\to B'}E'\to B'

such that each fiber is the quotient of a fiber F of E by the line spanned by a nonzero vector v in F (a
point of B′ is specified by a fiber F of E and a nonzero vector on F.)[3] Then E' has rank one less
than that of E. From the Gysin sequence for the fiber bundle {\displaystyle \pi |_{B'}:B'\to B}\pi |
_{{B'}}:B'\to B:

{\displaystyle \cdots \to \operatorname {H} ^{k}(B;\mathbb {Z} ){\overset {\pi |_{B'}^{*}}{\
to }}\operatorname {H} ^{k}(B';\mathbb {Z} )\to \cdots ,}{\displaystyle \cdots \to \operatorname
{H} ^{k}(B;\mathbb {Z} ){\overset {\pi |_{B'}^{*}}{\to }}\operatorname {H} ^{k}(B';\mathbb
{Z} )\to \cdots ,}
we see that {\displaystyle \pi |_{B'}^{*}}\pi |_{{B'}}^{*} is an isomorphism for k < 2n − 1. Let

{\displaystyle c_{k}(E)={\begin{cases}{\pi |_{B'}^{*}}^{-1}c_{k}(E')&k<n\\e(E_{\mathbb

{R} })&k=n\\0&k>n\end{cases}}}{\displaystyle c_{k}(E)={\begin{cases}{\pi |_{B'}^{*}}^{-
1}c_{k}(E')&k<n\\e(E_{\mathbb {R} })&k=n\\0&k>n\end{cases}}}
It then takes some work to check the axioms of Chern classes are satisfied for this definition.

See also: The Thom isomorphism.

Examples
The complex tangent bundle of the Riemann sphere
Let {\displaystyle \mathbb {CP} ^{1}}\mathbb{CP}^1 be the Riemann sphere: 1-dimensional
complex projective space. Suppose that z is a holomorphic local coordinate for the Riemann sphere.
Let {\displaystyle V=T\mathbb {CP} ^{1}}{\displaystyle V=T\mathbb {CP} ^{1}} be the bundle
of complex tangent vectors having the form a∂/∂z at each point, where a is a complex number. We
prove the complex version of the hairy ball theorem: V has no section which is everywhere nonzero.

For this, we need the following fact: the first Chern class of a trivial bundle is zero, i.e.,
{\displaystyle c_{1}(\mathbb {CP} ^{1}\times \mathbb {C} )=0.}{\displaystyle c_{1}(\mathbb
{CP} ^{1}\times \mathbb {C} )=0.}
This is evinced by the fact that a trivial bundle always admits a flat connection.

So, we shall show that

{\displaystyle c_{1}(V)\not =0.}c_1(V) \not= 0.

Consider the Kähler metric

{\displaystyle h={\frac {dzd{\bar {z}}}{(1+|z|^{2})^{2}}}.}h = \frac{dzd\bar{z}}{(1+|z|^2)^2}.

One readily shows that the curvature 2-form is given by

{\displaystyle \Omega ={\frac {2dz\wedge d{\bar {z}}}{(1+|z|^{2})^{2}}}.}\Omega=\frac{2dz\

wedge d\bar{z}}{(1+|z|^2)^2}.
Furthermore, by the definition of the first Chern class

{\displaystyle c_{1}=\left[{\frac {i}{2\pi }}\operatorname {tr} \Omega \right].}{\displaystyle

c_{1}=\left[{\frac {i}{2\pi }}\operatorname {tr} \Omega \right].}
We must show that this cohomology class is non-zero. It suffices to compute its integral over the
Riemann sphere:

{\displaystyle \int c_{1}={\frac {i}{\pi }}\int {\frac {dz\wedge d{\bar {z}}}{(1+|z|^{2})^{2}}}=2}

{\displaystyle \int c_{1}={\frac {i}{\pi }}\int {\frac {dz\wedge d{\bar {z}}}{(1+|z|^{2})^{2}}}=2}
after switching to polar coordinates. By Stokes' theorem, an exact form would integrate to 0, so the
cohomology class is nonzero.

This proves that {\displaystyle T\mathbb {CP} ^{1}}{\displaystyle T\mathbb {CP} ^{1}} is not a
trivial vector bundle.

Complex projective space

There is an exact sequence of sheaves/bundles:[4]

{\displaystyle 0\to {\mathcal {O}}_{\mathbb {CP} ^{n}}\to {\mathcal {O}}_{\mathbb {CP}

^{n}}(1)^{\oplus (n+1)}\to T\mathbb {CP} ^{n}\to 0}{\displaystyle 0\to {\mathcal {O}}_{\
mathbb {CP} ^{n}}\to {\mathcal {O}}_{\mathbb {CP} ^{n}}(1)^{\oplus (n+1)}\to T\mathbb
{CP} ^{n}\to 0}
where {\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}_{\mathbb {CP} ^{n}}}{\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}_{\
mathbb {CP} ^{n}}} is the structure sheaf (i.e., the trivial line bundle), {\displaystyle {\mathcal
{O}}_{\mathbb {CP} ^{n}}(1)}{\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}_{\mathbb {CP} ^{n}}(1)} is Serre's
twisting sheaf (i.e., the hyperplane bundle) and the last nonzero term is the tangent sheaf/bundle.

There are two ways to get the above sequence:

[5] Let z0, … zn be the coordinates of {\displaystyle \mathbb {C} ^{n+1},}{\displaystyle \mathbb
{C} ^{n+1},} {\displaystyle \pi :\mathbb {C} ^{n+1}-0\to \mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}}{\
displaystyle \pi :\mathbb {C} ^{n+1}-0\to \mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}} and {\displaystyle U=\
mathbb {CP} ^{n}-\{z_{0}=0\}}{\displaystyle U=\mathbb {CP} ^{n}-\{z_{0}=0\}}. Then we
have:
{\displaystyle \pi ^{*}d(z_{i}/z_{0})={z_{0}dz_{i}-z_{i}dz_{0} \over z_{0}^{2}},\,i\geq 1.}\pi
^{*}d(z_{i}/z_{0})={z_{0}dz_{i}-z_{i}dz_{0} \over z_{0}^{2}},\,i\geq 1.
In other words, the cotangent sheaf {\displaystyle \Omega _{\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}}|
_{U}}{\displaystyle \Omega _{\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}}|_{U}}, which is a free {\
displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}_{U}}{\mathcal {O}}_{U}-module with the basis {\displaystyle
d(z_{i}/z_{0})}d(z_{i}/z_{0}), fits into the exact sequence

{\displaystyle \textstyle \quad 0\to \Omega _{\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}}|_{U}{\overset
{dz_{i}\mapsto e_{i}}{\to }}\oplus _{1}^{n+1}{\mathcal {O}}(-1)|_{U}{\overset {e_{i}\mapsto
z_{i}}{\to }}{\mathcal {O}}_{U}\to 0,\,i\geq 0,}{\displaystyle \textstyle \quad 0\to \Omega _{\
mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}}|_{U}{\overset {dz_{i}\mapsto e_{i}}{\to }}\oplus _{1}^{n+1}{\
mathcal {O}}(-1)|_{U}{\overset {e_{i}\mapsto z_{i}}{\to }}{\mathcal {O}}_{U}\to 0,\,i\geq 0,}
where {\displaystyle e_{i}}e_{i} are the basis of the middle term. The same sequence is clearly
then exact on the whole projective space and the dual of it is the aforementioned sequence.
Let L be a line in {\displaystyle \mathbb {C} ^{n+1}}{\displaystyle \mathbb {C} ^{n+1}} that
passes through the origin. It is an elementary geometry to see that the complex tangent space to {\
displaystyle \mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}}{\displaystyle \mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}} at the
point L is naturally the set of linear maps from L to its complement. Thus, the tangent bundle {\
displaystyle T\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}}{\displaystyle T\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}} can
be identified with the hom bundle
{\displaystyle \operatorname {Hom} ({\mathcal {O}}(-1),\eta )}\operatorname {Hom}({\mathcal
{O}}(-1),\eta )
where η is the vector bundle such that {\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}(-1)\oplus \eta ={\mathcal
{O}}^{\oplus (n+1)}}{\mathcal {O}}(-1)\oplus \eta ={\mathcal {O}}^{{\oplus (n+1)}}. It
follows:
{\displaystyle T\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}\oplus {\mathcal {O}}=\operatorname {Hom} ({\
mathcal {O}}(-1),\eta )\oplus \operatorname {Hom} ({\mathcal {O}}(-1),{\mathcal {O}}(-1))={\
mathcal {O}}(1)^{\oplus (n+1)}}{\displaystyle T\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}\oplus {\mathcal
{O}}=\operatorname {Hom} ({\mathcal {O}}(-1),\eta )\oplus \operatorname {Hom} ({\mathcal
{O}}(-1),{\mathcal {O}}(-1))={\mathcal {O}}(1)^{\oplus (n+1)}}.
By the additivity of total Chern class c = 1 + c1 + c2 + … (i.e., the Whitney sum formula),

{\displaystyle c(\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}){\overset {\mathrm {def} }{=}}c(T\mathbb {CP}
^{n})=c({\mathcal {O}}_{\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}}(1))^{n+1}=(1+a)^{n+1}}{\
displaystyle c(\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}){\overset {\mathrm {def} }{=}}c(T\mathbb {CP}
^{n})=c({\mathcal {O}}_{\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}}(1))^{n+1}=(1+a)^{n+1}},
where a is the canonical generator of the cohomology group {\displaystyle H^{2}(\mathbb {C} \
mathbb {P} ^{n},\mathbb {Z} )}{\displaystyle H^{2}(\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n},\mathbb {Z}
)}; i.e., the negative of the first Chern class of the tautological line bundle {\displaystyle {\mathcal
{O}}_{\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n}}(-1)}{\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}_{\mathbb {C} \mathbb
{P} ^{n}}(-1)} (note: {\displaystyle c_{1}(E^{*})=-c_{1}(E)}c_{1}(E^{*})=-c_{1}(E) when E*
is the dual of E.) In particular, for any k ≥ 0,

{\displaystyle c_{k}(\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n})={\binom {n+1}{k}}a^{k}.}{\displaystyle

c_{k}(\mathbb {C} \mathbb {P} ^{n})={\binom {n+1}{k}}a^{k}.}
Chern polynomial
A Chern polynomial is a convenient way to handle Chern classes and related notions systematically.
By definition, for a complex vector bundle E, the Chern polynomial ct of E is given by:

{\displaystyle c_{t}(E)=1+c_{1}(E)t+\cdots +c_{n}(E)t^{n}.}c_{t}(E)=1+c_{1}(E)t+\cdots

+c_{n}(E)t^{n}.
This is not a new invariant: the formal variable t simply keeps track of the degree of ck(E).[6] In
particular, {\displaystyle c_{t}(E)}c_{t}(E) is completely determined by the total Chern class of E:
{\displaystyle c(E)=1+c_{1}(E)+\cdots +c_{n}(E)}c(E)=1+c_{1}(E)+\cdots +c_{n}(E) and
conversely.
The Whitney sum formula, one of the axioms of Chern classes (see below), says that ct is additive
in the sense:

{\displaystyle c_{t}(E\oplus E')=c_{t}(E)c_{t}(E').}c_{t}(E\oplus E')=c_{t}(E)c_{t}(E').

Now, if {\displaystyle E=L_{1}\oplus \cdots \oplus L_{n}}{\displaystyle E=L_{1}\oplus \cdots \
oplus L_{n}} is a direct sum of (complex) line bundles, then it follows from the sum formula that:

{\displaystyle c_{t}(E)=(1+a_{1}(E)t)\cdots (1+a_{n}(E)t)}c_{t}(E)=(1+a_{1}(E)t)\cdots

(1+a_{n}(E)t)
where {\displaystyle a_{i}(E)=c_{1}(L_{i})}a_{i}(E)=c_{1}(L_{i}) are the first Chern classes.
The roots {\displaystyle a_{i}(E)}a_{i}(E), called the Chern roots of E, determine the coefficients
of the polynomial: i.e.,

{\displaystyle c_{k}(E)=\sigma _{k}(a_{1}(E),\ldots ,a_{n}(E))}{\displaystyle c_{k}(E)=\sigma

_{k}(a_{1}(E),\ldots ,a_{n}(E))}
where σk are elementary symmetric polynomials. In other words, thinking of ai as formal variables,
ck "are" σk. A basic fact on symmetric polynomials is that any symmetric polynomial in, say, ti's is
a polynomial in elementary symmetric polynomials in ti's. Either by splitting principle or by ring
theory, any Chern polynomial {\displaystyle c_{t}(E)}c_{t}(E) factorizes into linear factors after
enlarging the cohomology ring; E need not be a direct sum of line bundles in the preceding
discussion. The conclusion is

"One can evaluate any symmetric polynomial f at a complex vector bundle E by writing f as a
polynomial in σk and then replacing σk by ck(E)."
Example: We have polynomials sk

{\displaystyle t_{1}^{k}+\cdots +t_{n}^{k}=s_{k}(\sigma _{1}(t_{1},\ldots ,t_{n}),\ldots ,\sigma

_{k}(t_{1},\ldots ,t_{n}))}{\displaystyle t_{1}^{k}+\cdots +t_{n}^{k}=s_{k}(\sigma _{1}(t_{1},\
ldots ,t_{n}),\ldots ,\sigma _{k}(t_{1},\ldots ,t_{n}))}
with {\displaystyle s_{1}=\sigma _{1},s_{2}=\sigma _{1}^{2}-2\sigma _{2}}s_{1}=\sigma
_{1},s_{2}=\sigma _{1}^{2}-2\sigma _{2} and so on (cf. Newton's identities). The sum

{\displaystyle \operatorname {ch} (E)=e^{a_{1}(E)}+\cdots +e^{a_{n}(E)}=\sum s_{k}(c_{1}

(E),\ldots ,c_{n}(E))/k!}{\displaystyle \operatorname {ch} (E)=e^{a_{1}(E)}+\cdots +e^{a_{n}
(E)}=\sum s_{k}(c_{1}(E),\ldots ,c_{n}(E))/k!}
is called the Chern character of E, whose first few terms are: (we drop E from writing.)

{\displaystyle \operatorname {ch} (E)=\operatorname {rk} +c_{1}+{\frac {1}{2}}(c_{1}^{2}-

2c_{2})+{\frac {1}{6}}(c_{1}^{3}-3c_{1}c_{2}+3c_{3})+\cdots .}{\displaystyle \operatorname
{ch} (E)=\operatorname {rk} +c_{1}+{\frac {1}{2}}(c_{1}^{2}-2c_{2})+{\frac {1}{6}}
(c_{1}^{3}-3c_{1}c_{2}+3c_{3})+\cdots .}
Example: The Todd class of E is given by:

{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\operatorname {td} (E)&=\prod _{1}^{n}{a_{i} \over 1-e^{-

a_{i}}}=1+{1 \over 2}c_{1}+{1 \over 12}(c_{1}^{2}+c_{2})+\cdots .\end{aligned}}}{\
displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\operatorname {td} (E)&=\prod _{1}^{n}{a_{i} \over 1-e^{-
a_{i}}}=1+{1 \over 2}c_{1}+{1 \over 12}(c_{1}^{2}+c_{2})+\cdots .\end{aligned}}}
Remark: The observation that a Chern class is essentially an elementary symmetric polynomial can
be used to "define" Chern classes. Let Gn be the infinite Grassmannian of n-dimensional complex
vector spaces. It is a classifying space in the sense that, given a complex vector bundle E of rank n
over X, there is a continuous map
{\displaystyle f_{E}:X\to G_{n}}f_{E}:X\to G_{n}
unique up to homotopy. Borel's theorem says the cohomology ring of Gn is exactly the ring of
symmetric polynomials, which are polynomials in elementary symmetric polynomials σk; so, the
pullback of fE reads:

{\displaystyle f_{E}^{*}:\mathbb {Z} [\sigma _{1},\ldots ,\sigma _{n}]\to H^{*}(X,\mathbb

{Z} ).}{\displaystyle f_{E}^{*}:\mathbb {Z} [\sigma _{1},\ldots ,\sigma _{n}]\to H^{*}(X,\
mathbb {Z} ).}
One then puts:

{\displaystyle c_{k}(E)=f_{E}^{*}(\sigma _{k}).}c_{k}(E)=f_{E}^{*}(\sigma _{k}).

Remark: Any characteristic class is a polynomial in Chern classes, for the reason as follows. Let {\
displaystyle \operatorname {Vect} _{n}^{\mathbb {C} }}{\displaystyle \operatorname {Vect}
_{n}^{\mathbb {C} }} be the contravariant functor that, to a CW complex X, assigns the set of
isomorphism classes of complex vector bundles of rank n over X and, to a map, its pullback. By
definition, a characteristic class is a natural transformation from {\displaystyle \operatorname
{Vect} _{n}^{\mathbb {C} }=[-,G_{n}]}{\displaystyle \operatorname {Vect} _{n}^{\mathbb
{C} }=[-,G_{n}]} to the cohomology functor {\displaystyle H^{*}(-,\mathbb {Z} ).}{\displaystyle
H^{*}(-,\mathbb {Z} ).} Characteristic classes form a ring because of the ring structure of
cohomology ring. Yoneda's lemma says this ring of characteristic classes is exactly the cohomology
ring of Gn:

{\displaystyle \operatorname {Nat} ([-,G_{n}],H^{*}(-,\mathbb {Z} ))=H^{*}(G_{n},\mathbb {Z}

)=\mathbb {Z} [\sigma _{1},\ldots ,\sigma _{n}].}{\displaystyle \operatorname {Nat}
([-,G_{n}],H^{*}(-,\mathbb {Z} ))=H^{*}(G_{n},\mathbb {Z} )=\mathbb {Z} [\sigma _{1},\
ldots ,\sigma _{n}].}
Computation formulae
Let E be a vector bundle of rank r and {\displaystyle c_{t}(E)=\sum _{i=0}^{r}c_{i}(E)t^{i}}{\
displaystyle c_{t}(E)=\sum _{i=0}^{r}c_{i}(E)t^{i}} the #Chern polynomial of it.

For the dual bundle {\displaystyle E^{*}}E^{*} of {\displaystyle E}E, {\displaystyle c_{i}
(E^{*})=(-1)^{i}c_{i}(E)}{\displaystyle c_{i}(E^{*})=(-1)^{i}c_{i}(E)}.[7]
If L is a line bundle, then[8][9]
{\displaystyle c_{t}(E\otimes L)=\sum _{i=0}^{r}c_{i}(E)c_{t}(L)^{r-i}t^{i}}{\displaystyle c_{t}
(E\otimes L)=\sum _{i=0}^{r}c_{i}(E)c_{t}(L)^{r-i}t^{i}}
and so {\displaystyle c_{i}(E\otimes L),i=1,2,\dots ,r}{\displaystyle c_{i}(E\otimes L),i=1,2,\
dots ,r} are
{\displaystyle c_{1}(E)+rc_{1}(L),\dots ,\sum _{j=0}^{i}{\binom {r-i+j}{j}}c_{i-j}(E)c_{1}
(L)^{j},\dots ,\sum _{j=0}^{r}c_{r-j}(E)c_{1}(L)^{j}.}{\displaystyle c_{1}(E)+rc_{1}(L),\dots ,\
sum _{j=0}^{i}{\binom {r-i+j}{j}}c_{i-j}(E)c_{1}(L)^{j},\dots ,\sum _{j=0}^{r}c_{r-j}(E)c_{1}
(L)^{j}.}
For the Chern roots {\displaystyle \alpha _{1},\dots ,\alpha _{r}}{\displaystyle \alpha _{1},\dots ,\
alpha _{r}} of {\displaystyle E}E,[10]
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}c_{t}(\operatorname {Sym} ^{p}E)&=\prod _{i_{1}\leq \cdots \leq
i_{p}}(1+(\alpha _{i_{1}}+\cdots +\alpha _{i_{p}})t),\\c_{t}(\wedge ^{p}E)&=\prod _{i_{1}<\
cdots <i_{p}}(1+(\alpha _{i_{1}}+\cdots +\alpha _{i_{p}})t).\end{aligned}}}{\displaystyle {\
begin{aligned}c_{t}(\operatorname {Sym} ^{p}E)&=\prod _{i_{1}\leq \cdots \leq i_{p}}(1+(\
alpha _{i_{1}}+\cdots +\alpha _{i_{p}})t),\\c_{t}(\wedge ^{p}E)&=\prod _{i_{1}<\cdots <i_{p}}
(1+(\alpha _{i_{1}}+\cdots +\alpha _{i_{p}})t).\end{aligned}}}
In particular, {\displaystyle c_{1}(\wedge ^{r}E)=c_{1}(E).}{\displaystyle c_{1}(\wedge
^{r}E)=c_{1}(E).}
For example,[11] for {\displaystyle c_{i}=c_{i}(E)}{\displaystyle c_{i}=c_{i}(E)},
when {\displaystyle r=2}r=2, {\displaystyle c(\operatorname {Sym}
^{2}E)=1+3c_{1}+2c_{1}^{2}+4c_{2}+4c_{1}c_{2},}{\displaystyle c(\operatorname {Sym}
^{2}E)=1+3c_{1}+2c_{1}^{2}+4c_{2}+4c_{1}c_{2},}
when {\displaystyle r=3}{\displaystyle r=3}, {\displaystyle c(\operatorname {Sym}
^{2}E)=1+4c_{1}+5c_{1}^{2}+5c_{2}+2c_{1}^{3}+11c_{1}c_{2}+7c_{3}.}{\displaystyle c(\
operatorname {Sym}
^{2}E)=1+4c_{1}+5c_{1}^{2}+5c_{2}+2c_{1}^{3}+11c_{1}c_{2}+7c_{3}.}
(cf. Segre class#Example 2.)
Applications of formulae
We can use these abstract properties to compute the rest of the chern classes of line bundles on {\
displaystyle \mathbb {CP} ^{1}}\mathbb{CP}^1. Recall that {\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}(-
1)^{*}\cong {\mathcal {O}}(1)}{\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}(-1)^{*}\cong {\mathcal {O}}(1)}
showing {\displaystyle c_{1}({\mathcal {O}}(1))=1\in H^{2}(\mathbb {CP} ^{1};\mathbb {Z} )}
{\displaystyle c_{1}({\mathcal {O}}(1))=1\in H^{2}(\mathbb {CP} ^{1};\mathbb {Z} )}. Then
using tensor powers, we can relate them to the chern classes of {\displaystyle c_{1}({\mathcal
{O}}(n))=n}{\displaystyle c_{1}({\mathcal {O}}(n))=n} for any integer.

Properties of Chern classes

Given a complex vector bundle E over a topological space X, the Chern classes of E are a sequence
of elements of the cohomology of X. The k-th Chern class of E, which is usually denoted ck(E), is
an element of

{\displaystyle H^{2k}(X;\mathbb {Z} ),}{\displaystyle H^{2k}(X;\mathbb {Z} ),}

the cohomology of X with integer coefficients. One can also define the total Chern class

{\displaystyle c(E)=c_{0}(E)+c_{1}(E)+c_{2}(E)+\cdots .}c(E)=c_{0}(E)+c_{1}(E)+c_{2}(E)+\

cdots .
Since the values are in integral cohomology groups, rather than cohomology with real coefficients,
these Chern classes are slightly more refined than those in the Riemannian example.[clarification
needed]

Classical axiomatic definition

The Chern classes satisfy the following four axioms:

Axiom 1. {\displaystyle c_{0}(E)=1}c_{0}(E)=1 for all E.

Axiom 2. Naturality: If {\displaystyle f:Y\to X}f : Y \to X is continuous and f*E is the vector
bundle pullback of E, then {\displaystyle c_{k}(f^{*}E)=f^{*}c_{k}(E)}c_{k}
(f^{*}E)=f^{*}c_{k}(E).

Axiom 3. Whitney sum formula: If {\displaystyle F\to X}F\to X is another complex vector bundle,
then the Chern classes of the direct sum {\displaystyle E\oplus F}E\oplus F are given by

{\displaystyle c(E\oplus F)=c(E)\smile c(F);}c(E\oplus F)=c(E)\smile c(F);

that is,

{\displaystyle c_{k}(E\oplus F)=\sum _{i=0}^{k}c_{i}(E)\smile c_{k-i}(F).}c_{k}(E\oplus F)=\

sum _{{i=0}}^{k}c_{i}(E)\smile c_{{k-i}}(F).
Axiom 4. Normalization: The total Chern class of the tautological line bundle over {\displaystyle \
mathbb {CP} ^{k}}{\mathbb {CP}}^{k} is 1−H, where H is Poincaré-dual to the hyperplane {\
displaystyle \mathbb {CP} ^{k-1}\subseteq \mathbb {CP} ^{k}}{\mathbb {CP}}^{{k-1}}\
subseteq {\mathbb {CP}}^{k}.
Grothendieck axiomatic approach
Alternatively, Alexander Grothendieck (1958) replaced these with a slightly smaller set of axioms:

Naturality: (Same as above)

Additivity: If {\displaystyle \ 0\to E'\to E\to E''\to 0}\ 0\to E'\to E\to E''\to 0 is an exact sequence of
vector bundles, then {\displaystyle c(E)=c(E')\smile c(E'')}c(E)=c(E')\smile c(E'').
Normalization: If E is a line bundle, then {\displaystyle c(E)=1+e(E_{\mathbb {R} })}{\
displaystyle c(E)=1+e(E_{\mathbb {R} })} where {\displaystyle e(E_{\mathbb {R} })}{\
displaystyle e(E_{\mathbb {R} })} is the Euler class of the underlying real vector bundle.
He shows using the Leray–Hirsch theorem that the total Chern class of an arbitrary finite rank
complex vector bundle can be defined in terms of the first Chern class of a tautologically-defined
line bundle.

Namely, introducing the projectivization {\displaystyle \mathbb {P} (E)}{\displaystyle \mathbb {P}
(E)} of the rank n complex vector bundle E → B as the fiber bundle on B whose fiber at any point
{\displaystyle b\in B}b\in B is the projective space of the fiber Eb. The total space of this bundle {\
displaystyle \mathbb {P} (E)}{\displaystyle \mathbb {P} (E)} is equipped with its tautological
complex line bundle, that we denote {\displaystyle \tau }\tau , and the first Chern class

{\displaystyle c_{1}(\tau )=:-a}c_1(\tau)=: -a

restricts on each fiber {\displaystyle \mathbb {P} (E_{b})}{\displaystyle \mathbb {P} (E_{b})} to
minus the (Poincaré-dual) class of the hyperplane, that spans the cohomology of the fiber, in view
of the cohomology of complex projective spaces.

The classes

{\displaystyle 1,a,a^{2},\ldots ,a^{n-1}\in H^{*}(\mathbb {P} (E))}{\displaystyle 1,a,a^{2},\

ldots ,a^{n-1}\in H^{*}(\mathbb {P} (E))}
therefore form a family of ambient cohomology classes restricting to a basis of the cohomology of
the fiber. The Leray–Hirsch theorem then states that any class in {\displaystyle H^{*}(\mathbb {P}
(E))}{\displaystyle H^{*}(\mathbb {P} (E))} can be written uniquely as a linear combination of the
1, a, a2, ..., an−1 with classes on the base as coefficients.

In particular, one may define the Chern classes of E in the sense of Grothendieck, denoted {\
displaystyle c_{1}(E),\ldots c_{n}(E)}{\displaystyle c_{1}(E),\ldots c_{n}(E)} by expanding this
way the class {\displaystyle -a^{n}}-a^n, with the relation:

{\displaystyle -a^{n}=c_{1}(E)\cdot a^{n-1}+\cdots +c_{n-1}(E)\cdot a+c_{n}(E).}{\displaystyle

-a^{n}=c_{1}(E)\cdot a^{n-1}+\cdots +c_{n-1}(E)\cdot a+c_{n}(E).}
One then may check that this alternative definition coincides with whatever other definition one
may favor, or use the previous axiomatic characterization.

The top Chern class

In fact, these properties uniquely characterize the Chern classes. They imply, among other things:

If n is the complex rank of V, then {\displaystyle c_{k}(V)=0}c_k(V) = 0 for all k > n. Thus the
total Chern class terminates.
The top Chern class of V (meaning {\displaystyle c_{n}(V)}c_n(V), where n is the rank of V) is
always equal to the Euler class of the underlying real vector bundle.
Chern classes in algebraic geometry
Axiomatic description
There is another construction of Chern classes which take values in the algebrogeometric analogue
of the cohomology ring, the Chow ring. It can be shown that there is a unique theory of Chern
classes such that if you are given an algebraic vector bundle {\displaystyle E\to X}E \to X over a
quasi-projective variety there are a sequence of classes {\displaystyle c_{i}(E)\in A^{i}(X)}{\
displaystyle c_{i}(E)\in A^{i}(X)} such that

{\displaystyle c_{0}(E)=1}c_{0}(E)=1
For an invertible sheaf {\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}_{X}(D)}{\mathcal {O}}_{X}(D) (so that {\
displaystyle D}D is a Cartier divisor), {\displaystyle c_{1}({\mathcal {O}}_{X}(D))=[D]}{\
displaystyle c_{1}({\mathcal {O}}_{X}(D))=[D]}
Given an exact sequence of vector bundles {\displaystyle 0\to E'\to E\to E''\to 0}{\displaystyle 0\to
E'\to E\to E''\to 0} the Whitney sum formula holds: {\displaystyle c(E)=c(E')c(E'')}{\displaystyle
c(E)=c(E')c(E'')}
{\displaystyle c_{i}(E)=0}c_i(E) = 0 for {\displaystyle i>{\text{rank}}(E)}{\displaystyle i>{\
text{rank}}(E)}
The map {\displaystyle E\mapsto c(E)}{\displaystyle E\mapsto c(E)} extends to a ring morphism {\
displaystyle c:K_{0}(X)\to A^{\bullet }(X)}{\displaystyle c:K_{0}(X)\to A^{\bullet }(X)}

Normal sequence
Computing the characteristic classes for projective space forms the basis for many characteristic
class computations since for any smooth projective subvariety {\displaystyle X\subset \mathbb {P}
^{n}}{\displaystyle X\subset \mathbb {P} ^{n}} there is the short exact sequence

{\displaystyle 0\to {\mathcal {T}}_{X}\to {\mathcal {T}}_{\mathbb {P} ^{n}}|_{X}\to {\mathcal

{N}}_{X/\mathbb {P} ^{n}}\to 0}{\displaystyle 0\to {\mathcal {T}}_{X}\to {\mathcal {T}}_{\
mathbb {P} ^{n}}|_{X}\to {\mathcal {N}}_{X/\mathbb {P} ^{n}}\to 0}
Quintic threefold
For example, consider the quintic threefold in {\displaystyle \mathbb {P} ^{4}}{\displaystyle \
mathbb {P} ^{4}}. Then the normal bundle is given by {\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}_{X}(5)}{\
displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}_{X}(5)} and we have the short exact sequence

{\displaystyle 0\to {\mathcal {T}}_{X}\to {\mathcal {T}}_{\mathbb {P} ^{4}}|_{X}\to {\mathcal

{O}}_{X}(5)\to 0}{\displaystyle 0\to {\mathcal {T}}_{X}\to {\mathcal {T}}_{\mathbb {P}
^{4}}|_{X}\to {\mathcal {O}}_{X}(5)\to 0}
Let {\displaystyle h}h denote the hyperplane class in {\displaystyle A^{\bullet }(X)}{\displaystyle
A^{\bullet }(X)}. Then the Whitney sum formula gives us that

{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}c({\mathcal {T}}_{X})c({\mathcal {O}}_{X}(5))&=(1+h)^{5}\\

&=1+5h+10h^{2}+10h^{3}\end{aligned}}}{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}c({\mathcal
{T}}_{X})c({\mathcal {O}}_{X}(5))&=(1+h)^{5}\\&=1+5h+10h^{2}+10h^{3}\end{aligned}}}
Since the Chow ring of a hypersurface is difficult to compute, we will consider this sequence as a
sequence of coherent sheaves in {\displaystyle \mathbb {P} ^{4}}{\displaystyle \mathbb {P}
^{4}}. This gives us that

{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}c({\mathcal {T}}_{X})&={\frac {1+5h+10h^{2}+10h^{3}}

{1+5h}}\\&=(1+5h+10h^{2}+10h^{3})(1-5h+25h^{2}-125h^{3})\\&=1+10h^{2}-40h^{3}\
end{aligned}}}{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}c({\mathcal {T}}_{X})&={\frac
{1+5h+10h^{2}+10h^{3}}{1+5h}}\\&=(1+5h+10h^{2}+10h^{3})(1-5h+25h^{2}-125h^{3})\\
&=1+10h^{2}-40h^{3}\end{aligned}}}
Using the Gauss-Bonnet theorem we can integrate the class {\displaystyle c_{3}({\mathcal
{T}}_{X})}{\displaystyle c_{3}({\mathcal {T}}_{X})} to compute the euler characteristic.
Traditionally this is called the Euler class. This is
{\displaystyle \int _{[X]}c_{3}({\mathcal {T}}_{X})=\int _{[X]}-40h^{3}=-200}{\displaystyle \
int _{[X]}c_{3}({\mathcal {T}}_{X})=\int _{[X]}-40h^{3}=-200}
since the class of {\displaystyle h^{3}}h^{3} can be represented by five points (by Bézout's
theorem. The Euler characteristic can then be used to compute the Betti numbers for the
cohomology of {\displaystyle X}X by using the definition of the Euler characteristic and using the
Lefschetz hyperplane theorem.

Degree d hypersurfaces
If {\displaystyle X\subset \mathbb {P} ^{3}}{\displaystyle X\subset \mathbb {P} ^{3}} is a degree
{\displaystyle d}d smooth hypersurface, we have the short exact sequence

{\displaystyle 0\to {\mathcal {T}}_{X}\to {\mathcal {T}}_{\mathbb {P} ^{3}}|_{X}\to {\mathcal

{O}}_{X}(d)\to 0}{\displaystyle 0\to {\mathcal {T}}_{X}\to {\mathcal {T}}_{\mathbb {P}
^{3}}|_{X}\to {\mathcal {O}}_{X}(d)\to 0}

giving the relation

{\displaystyle c({\mathcal {T}}_{X})={\frac {c({\mathcal {T}}_{\mathbb {P} ^{3}|_{X}})}{c({\

mathcal {O}}_{X}(d))}}}{\displaystyle c({\mathcal {T}}_{X})={\frac {c({\mathcal {T}}_{\
mathbb {P} ^{3}|_{X}})}{c({\mathcal {O}}_{X}(d))}}}

we can then calculate this as

{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}c({\mathcal {T}}_{X})&={\frac {(1+[H])^{4}}{(1+d[H])}}\\

&=(1+4[H]+6[H]^{2})(1-d[H]+d^{2}[H]^{2})\\&=1+(4-d)[H]+(6-3d^{2})[H]^{2}\
end{aligned}}}{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}c({\mathcal {T}}_{X})&={\frac {(1+[H])^{4}}
{(1+d[H])}}\\&=(1+4[H]+6[H]^{2})(1-d[H]+d^{2}[H]^{2})\\&=1+(4-d)[H]+(6-3d^{2})[H]^{2}\
end{aligned}}}

Giving the total chern class. In particular, we can find {\displaystyle X}X is a spin 4-manifold if {\
displaystyle 4-d}{\displaystyle 4-d} is even, so every smooth hypersurface of degree {\displaystyle
2k}2k is a spin manifold.

Proximate notions
The Chern character
Chern classes can be used to construct a homomorphism of rings from the topological K-theory of a
space to (the completion of) its rational cohomology. For a line bundle L, the Chern character ch is
defined by

{\displaystyle \operatorname {ch} (L)=\exp(c_{1}(L)):=\sum _{m=0}^{\infty }{\frac {c_{1}

(L)^{m}}{m!}}.}{\displaystyle \operatorname {ch} (L)=\exp(c_{1}(L)):=\sum _{m=0}^{\infty }{\
frac {c_{1}(L)^{m}}{m!}}.}
More generally, if {\displaystyle V=L_{1}\oplus \cdots \oplus L_{n}}{\displaystyle V=L_{1}\
oplus \cdots \oplus L_{n}} is a direct sum of line bundles, with first Chern classes {\displaystyle
x_{i}=c_{1}(L_{i}),}x_i = c_1(L_i), the Chern character is defined additively

{\displaystyle \operatorname {ch} (V)=e^{x_{1}}+\cdots +e^{x_{n}}:=\sum _{m=0}^{\infty }{\

frac {1}{m!}}(x_{1}^{m}+\cdots +x_{n}^{m}).}{\displaystyle \operatorname {ch}
(V)=e^{x_{1}}+\cdots +e^{x_{n}}:=\sum _{m=0}^{\infty }{\frac {1}{m!}}(x_{1}^{m}+\cdots
+x_{n}^{m}).}
This can be rewritten as:[12]
{\displaystyle \operatorname {ch} (V)=\operatorname {rk} (V)+c_{1}(V)+{\frac {1}{2}}(c_{1}
(V)^{2}-2c_{2}(V))+{\frac {1}{6}}(c_{1}(V)^{3}-3c_{1}(V)c_{2}(V)+3c_{3}(V))+\cdots .}{\
displaystyle \operatorname {ch} (V)=\operatorname {rk} (V)+c_{1}(V)+{\frac {1}{2}}(c_{1}
(V)^{2}-2c_{2}(V))+{\frac {1}{6}}(c_{1}(V)^{3}-3c_{1}(V)c_{2}(V)+3c_{3}(V))+\cdots .}
This last expression, justified by invoking the splitting principle, is taken as the definition ch(V) for
arbitrary vector bundles V.

If a connection is used to define the Chern classes when the base is a manifold (i.e., the Chern–Weil
theory), then the explicit form of the Chern character is

{\displaystyle {\hbox{ch}}(V)=\left[{\hbox{tr}}\left(\exp \left({\frac {i\Omega }{2\pi }}\right)\

right)\right]}{\hbox{ch}}(V)=\left[{\hbox{tr}}\left(\exp \left({\frac {i\Omega }{2\pi }}\right)\
right)\right]
where Ω is the curvature of the connection.

The Chern character is useful in part because it facilitates the computation of the Chern class of a
tensor product. Specifically, it obeys the following identities:

{\displaystyle {\hbox{ch}}(V\oplus W)={\hbox{ch}}(V)+{\hbox{ch}}(W)}\hbox{ch}(V\oplus

W)=\hbox{ch}(V)+\hbox{ch}(W)
{\displaystyle {\hbox{ch}}(V\otimes W)={\hbox{ch}}(V){\hbox{ch}}(W).}\hbox{ch}(V\otimes
W)=\hbox{ch}(V)\hbox{ch}(W).
As stated above, using the Grothendieck additivity axiom for Chern classes, the first of these
identities can be generalized to state that ch is a homomorphism of abelian groups from the K-
theory K(X) into the rational cohomology of X. The second identity establishes the fact that this
homomorphism also respects products in K(X), and so ch is a homomorphism of rings.

The Chern character is used in the Hirzebruch–Riemann–Roch theorem.

Chern numbers
If we work on an oriented manifold of dimension {\displaystyle 2n}2n, then any product of Chern
classes of total degree {\displaystyle 2n}2n (i.e., the sum of indices of the Chern classes in the
product should be {\displaystyle n}n) can be paired with the orientation homology class (or
"integrated over the manifold") to give an integer, a Chern number of the vector bundle. For
example, if the manifold has dimension 6, there are three linearly independent Chern numbers,
given by {\displaystyle c_{1}^{3},}{\displaystyle c_{1}^{3},} {\displaystyle c_{1}c_{2}}{\
displaystyle c_{1}c_{2}}, and {\displaystyle c_{3}}c_{3}. In general, if the manifold has
dimension {\displaystyle 2n}2n, the number of possible independent Chern numbers is the number
of partitions of {\displaystyle n}n.

The Chern numbers of the tangent bundle of a complex (or almost complex) manifold are called the
Chern numbers of the manifold, and are important invariants.

The Chern class in generalized cohomology theories

There is a generalization of the theory of Chern classes, where ordinary cohomology is replaced
with a generalized cohomology theory. The theories for which such generalization is possible are
called complex orientable. The formal properties of the Chern classes remain the same, with one
crucial difference: the rule which computes the first Chern class of a tensor product of line bundles
in terms of first Chern classes of the factors is not (ordinary) addition, but rather a formal group law.

The Chern class in algebraic geometry

In algebraic geometry there is a similar theory of Chern classes of vector bundles. There are several
variations depending on what groups the Chern classes lie in:

For complex varieties the Chern classes can take values in ordinary cohomology, as above.
For varieties over general fields, the Chern classes can take values in cohomology theories such as
etale cohomology or l-adic cohomology.
For varieties V over general fields the Chern classes can also take values in homomorphisms of
Chow groups CH(V): for example, the first Chern class of a line bundle over a variety V is a
homomorphism from CH(V) to CH(V) reducing degrees by 1. This corresponds to the fact that the
Chow groups are a sort of analog of homology groups, and elements of cohomology groups can be
thought of as homomorphisms of homology groups using the cap product.
Chern classes of manifolds with structure
The theory of Chern classes gives rise to cobordism invariants for almost complex manifolds.

If M is an almost complex manifold, then its tangent bundle is a complex vector bundle. The Chern
classes of M are thus defined to be the Chern classes of its tangent bundle. If M is also compact and
of dimension 2d, then each monomial of total degree 2d in the Chern classes can be paired with the
fundamental class of M, giving an integer, a Chern number of M. If M′ is another almost complex
manifold of the same dimension, then it is cobordant to M if and only if the Chern numbers of M′
coincide with those of M.

The theory also extends to real symplectic vector bundles, by the intermediation of compatible
almost complex structures. In particular, symplectic manifolds have a well-defined Chern class.

Chern classes on arithmetic schemes and Diophantine equations

(See Arakelov geometry)

See also
Pontryagin class
Stiefel–Whitney class
Euler class
Segre class
Schubert calculus
Quantum Hall effect
Localized Chern class
Notes
Tu, Raoul Bott ; Loring W. (1995). Differential forms in algebraic topology (Corr. 3. print. ed.).
New York [u.a.]: Springer. p. 267ff. ISBN 3-540-90613-4.
Proposition 3.10. in Hatcher's Vector Bundles and K-theory
Editorial note: Our notation differs from Milnor−Stasheff, but seems more natural.
The sequence is sometimes called the Euler sequence.
Harsthorne, Ch. II. Theorem 8.13.
In a ring-theoretic term, there is an isomorphism of graded rings:
{\displaystyle H^{2*}(M,\mathbb {Z} )\to \oplus _{k}^{\infty }\eta (H^{2*}(M,\mathbb {Z} ))
[t],x\mapsto xt^{|x|/2}} {\displaystyle H^{2*}(M,\mathbb {Z} )\to \oplus _{k}^{\infty }\eta
(H^{2*}(M,\mathbb {Z} ))[t],x\mapsto xt^{|x|/2}}
where the left is the cohomology ring of even terms, η is a ring homomorphism that disregards
grading and x is homogeneous and has degree |x|.
Fulton, Remark 3.2.3. (a)
Fulton, Remark 3.2.3. (b)
Fulton, Example 3.2.2.
Fulton, Remark 3.2.3. (c)
 Use, for example, WolframAlpha to expand the polynomial and then use the fact {\displaystyle
c_{i}} c_{i} are elementary symmetric polynomials in {\displaystyle \alpha _{i}} \alpha _{i}'s.
(See also #Chern polynomial.) Observe that when V is a sum of line bundles, the Chern classes of
V can be expressed as elementary symmetric polynomials in the {\displaystyle x_{i}} x_{i}, {\
displaystyle c_{i}(V)=e_{i}(x_{1},\ldots ,x_{n}).} {\displaystyle c_{i}(V)=e_{i}(x_{1},\
ldots ,x_{n}).} In particular, on the one hand
{\displaystyle c(V):=\sum _{i=0}^{n}c_{i}(V),} c(V) := \sum_{i=0}^n c_i(V),
while on the other hand
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}c(V)&=c(L_{1}\oplus \cdots \oplus L_{n})\\&=\prod
_{i=1}^{n}c(L_{i})\\&=\prod _{i=1}^{n}(1+x_{i})\\&=\sum _{i=0}^{n}e_{i}(x_{1},\
ldots ,x_{n})\end{aligned}}} {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}c(V)&=c(L_{1}\oplus \cdots \oplus
L_{n})\\&=\prod _{i=1}^{n}c(L_{i})\\&=\prod _{i=1}^{n}(1+x_{i})\\&=\sum _{i=0}^{n}e_{i}
(x_{1},\ldots ,x_{n})\end{aligned}}}
Consequently, Newton's identities may be used to reexpress the power sums in ch(V) above solely
in terms of the Chern classes of V, giving the claimed formula.
References
Chern, Shiing-Shen (1946), "Characteristic classes of Hermitian Manifolds", Annals of
Mathematics, Second Series, The Annals of Mathematics, Vol. 47, No. 1, 47 (1): 85–121,
doi:10.2307/1969037, ISSN 0003-486X, JSTOR 1969037
Grothendieck, Alexander (1958), "La théorie des classes de Chern", Bulletin de la Société
Mathématique de France, 86: 137–154, ISSN 0037-9484, MR 0116023
Jost, Jürgen (2005), Riemannian Geometry and Geometric Analysis (4th ed.), Berlin, New York:
Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-540-25907-7 (Provides a very short, introductory review of Chern
classes).
May, J. Peter (1999), A Concise Course in Algebraic Topology, University of Chicago Press
Milnor, John Willard; Stasheff, James D. (1974), Characteristic classes, Annals of Mathematics
Studies, 76, Princeton University Press; University of Tokyo Press, ISBN 978-0-691-08122-9
Rubei, Elena (2014), Algebraic Geometry, a concise dictionary, Berlin/Boston: Walter De Gruyter,
ISBN 978-3-11-031622-3
External links
Vector Bundles & K-Theory – A downloadable book-in-progress by Allen Hatcher. Contains a
chapter about characteristic classes.
Dieter Kotschick, Chern numbers of algebraic varieties
Categories: Characteristic classesChinese mathematical discoveries
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