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Questions tagged [orientation]

For question regarding the notion of orientation both in topology and in global analysis.

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Interpreting the Sign of the Jacobian Determinant

The sign of the Jacobian determinant of a two-dimensional transformation tells us if the transformation is locally orientation-preserving (if it's positive) or locally orientation-reversing (if it's ...
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Orientation bundle and its flat connection

Let $M$ be a smooth $n$-manifold (which is not assumed to be orientable), and write $o(TM)\to M$ for its orientation bundle. Equivalently, it is the top exterior bundle $\Lambda^n(TM)\to M$. In any ...
Ho Man-Ho's user avatar
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Why is the orientable double cover orientable?

According to the above definition of a global orientation, don't we have to show that both $\tilde\mu_{x}, \tilde\mu_{y}$ in $H_n(\tilde M, \tilde M \backslash \mu_x )$ and $H_n(\tilde M, \tilde M \...
zhongyuan chen's user avatar
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Orientation of a surface in the direction of an axis

I'm reviewing some vector calculus material in Chapter 16 of Stewart's Calculus (9th ed) and I want to make sure I understand what is meant by a surface being oriented in the direction of the positive ...
Leonidas's user avatar
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4 votes
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Proving $\mathbb{R}P^n$ is orientable if and only if $n$ is odd.

Prove that $\mathbb{R}P^n$ is orientable if and only if $n$ is odd. I know this question has been asked many times on this site, but all solutions consist of $n$ forms or homology groups which I can'...
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Generators for de Rham cohomology on orientable products

I am trying to figure out how the orientation forms on $S^2$ constitute as generators for $H^2_{dR}(S^2 \times S^2)$. I've calculated that $H^2_{dR}(S^2 \times S^2) = \mathbb{R} \oplus \mathbb{R} = H^...
Lee Kwang's user avatar
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Show that $i^*\omega \in \Omega^{n}(S^n)$ is an orientation form on $S^n$.

Show that $i^*\omega \in \Omega^{n}(S^n)$ is an orientation form on $S^n$. Here $i:S^n \to \mathbb{R}^{n+1} - \{0\}$ and $\omega$ is a $n$-form on $\mathbb{R}^{n+1}- \{0\}$ for which $\omega_p(v_1, \...
Elena's user avatar
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Is there a natural way to build a volume form on an oriented Poisson manifold?

Editet question Let $(M, \pi)$ be an oriented Poisson manifold. Is there a natural way to build a volume form from the Poisson bivector $\pi$? Original question It is always possible to build a volume ...
DavideL's user avatar
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Show that $\mathbb RP^n$ with the standard smooth structure is orientable if and only if $n$ is odd

Show that $\mathbb RP^n$ with the standard smooth structure is orientable if and only if $n$ is odd. I tried to show that the Jacobian of the transition map $$(u_1,u_2,\dots ,u_n)\mapsto \left(\frac{...
Sayan Dutta's user avatar
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Local diffeomorphisms and orientability

Given a differentiable map $f \colon S_1 \to S_2$ between regular surfaces such that $df_p$ is an isomorphism for each $p \in S_1$, I want to study whether the following statements are true or false: ...
David's user avatar
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1 answer
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Do non-closed surfaces have a canonical choice of normal vector?

For any orientable surface in $\mathbb{R}^3$, there are two possible choices for the normal vector at any given point. When the surface is closed, we can name those choices and differentiate between ...
TheAssistant's user avatar
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1 answer
107 views

In the proof of the Stokes's theorem, why $\varphi |_{U \cap \partial M}^{\varphi(U)\cap \partial \mathbb{H}^n}$ is an orientation-preserving?

I am reading John Lee's Introduction to smooth manifold, second edition, proof of Theorem 16.11 and stuck at understanding some statement. Theorem 16.11 (Stokes's Theorem). Let $M$ be an oriented ...
Plantation's user avatar
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Standard Orientation on Lie Groups

I know that every Lie group is orientable. I want to know whether there is a standard choice of orientation. The standard orientation on $\mathbb{R}^n$ is $\left( {\partial \over \partial x_1}, \ldots,...
D.L's user avatar
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Every nonzero alternating $n$-tensor on a $n$-dimensional vector space $V$ determines an orientation of $V$

Proposition. Let $V$ be a vector space of positive dimension $n$. Then every nonzero alternating $n$-tensor $\omega$ on $V$ determines an orientation of $V$ by collecting all the bases $\{v_1,\ldots,...
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Boundary Orientation

Edits to the original post are in bold. I've been going through @Ted Shifrin's lectures on Stokes's Theorem, and I had a question relating to his choice of orientation of the tangent space as it comes ...
RHyp's user avatar
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SO(3) derivatives in the paper "A Primer on the Differential Calculus of 3D Orientations"

In the paper A Primer on the Differential Calculus of 3D Orientations, the derivative of a SO$(3)$ member in equation (24) is given as a vector defined as $$\frac{\partial}{\partial t}\left(\Phi_{\...
Xiaohan Tang's user avatar
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Can a purely mathematical version of the right hand rule be given?

The right hand rule is a common convention for describing orientation of coordinates, used throughout physics. It's also used in the definition of the cross product. Is it possible to give a purely ...
SRobertJames's user avatar
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Stein and Shakarchi: "positive counterclockwise orientation"

I am having trouble understanding a passage in Stein and Shakarchi's complex analysis textbook. Here is the passage for reference. (It earlier wrote $z = re^{i \theta}$ and then wrote Euler's identity....
Mathematical Endeavors's user avatar
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Normal vectors of a piecewise smooth Jordan curve always point into the bounded Jordan domain.

It is a common definition to say that a smooth simple closed curve $\gamma:[0,1]\rightarrow\mathbb{C}$ is "positively oriented" if the normal vector at every point along $\gamma$ points into ...
Nick Mendler's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
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Vector fields that make up a local frame are continuous

In Lee's book Introduction to Smooth Manifolds, on the section on orientations, he notes that Recall that by definition the vector fields that make up a local frame are continuous which I did not ...
CBBAM's user avatar
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How are transition functions of $TM $ defined when $ M$ is an oriented manifold?

This question was asked in my quiz of Differential geometry course and I am having a really hard time in this course. Question: Let $M$ be an oriented manifold of dimension $n$ and let $π : TM \to M$ ...
Jack's user avatar
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In proof of the Stokes's Theorem for Chains ( John Lee's Smooth manifolds )

I am reading the John Lee's Introduction to smooth manifold, second edition, Theorem 18.12 (Stokes's Theorem for Chains) and stuck at understanding some argument : I'm struggling with hours to ...
Plantation's user avatar
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3 votes
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Group of Oriented Edges of a Tiling

This is an idea I'm sure exists already, but is quite complicated, so it's hard to find without appropriate terminology. We consider a tiling of the plane by regular $n$-gons, containing an edge $e_0$ ...
Thomas Anton's user avatar
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1 answer
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Characteristic Property of the Orientation Covering (Problem 15-10 in Lee's Smooth Manifolds book)

The problem statement: Let $M$ be a connected nonorientable smooth manifold with or without boundary, and let $\widehat{\pi}: \widehat{M} \to M$ be its orientation covering. Prove that if $X$ is any ...
Tob Ernack's user avatar
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Effect on transition functions when changing the orientation of a manifold

Let $M$ be a smooth $n$-manifold. If an orientation on $M$ is given, then we can find an open cover $\{U_\alpha\}$ of $M$, and transition functions $g_{\alpha\beta}:U_{\alpha}\cap U_\beta \to \text{SO}...
blancket's user avatar
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1 answer
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Quaternion - calibration sensor [closed]

I have attached my sensor to a box. What I am interested in is the rotation of the box with respect to the world. In my case, to avoid the gimball lock, and beacause the sensor already provides it, I ...
cobdmg's user avatar
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Integrating a 2-form over 2-manifold with an orientation

This excercise asks me to integrate $\omega=z dx \wedge dy$ over the 2-manifold $A = \{(x, y, z): x^2+z^2=y, y<4\}$ with orientation $o(x)$ such that $o^{31}(x)>0$ using Divergence's theorem. So ...
Mallacan's user avatar
1 vote
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42 views

Weak Parallelisability/Strong Orientability

An orientable manifold is defined by looking at small patches, looking at the interaction of local homology groups on these small patches, and focusing on when this gives us a coherent global story. ...
Thomas Anton's user avatar
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Oriented matroids: A map between chirotopes and the set of covectors?

I am just getting used to the topic of oriented matroids. I was surprised to read that a central aspect of oriented matroid theory is that there exists a "non-trivial equivalency" between ...
Emil Sancherros's user avatar
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0 answers
22 views

How to produce an N-dimensional *direct* basis?

I need a procedure to generate an N-dimensional orthonormal direct basis. The 1D, 2D, and 3D case are not a problem. For example, in the 3D case, if I have 3 vectors $v1, v2, v3$ (suppose they behave ...
ouistiti's user avatar
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0 answers
175 views

surface integrals orientation. when is it positive or negative

For this question below, I don't understand what they're asking. what does it mean to find the net flow rate upward through the surface? How do I know if I need to put a negative before computing the ...
user20194358's user avatar
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0 answers
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Orientation of simplicial complexes [duplicate]

I'm trying to understand simplicial homology over $\mathbb Q$ and I'm having some problems in grasping with the definition of orientation of an abstract simplicial complex, the major one being that I ...
Lucas Giraldi's user avatar
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1 answer
60 views

Degree of a map between orientable closed manifolds

Let $f:X\rightarrow Y$ be a local diffeomorphism, where $X^n$, $Y^m$ are compact and orientable manifolds. I'd like to show that $deg(f)=\text{#}(f^{-1}(z))$ or $deg(f)=-\text{#}(f^{-1}(z))$, for $z \...
Anyway142's user avatar
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Confused about "twist fluctuations" for knots

This question is referring to the following article https://news.mit.edu/2020/model-how-strong-knot-0102 So this article says that a knot is stronger if it has more "twist fluctuations" ...
MeltedStatementRecognizing's user avatar
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0 answers
24 views

Compute orientation without a basis?

Follow up to this question (How to count polyhedral rotations?): If you have a regular polytope $P$ with graph $G_P$, you can easily use a computer to list all the graph automorphisms of $G_P$. Half ...
user326210's user avatar
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Does the choice of orientations of $V$ and $W$ determine an orientation of $V\oplus W$?

Let $V$ and $W$ be two finite-dimensional real vector spaces. I guess that there is only one way to interpret the title (if my guess is wrong, then please let me know), but here is what I mean: ...
Filippo's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
43 views

Show that contact manifolds are orientable, or why $\lambda\alpha\wedge(\lambda d\alpha+d\lambda\wedge\alpha)^n=\lambda^{n+1}\alpha\wedge(d\alpha)^n$

While reading to Geige's An Introduction to Contact Topology, I got stuck after the following statement: Observe that $\alpha$ is a contact form precisely if $\alpha\wedge(d\alpha)^n$ is a volume ...
Akerbeltz's user avatar
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7 votes
0 answers
121 views

Combinatorial structure of the tesseract

On a cube, you can define the notion of "the next edge around this vertex, in clockwise order." Formally, if $D$ is the space of darts (edges of the cube with one of the endpoint vertices ...
user326210's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
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Natural orientation of an underlying real vector space

Consider the following argument from a book (included as an image to show exactly what is printed): There are a number of minor typos here, but I'm mainly concerned with the computation of $\Delta(...
blargoner's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
38 views

orientation difference between two triangles in 3D space

Lets there be 2 sets of 3 points in 3D space, representing 2 congruent isosceles triangles. The apexes of both triangles are located at the point (0,0,0). How do I calculate the difference between the ...
Itay Pachelbel Jacob's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
99 views

Using Möbius band to define orientability of surfaces

Given a surface $S$, the usual definition of orientability is that there is an atlas of charts with all transition maps having non-negative Jacobian. Donaldson, in his book on Riemann surfaces, says a ...
Mohith Raju's user avatar
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0 answers
16 views

Hat Knot Floer Homology with Z coefficients calculation

I would like to ask if there is a reference which carries out the calculation of the hat knot Floer homology of a knot with $\mathbb{Z}$ coefficients, i.e., $\widehat{HFK}(K;\mathbb{Z})$, where the ...
viniciuscantocosta's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
64 views

Compatible oriented charts for all open balls in a manifold

Let $M$ be an orientable smooth manifold. Can I find for every set $U \subset M$ that is diffeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}^n$ a chart $\phi_U : U \to \mathbb{R}^n$ so that the transitions functions $(\...
Lukas Miaskiwskyi's user avatar
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Geometric intuition and interpretation of orientations in higher dimensions?

I've only come across orientations in the context of an analysis class talking about orientated triangulations of oriented affine k-simplex. We defined having a positive orientation as the determinant ...
Severus2013's user avatar
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22 views

Orientation-preserving order on vector space

Given a finite-dimensional real vector space V, is there a total order O on the vectors in V such that any basis of V, when ordered according to O, has the same orientation? Does existence depend on ...
Stephane Bersier's user avatar
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0 answers
60 views

How to calculate pitch, yaw and roll using two sets of 3d points?

I am trying to calculate the pitch, yaw and roll of the forearm using two sets of two 3d(x,y,z) coordinates during movement, a set for the wrist and a set for the elbow. I would like to know how to ...
Bradley's user avatar
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1 vote
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Every surface of revolution is orientable

I understand this proof to my question. But what if I have the following definition of "orientable manifold"? Let $M$ be a manifold of class $C^k$, where $1\leq k \leq +\infty$. An atlas $\...
Zaragosa's user avatar
  • 1,592
2 votes
1 answer
120 views

Orientation of a vector space from a homological point of view

I was reading Milnor and Stasheff's Characteristic Classes but I got stuck at the beginning of Chapter 9 when a homological interpretation of the orientation of a real vector space is given. More ...
Don's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
294 views

In what sense is an orientation continuous?

I have been reading from Lee's Introduction to Smooth Manifolds and I have gotten to the section on how an orientation on a manifold is defined. First Lee defines an orientation on a vector space $V$ ...
Andrew Shedlock's user avatar
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0 answers
56 views

Under what condition is a coordinate chart orientation-preserving

Let $\phi: U \rightarrow O$ be a coordinate chart of an $n$-dimensional differentiable oriented manifold where $U$ is an open subset of the manifold and $O$ is an open subset of $\mathbb{R}^n$. If we ...
Ka Fat Chow's user avatar

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