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Van Kampen's Theorem

Topology

Describes how the fundamental group of a topological space formed by gluing two open, path-connected pieces together can be computed from the fundamental groups of the two pieces and of their overlap. Named for Egbert van Kampen, it is a basic computational tool of algebraic topology.

Facts
Statement
The fundamental group of a topological space that is the union of two open, path-connected subspaces whose intersection is path-connected and nonempty can be computed from the fundamental groups of the two subspaces and of their intersection. 1
Proof Year
1933 1
Herbert Seifert proved a related special case independently in 1931; van Kampen's 1933 paper is the namesake general result.
Classification
Statement Form
Characterization Theorem 1
Connections

Has Statement Form

In Branch

Proved By

Source Van Kampen's Theorem (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Van Kampen's Theorem (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • References section
    E. R. van Kampen. On the connection between the fundamental groups of some related spaces. American Journal of Mathematics, vol. 55 (1933), pp. 261-267.
  • Proved By: Herbert Seifert, Lead
    In mathematics, the Seifert-Van Kampen theorem of algebraic topology (named after Herbert Seifert and Egbert van Kampen), sometimes just called Van Kampen's theorem, expresses the structure of the fundamental group of a topological space
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Seifert-Van Kampen theorem (Wikipedia)
In Group: Algebraic Topology, Lead paragraph
Quote, In Group: Algebraic Topology, Lead paragraph
In mathematics, the Seifert-Van Kampen theorem of algebraic topology (named after Herbert Seifert and Egbert van Kampen), sometimes just called Van Kampen's theorem, expresses the structure of the fundamental group of a topological space X {\displaystyle X} in terms of the fundamental groups of two open, path-connected subspaces that cover X {\displaystyle X} .
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