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The Homology of Singular Polygon Spaces
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
Abstract
Let ${{M}_{n}}$ be the variety of spatial polygons $P\,=\,({{a}_{1}},\,{{a}_{2}},...,{{a}_{n}})$ whose sides are vectors ${{a}_{i}}\,\in \,{{\mathbf{R}}^{3}}$ of length $\left| {{a}_{i}} \right|\,=\,1\,(1\,\le \,i\,\le \,n)$, up to motion in ${{\mathbf{R}}^{3}}$. It is known that for odd $n$, ${{M}_{n}}$ is a smooth manifold, while for even $n$, ${{M}_{n}}$ has cone-like singular points. For odd $n$, the rational homology of ${{M}_{n}}$ was determined by Kirwan and Klyachko [6], [9]. The purpose of this paper is to determine the rational homology of ${{M}_{n}}$ for even $n$. For even $n$, let ${{\tilde{M}}_{n}}$ be the manifold obtained from ${{M}_{n}}$ by the resolution of the singularities. Then we also determine the integral homology of ${{\tilde{M}}_{n}}$.
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- Copyright © Canadian Mathematical Society 1998
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