Homology with local coefficients and characteristic classes (Q850846)

This is a delayed publication, based on the author's 1963 Yale Ph.D. thesis. The paper is devoted to the study of cohomology with local coefficients and applications to non-orientable real vector bundles. It culminates in a computation of the cohomology ring with (twisted) integer coefficients of the classifying space \(BO(n)\) and also the integral cohomology ring of the classifying space \(BSO(n)\). Here \(O(n)\) denotes the group of real orthogonal \((n\times n)\)-matrices, and \(SO(n)\) is its subgroup of matrices with determinant one. The reviewer remarks that a short excerpt (on the twisted Bockstein coboundary operator) of the same thesis appeared in [Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 61, 295--297 (1965; Zbl 0134.19004)]. In the paper under review, the author first presents some general properties of cohomology groups with local coefficients. Then he concentrates on twisted integral cohomology groups, in which the twist is given by a one-dimensional \(\mathbb Z/2\mathbb Z\)-cohomology class. In this context, he mainly studies the Bockstein cohomology operation and the Gysin sequence of a sphere bundle. In the final section, the author applies his results to determine the structure of the cohomology ring \(H^\ast(BO(n);\mathbb Z)\) as well as the structure of \(H^\ast(BO(n);{\mathbb Z}_{w_1})\), where the local system \({\mathbb Z}_{w_1}\) on \(BO(n)\) has the group \(\mathbb Z\) of integers as its fiber and is twisted by the universal Stiefel-Whitney class \(w_1\in H^ 1(BO(n);\mathbb Z/2\mathbb Z)\). The descriptions of \(H^\ast(BO(n);\mathbb Z)\) and \(H^\ast(BO(n);{\mathbb Z}_{w_1})\) are in terms of the cohomology ring \(H^\ast(BSO(n);\mathbb Z)\) and two Gysin sequences associated with the covering \(BSO(n)\rightarrow BO(n)\). Then, to \`\` complete the picture\'\', the author gives a formula in closed form for the ring \(H^\ast(BSO(n);\mathbb Z)\). He identifies the latter as a subring (generated by elements specified in the article) of a certain ring (which is given in terms of generators and relations). The reviewer remarks that descriptions of \(H^\ast(BSO(n);\mathbb Z)\) and \(H^\ast(BO(n);\mathbb Z)\) in terms of generators and relations were given by \textit{E. Brown} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 85, 283--288 (1982; Zbl 0509.55010)] and \textit{M. Feshbach} [Indiana Univ. Math. J. 32, 511--516 (1983; Zbl 0507.55014)]. A description of the cohomology ring of \(BO(n)\) with twisted integer coefficients, also in terms of generators and relations, can be found in \textit{M. Čadek's} paper [J. Math. Kyoto Univ. 39, 277--286 (1999; Zbl 0946.55009)].