Poincare polynomial

This article describes an invariant of topological spaces that depends only on its homology groups

Definition

Given a topological space $X$ which has finitely generated homology, the Poincare polynomial of $X$ is defined as the generating function of its Betti numbers, viz the polynomial where the coefficient of $x^{q}$ is $b_{q}(X)$.

Note that for a space with homology of finite type, all the Betti numbers are well-defined, but infinitely many of them are nonzero, so we get a Poincare series instead of a Poincare polynomial.

The Poincare polynomial of $X$ is denoted $PX$.

Facts

Disjoint union

The Poincare polynomial of a disjoint is the sum of the Poincare polynomials of the individual spaces.

Wedge sum

The Poincare polynomial of a wedge sum of two path-connected spaces, is the sum of their polynomials minus 1.

Product

When either of the spaces is a sphere, the Poincare polynomial of the product of the spaces is the product of the Poincare polynomials. However, the result does not hold for arbitrary topological spaces.