On the structure of spaces of commuting elements in compact Lie groups

Abstract

In this note we study topological invariants of the spaces of homomorphisms Hom(π,G), where π is a finitely generated abelian group and G is a compact Lie group arising as an arbitrary finite product of the classical groups SU(r), U(q) and Sp(k).

Accepted for publication in the proceedings of the conference: Configuration spaces: Geometry, Combinatorics and Topology. Scuola Normale Superiore