Transition Maps
A transition map provides a way of comparing two charts of an atlas. To make this comparison, we consider the composition of one chart with the inverse of the other. This composition is not well-defined unless we restrict both charts to the intersection of their domains of definition. (For example, if we have a chart of Europe and a chart of Russia, then we can compare these two charts on their overlap, namely the European part of Russia.)
To be more precise, suppose that and are two charts for a manifold M such that is non-empty. The transition map is the map defined by
Note that since and are both homeomorphisms, the transition map is also a homeomorphism.
Read more about this topic: Atlas (topology)
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