Five-term exact sequence

• The inflation-restriction exact sequence

0 → H ¹(G/N, A^N) → H ¹(G, A) → H ¹(N, A)^G/N → H ²(G/N, A^N) →H ²(G, A)

in group cohomology arises as the five-term exact sequence associated to the Lyndon–Hochschild–Serre spectral sequence

H ^p(G/N, H ^q(N, A)) ⇒ H ^p+q(G, A)

where G is a profinite group, N is a closed normal subgroup, and A is a G-module.

The sequence is a consequence of the definition of convergence of a spectral sequence. The second page differential with codomain E₂^1,0 originates from E₂^−1,1, which is zero by assumption. The differential with domain E₂^1,0 has codomain E₂^3,−1, which is also zero by assumption. Similarly, the incoming and outgoing differentials of E_r^1,0 are zero for all r ≥ 2. Therefore the (1,0) term of the spectral sequence has converged, meaning that it is isomorphic to the degree one graded piece of the abutment H ¹(A). Because the spectral sequence lies in the first quadrant, the degree one graded piece is equal to the first subgroup in the filtration defining the graded pieces. The inclusion of this subgroup yields the injection E₂^1,0 → H ¹(A) which begins the five-term exact sequence. This injection is called an edge map.

The E₂^0,1 term of the spectral sequence has not converged. It has a potentially non-trivial differential leading to E₂^2,0. However, the differential landing at E₂^0,1 begins at E₂^−2,2, which is zero, and therefore E₃^0,1 is the kernel of the differential E₂^0,1 → E₂^2,0. At the third page, the (0, 1) term of the spectral sequence has converged, because all the differentials into and out of E_r^0,1 either begin or end outside the first quadrant when r ≥ 3. Consequently E₃^0,1 is the degree zero graded piece of H ¹(A). This graded piece is the quotient of H ¹(A) by the first subgroup in the filtration, and hence it is the cokernel of the edge map from E₂^1,0. This yields a short exact sequence

0 → E₂^1,0 → H ¹(A) → E₃^0,1 → 0.

Because E₃^0,1 is the kernel of the differential E₂^0,1 → E₂^2,0, the last term in the short exact sequence can be replaced with the differential. This produces a four-term exact sequence. The map H ¹(A) → E₂^0,1 is also called an edge map.

The outgoing differential of E₂^2,0 is zero, so E₃^2,0 is the cokernel of the differential E₂^0,1 → E₂^2,0. The incoming and outgoing differentials of E_r^2,0 are zero if r ≥ 3, again because the spectral sequence lies in the first quadrant, and hence the spectral sequence has converged. Consequently E₃^2,0 is isomorphic to the degree two graded piece of H ²(A). In particular, it is a subgroup of H ²(A). The composite E₂^2,0 → E₃^2,0 → H²(A), which is another edge map, therefore has kernel equal to the differential landing at E₂^2,0. This completes the construction of the sequence.

The five-term exact sequence can be extended at the cost of making one of the terms less explicit. The seven-term exact sequence is

0 → E₂^1,0 → H ¹(A) → E₂^0,1 → E₂^2,0 → Ker(H ²(A) → E₂^0,2) → E₂^1,1 → E₂^3,0.

This sequence does not immediately extend with a map to H³(A). While there is an edge map E₂^3,0 → H³(A), its kernel is not the previous term in the seven-term exact sequence.

For spectral sequences whose first interesting page is E₁, there is a three-term exact sequence analogous to the five-term exact sequence:

${\displaystyle 0\to H^{0}(A)\to E_{1}^{0,0}\to E_{1}^{0,1}.}$

There are also low degree exact sequences for homological spectral sequences, as well as for spectral sequences in the third quadrant. When additional terms of the spectral sequence are known to vanish, the exact sequences can sometimes be extended further. For example, the long exact sequence associated to a short exact sequence of complexes can be derived in this manner.

• Neukirch, Jürgen; Schmidt, Alexander; Wingberg, Kay (2000), Cohomology of Number Fields, Grundlehren der Mathematischen Wissenschaften, 323, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-540-66671-4, MR 1737196, Zbl 0948.11001
• Weibel, Charles A. (1994). An introduction to homological algebra. Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics. 38. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-55987-4. MR 1269324. OCLC 36131259.