Cutting the Möbius Strip

Summary

Using tools from algebraic topology and algebraic geometry (fundamental polygons and blowups, respectively), we prove that cutting along the center of a Möbius strip yields a cylinder.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank Tadashi Tokieda for his talk, along with my friends Niven Achenjang and Nik Castro, whose conversations with me inspired this paper. I also want to thank Bailey Ray Jones and Daniel Halmrast for their help with diagrams.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cooper Young

Cooper Young ([email protected]) received his M.A. from UC Santa Barbara and his A.B. in mathematics from Princeton University, with minors in dance and creative writing. Outside of mathematics, his passions are vast and ever-changing. Currently, they include chess, poetry, stencils, ping pong, and ethical hacking.