simply connected
A topological space![]()
is said to be simply connected if it is path connected and the fundamental group
![]()
of the space is trivial (i.e. the one element group). What this means, basically, is that every path on the space can be shrunk to a point. This is equivalent
to saying that every path is contractible. A simply connected space can be visualized as a space with no “holes”.
Some basic examples of a simply connected space are the unit disc in , or the Riemann sphere. Non-examples of a simply connected space are the circle, the annulus![]()
, and a punctured plane (a plane with a point removed). In each of the non-examples, any closed curve around the “hole” is a path that can not be shrunk to a point.