Editing Chern class (section)

{{Short description|Characteristic classes of vector bundles}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}
In [[mathematics]], in particular in [[algebraic topology]], [[differential geometry and topology|differential geometry]] and [[algebraic geometry]], the '''Chern classes''' are [[characteristic class]]es associated with [[complex vector bundle|complex]] [[vector bundle]]s. They have since become fundamental concepts in many branches of mathematics and physics, such as [[string theory]], [[Chern–Simons theory]], [[knot theory]], and [[Gromov–Witten theory|Gromov–Witten invariants]].
Chern classes were introduced by {{harvs|txt|authorlink=Shiing-Shen Chern|first=Shiing-Shen|last=Chern|year=1946}}.