MethodMath

What is a topological manifold and why do we need coordinate charts?

I'm starting to learn about manifolds. The definition is:

A topological space MM is an nn-dimensional topological manifold if:

  1. MM is Hausdorff
  2. MM is second-countable
  3. MM is locally Euclidean: each point has a neighborhood homeomorphic to an open subset of Rn\mathbb{R}^n

The homeomorphisms φ:Uφ(U)Rn\varphi: U \to \varphi(U) \subseteq \mathbb{R}^n are called coordinate charts.

Why do we need the Hausdorff and second-countable conditions? Can someone give an example of a locally Euclidean space that is NOT a manifold because it fails these conditions? And what role do charts play in defining calculus on manifolds?

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