On the connection between the topological genus of certain polyhedra and the algebraic genus of their Hilton-Hopt quadratic forms.
The Hilton-Hopf quadratic form is defined for spaces of the homotopy type of a CW complex with one cell each in dimensions 0 and 4n, K cells in dimension 2n and no other cells. If two such spaces are of the same topological genus, then their Hilton-Hopf quadratic forms are of the same weak algebraic genus. For large classes of spaces, such as simply connected differentiable 4-manifolds, the converse is also true, as long as the suspensions of the spaces are also of the same topological genus. This...