PL Morse theory in low dimensions

Abstract

Abstract We discuss a PL analog of Morse theory for PL manifolds. There are several notions of regular and critical points. A point is homologically regular if the homology does not change when passing through its level; it is strongly regular if the function can serve as one coordinate in a chart. Several criteria for strong regularity are presented. In particular, we show that in dimensions d ≤ 4 a homologically regular point on a PL d-manifold is always strongly regular. Examples show that this fails in higher dimensions d ≥ 5. One of our constructions involves an embedding of the dunce hat into 4-space and Mazur’s contractible 4-manifold. Finally, decidability questions in this context are discussed.