Abstract:
Suppose we are given smooth manifolds M, N and a continuous map f:M→N. We may ask, when is f homotopic to a smooth map with a prescribed singular locus? The case of fold singularities was settled by Y.Eliashberg in the 1970s. Namely, there is a necessary and sufficient condition for f to be homotopic to a smooth map with prescribed folds C⊂M and with no other critical points. We will discuss how one can generalize this condition for an arbitrary locus of Thom-Boardman singularities.