Université Paul Sabatier Année 2023

Home Assignment
English version
due second week of october

Exercise 1 : Transversality and subimmersions

The goal of Exercise 1 is to generalize a few notions viewed in the lectures. By default, all maps are
assumed to be of class C r between C r -manifolds, r ≥ 1.

Définition. A map f : M → N is a subimmersion if each point m ∈ M has an open neighborhood U , a

manifold P , a submersion π : U → P and an immersion j : P → N such that f |U = j ◦ π.
1. Show that a submersion (resp. an immersion) is a subimmersion.

2. Show that the order in the composition in the definition (submersion followed by an immersion) is
essential : show that any map f can be written as the composition f = p ◦ i where p is a submersion and
i an immersion.

3. A map f : M → N is a subimmersion iff for each m ∈ M , there exists a chart (ϕ, U ) around m and a
map (ψ, V ) en f (m) such that
(i) f (U ) ⊆ V ;
(ii) ϕ : U → V1 × W ⊆ Rk × Rl , ϕ(m) = (0, 0) ;
0
(iii) ψ : V → V1 × W 0 ⊆ Rk × Rl , ψ(f (m)) = (0, 0) ;
(iv) ψ ◦ f ◦ ϕ−1 : V1 × W → V1 × W 0 sends (x, y) to (x, 0).
(Obviously, k + l = dim M et k + l0 = dim N .)

4. Let f : M → N such that m 7→ rang Tm f : Tm M → Tf (m) N is constant equal to r in a neighborhood

of m0 ∈ M . Show that there are charts (ϕ, U ) around m0 and (ψ, V ) around f (m) such that f (U ) ⊆ V ,
ϕ(m) = 0, ψ(f (m)) = 0 and
ψ ◦ f ◦ ϕ−1 (x1 , . . . , xdim M) = (x1 , . . . , xr , 0, . . . , 0).
(Hint : consider first the case when N is an Euclidean space and modify and simplify by appropriate
diffeomorphisms the Jacobian matrix of f .)

5. Deduce that f : M → N is a subimmersion in m0 ∈ M if and only if the rank of Tm f is constant in a

neighborhood of m0 .

6. Deduce that a map f : M → N is a subimmersion if and only if the map m 7→ rank Tm f : Tm M →

Tf (m) N is constant on each connected component of M .

7 (Theorem of the subimmersion). Let f : M → N , n0 ∈ N . Suppose that f is a subimmersion in a

neighborhood of f −1 (n0 ). Show that f −1 (n0 ) is a submanifold of M and Tm f −1 (n0 ) = Ker(Tm f ).

` (See Exercise 2 for facts about vector bundles if needed.) Let f : M → N be a map. Let Ker(T f ) =
8.
p∈M Ker Tp f . Show that f is a subimmersion if and only if Ker T f is a vector subbundle of T M .

1
2

Exercise 2
The goal of the exercise is to show that the critical points of a Morse function f : M → R are
isolated without appealing to Morse lemma. The first questions are intended to get some familiarity with
the structure of vector bundles.

1. A fibre bundle – or a locally trivial fibration – with fibre F consists in a total space E, a base space
B and a continuous surjective map π : E → B verifying the “local trivialization” property : for each
point b ∈ B, there is a neighborhood Ub of b and a homeomorphism ϕb : π −1 (Ub ) → Ub × F making the
following diagram commutative :
ϕb
π −1 (Ub ) / Ub × F

π p1
# {
Ub
where 1 : Ub × F → Ub , (p, f ) 7→ p is the projection onto the first factor. Note that by restriction to
the fibre π −1 (b), the homeomorphism ϕb |π−1 (b) : π −1 (b) → {b} × F provides a homeomorphism between
π −1 (b) and F . If you’ve already seen the notion of covering maps, then a covering space is nothing
else than a fibre bundle with discrete fibre F . A continuous map φU : π −1 (U ) → U × F such that
p1 ◦ φU = π|π−1 (U ) will be called a local trivialization map.

A fibre bundle morphism consists in a continous map f˜ : E → E 0 and a continuous map f : B → B 0

making commute the following diagram of fibre bundles :
f˜
(?) E / E0
p p0
 f

B / B0

Hence f˜ : E → E 0 sends the fibres p−1 (b) into the fibres p0−1 (f (b)). A fibre bundle morphism (f˜, f ) is
an isomorphism of fibre bundles if f˜ and f are homeomorphisms. One says that a fibre bundle is trivial if
it is (fibre bundle) isomorphic to the (globally trivial) fibre bundle B × F → B, (b, f ) 7→ b.

Explain why if B and F each have a structure of C r -manifold and if each transition map
φV ◦ φ−1
U : (U ∩ V ) × F → (V ∩ U ) × F

is a C r map where φU : π −1 (U ) → U × F denotes a local trivialization as above, then one can put on E
a structure of C r -manifold. Such a fibre bundle will be called a fibre bundle of class C r . A morphism of
fibre bundles of class C r is the same as before with maps being C r -differentiable.

2. A (real) vector bundle of rank k is a fibre bundle whose fibre is Rk (endowed with its usual topology).
The restriction of the local trivialization to the fibre π −1 (b) ' {b} × Rk thus induces a structure of vector
space on π −1 (b). One requires moreover that the restriction of a local trivialization to the fibre p−1 (b) is
an isomorphism of vector spaces between π −1 (b) et {b} × Rk .

3. The most important example of vector bundle is the tangent bundle T M of a C r+1 -manifold M . We
set T M = ∪p∈M Tp M . Consider the surjective map π : T M → M that to a tangent vector at p assigns
p.

4. Show that π : T M → M is a vector bundle of rank dim(M ) (you should describe the local trivialization).
 3

5. Show that T M has a structure of C r -manifold of dimension 2n (you should describe how M and the
fibre induce the charts on T M ) that make the fibre bundle map π : T M → M a C r -map.

6. Show that π : T M → M is a submersion. (The same argument should show that the map π : E → B
of a C r -bundle is a submersion.)

7. Another important example is the cotangent fibre bundle. Let T ∗ M = ∪p∈M (Tp M )∗ = ∪p∈M Hom(Tp M, R).
Define on T ∗ M a structure of vector bundle and C r -manifold of dimension 2n (which makes the bundle
map T ∗ M → M a submersion of class C r ).

8. A section of a fibre bundle π : E → B of class C r is a map s : B → E of class C r such that

π ◦ s = 1B . Show that a section is injective, immersive and proper. Deduce that the image s(B) of a
section is a submanifold of the total manifold E.

9. Let now f : M → R be a C r+1 map.

9.1. Check that T f can be interpreted as a section (of class C r ) of the cotangent bundle. In particular, T f
can be viewed as a C r -map M → T ∗ M . Deduce from the previous question that T f (M ) is a submanifold
of T ∗ M . What is its codimension ?

9.2. Denote Σf the set of critical points of f and Z ∗ the image of the null section of T ∗ M . Verify that
T f induces a homeomorphism Σf → T f (M ) ∩ Z ∗ .

9.3. Prove that a critical point p of f is nondegenerate if and only if the submanifold T f (M ) is transverse
to Z ∗ at p.

9.4. We now suppose that the intersection T f (M )∩Z ∗ is transverse (at any p). Deduce that T f (M )∩Z ∗
is a submanifold of dimension 0 and conclude.