Transverse Lusternik-Schnirelmann category of foliated manifolds (Q5930188)

Let \((M,{\mathcal F}),(M',{\mathcal F}')\) be foliated manifolds. A \(C^\infty\)-homotopy \(H:M\times \mathbb{R}\to M'\) is said to be foliated if for all \(t\in \mathbb{R}\) the map \(H_t\) sends each leaf of \({\mathcal F}\) into another leaf \(L'\) of \({\mathcal F}'\). The transverse category of \((M,{\mathcal F})\) is the least number \(\text{cat}_\pitchfork (M,{\mathcal F})\) of transversely categorical open sets required to cover \(M\). The authors prove: (1) Transverse category is an invariant of foliated homotopy type and it is finite on compact manifolds; (2) \(\text{cat} M\leq\text{cat} L\cdot \text{cat}_\pitchfork (M,{\mathcal F})\), where \(L\) is a leaf of maximal category, (3) \(\text{cat}_\pitchfork (M,{\mathcal F})\geq \text{nil} K^*\cdot H^+_b(M)\), where the latter is the index of the image in \(H_{DR}(M)\) of the basic cohomology in positive degrees. Let \(f:M\to \mathbb{R}\) be a basic function. The authors also deduce (under certain conditions) that the transverse category gives a lower bound for the number of critical leaves of \(f\). Some examples are considered.