Singular fibers and characteristic classes (Q2463872)

Consider a smooth map \(f:M\to N\) between smooth manifolds. The points of \(M\) can be labeled by the singularities of \(f\), and the points \(y\) of \(N\) can be labeled by the multiset of the singularities of \(f\) at \(f^{-1}(y)\). The cohomological theory of multisingularity, as developed by M. Kazarian, indicates that the cohomology class represented by the points in \(M\) or in \(N\), labeled by the same singularity or multisingularity, can be expressed by formulas involving the characteristic classes of the difference bundle \(f^*TN-TM\), and push-forward and pull-back operations. More precisely, over the real numbers, one may have to consider certain unions of (multi)singularity strata. The essence of the theory is that the expression is independent of \(f\), it only depends on the dimension setting, and the (multi)singularities involved. When \(dim N - dim M\) is negative, there are non-equivalent ways of considering the multisingularities. The present paper studies the case when they are considered as germs \((M,f^{-1}(y)) \to (N,y)\). For this case the authors give an explicit and detailed description of Kazarian's argument, concluding in the proof of the existence of universal formulas expressing multisingularity loci (for generic maps). They carry out two explicit calculations. The first one concerns functions on surfaces. The authors identify a singularity, whose class is equal to \(f_!(w_2+w_1^2)\) of the difference bundle \(f^*TN-TM\). This result generalizes a well-known Euler characteristic formula. The second application deals with maps of codimension \(-1\) and having some kind of orientability condition. The authors identify a singularity whose class is equal to the push-forward of \(p_1(f^*TN-TM)\).