Wu's method and the Khovanskii finiteness theorem (Q1186731)

A manifold \(M\) in \(\mathbb{R}^ n\) is called a Pfaff manifold if there is a sequence \(\mathbb{R}^ n=M_ 0\subset M_ 1\subset\dots \subset M_ k=M\) of differentiable manifolds and there is a corresponding sequence \(V_ 1,\dots,V_ k\) of polynomial vector fields, so that \(M_{i+1}\) is orthogonal to \(V_{i+1}\) in \(M_ i\) for each \(i<k\). The Khovanskii finiteness theorem calculates an upper bound for the number of connected components of the intersection of an algebraic set with a Pfaff manifold in \(\mathbb{R}^ n\). This paper uses the algebraic method of Wu Wen-tsun to give another proof of Khovanskii's finiteness theorem. An extension of the Wu-Ritt zero structure theorem is also obtained.