Approximating resolutions by cell-like maps with codimension-three point inverses (Q1676514)

Let \(X\) be a generalized \(n\)-manifold, meaning that for each \(x \in X\) the homology group \(H_{k}(X, X \;- \;x)\) is isomorphic to \(H_{k}(E^{n}, E^{n} \;- 0)\) where \(E^{n}\) is Euclidean \(n\)-space, a resolution of \(X\) is a map \(f: M \;\rightarrow \;X\) that is a proper cell-like surjection, and where \(M\) is a compact manifold. This paper shows that for \(n \geq 6\) any such resolution can be arbitrarily closely approximated by a cell-like map whose point pre-images are \((n-3)\)-dimensional. The proof depends on showing the Pontryagin disjoint disks property for \(X\). A Pontryagin disk \({\mathbb D}^{2}\) is obtained from the standard \(2\)-cell by repeatedly subdividing and replacing the interior of each simplex by a small punctured torus.