Morse complexes and multiplicative structures (Q2114164)

The authors prove that Morse complexes on manifolds with boundary can be endowed with the structure of an \(A_\infty\)-algebra using finite dimensional transversality and intersection techniques for manifolds with \(C^1\)-conic singularities. They prove that the structure is well defined (independent of the choices made in the construction) up to \(A_\infty\)-quasi-isomorphism using Morse theory on manifolds with boundary as developed by the second author [Geom. Dedicata 153, 47--57 (2011; Zbl 1223.57020)]. Let \(M\) be a compact manifold with boundary. The authors call a Morse function \(f:M\rightarrow \mathbb{R}\) \textit{generic} if \(f\) has no critical points on the boundary and the restriction of \(f\) to the boundary \(f|_{\partial M}\) is a Morse function. If \(x\) is a critical point of \(f|_{\partial M}\) and \(n(x)\) is an outward pointing vector at \(x\), then \(x\) is a type \(+\) critical point if \(\langle df(x),n(x)\rangle\) is positive and a type \(-\) critical point if \(\langle df(x),n(x)\rangle\) is negative. A vector field \(X^+\) is said to be \textit{positively adapted} to \(f\) if it satisfies a list of conditions involving the type \(+\) critical points of \(f|_{\partial M}\), including \(X^+ \cdot f > 0\) apart from \(x \in crit(f) \cup crit^+(f|_{\partial M})\). A vector field \(X^-\) is said to be \textit{negatively adapted} to \(f\) if it is positively adapted to \(-f\). In the second author's earlier work it was shown that the homology of the Morse complex \(C^+_\ast\) defined using a positively adapted vector field \(X^+\) is isomorphic to \(H_\ast(M,\partial M;\mathbb{Z})\) and the homology of the Morse complex \(C^-_\ast\) defined using a negatively adapted vector field \(X^-\) is isomorphic to \(H_\ast(M;\mathbb{Z})\). The main theorem in this paper is the following. \textbf{Theorem 1.2} Let \(M\) be a compact oriented manifold. Then, each of the complexes \(C^+_\ast\) and \(C^-_\ast\) can be endowed with a structure of \(A_\infty\)-algebra \(\mathcal{G} =\{m_1, m_2, \dots\}\) such that \(m_1\) is the differential of the considered complex; here \(m_d\) denotes the \(d\)-fold product. This structure is well-defined up to ``homotopy'' from the data of a coherent family of Morse-Smale approximations of \(X^-\) (resp. \(X^+\)). A substantial part of the paper involves detailed arguments showing that necessary transversality conditions can be met by perturbing objects in a coherent way.