Closed 1-forms with at most one zero (Q2488865)

The authors prove that in a closed connected \(n\)-dimensional manifold \(M\), a nonzero class of \(H^1(M,{\mathbb R})\) possesses a closed representative form having at most one zero. This result had been previously established for rank 1 cohomology classes (equivalently, integer cohomology classes) by \textit{M. Farber} [Topol. Meth. Nonlinear Anal. 19, No.~1, 123--152 (2002; Zbl 1098.57020)]. The arguments used in the proof involve replacement of a Morse closed 1-form with another closed 1-form having a unique singular leaf (containing all its zeros) and \textit{F. Taken}'s colliding technique introduced in [Invent. Math. 6, 197--244 (1968; Zbl 0198.56603)].