On representation of the Reeb graph as a sub-complex of manifold (Q519453)

Let \(f:M\to\mathbb{R}\) be a \(C^1\)-function with only finitely many critical points, defined on a compact \(C^1\)-manifold \(M\). The Reeb graph is the quotient \(\mathbb{R}(f)=M/\sim\) where \(x\sim y\) if \(f(x)=f(y)=c\) and \(x,y\) lie in the same connected component of \(f^{-1}(c)\). The authors construct a one-dimensional complex \(\Gamma(f)\) embedded into \(M\), so that \(\Gamma(f)\subset M\to\mathcal{R}(f)\) is a homotopy equivalence. They prove that \(\mathcal{R}(f)\) is a tree if \(\pi_1(M)\) is finite. If \(\pi_1(M)\) is abelian, more generally a discrete amenable group, then \(\mathcal{R}(f)\) contains at most one loop. They also show for a surface \(M\) that the number of loops in \(\mathcal{R}(f)\) is bounded above by the genus of \(M\).