A connection between cut locus, Thom space and Morse-Bott functions (Q6065484)

Let \(N\subset M\) be a closed submanifold embedded in a connected complete Riemannian manifold \(M\), and \(d_N(x)=d(x,N)\) be the distance function from \(N\); note that this function is not differentiable at \(N\). The authors study the function \(d_N^2\) on the complement of the cut locus of \(N\), \(Cu(N)\): they show that \(d_N^2\) is Morse-Bott, and \(N\) is its critical submanifold. Moreover, \(N\) is a deformation retract of \(M-Cu(N)\), the gradient flow of \(d_N^2\) provides this retraction. In addition, the cut locus \(Cu(N)\) is a strong deformation retract of \(M-N\), and it is a closed set. If \(M\) is a closed manifold, then the Thom space of the normal bundle of \(N\) is homeomorphic to \(M/Cu(N)\). The authors also discuss some interesting related results, among them: the local homology of the space of singular matrices, a classification of the homotopy type of the cut locus of a homology sphere embedded in a sphere, a deformation of the indefinite unitary group \(U(p,q)\) to \(U(p)\times U(q)\) and a geometric deformation of \(GL(n,R)\) to \(O(n,R)\).