Realization of a digraph as the Reeb graph of a Morse-Bott function on a given surface (Q6181131)

The Reeb graph of a smooth function on a manifold is a topological space derived by contracting connected components of its level sets to points, endowed with the quotient topology. But this quotient space does not have to be a graph. \textit{O. Saeki} [Int. Math. Res. Not. 2022, No. 11, 8740--8768 (2022; Zbl 1501.57028)] proved that for smooth functions with a finite number of critical values defined on a closed manifold, this quotient space has the structure of a finite graph. That is, it is homeomorphic to a finite graph considered as a one-dimensional CW complex, and this homeomorphism maps the vertices of the Reeb graph to the vertices of the said graph. The authors in this paper consider Morse-Bott functions on a closed surface. They characterize the set of directed Reeb graphs of Morse-Bott functions on a given surface and give a criterion for the realization of a given digraph as the directed Reeb graph of a Morse-Bott function on a given surface.