Transverse fundamental group and projected embeddings (Q902061)

A generalization of the notion of smooth embedding is the \textit{\(k\)-projected embedding (\(k\)-prem)} -- a generic smooth map \(f:N\rightarrow M\) such that there exists a map \(g:N\rightarrow\mathbb R^k\) with the property that \(f\times g:N\rightarrow M\times\mathbb R^k\) is a smooth embedding. In the present paper the following question (for \(n\geq 2\)) is considered: Which generic smooth maps between compact connected oriented \(n\)-manifolds are \(2\)-prems? The author obtains a necessary condition for such an \(f\) to be a \(2\)-prem, and this condition is given in terms of the \textit{transverse fundamental group} \(\pi(f)\) (which is introduced in the paper) and a certain monodromy homomorphism \(\pi(f)\rightarrow S_{|\deg f|}\) (where \(S_{|\deg f|}\) is the symmetric group). In particular, it is shown that, if a smooth map \(f\) between compact connected oriented surfaces is a \(2\)-prem, and if \(|\deg f|<7\), then \(\pi(f)\) must be torsion-free.