Nielsen type invariants and the location of coincidence sets in positive codimension (Q952602)

In classical Nielsen fixed point theory, the Nielsen number \(N(f)\) provides a lower bound for the number of fixed points of all maps in the homotopy class of a given map \(f\). A consequent question is the sharpness of the Nielsen number, i.e. one may ask if there is a map \(g\) in the homotopy class of \(f\) such that the number of fixed point of \(g\) is exactly \(N(f)\). A key step is the technique to combine the fixed points in the same fixed point classes. Related results can be traced back to the fundamental construction of F. Wecken in the early stage of Nielsen fixed point theory. A more general treatment is due to \textit{B. Jiang} [Am. J. Math. 102, 749--763 (1980; Zbl 0455.55001)]. The coincidence set of two maps \(f, g: M\to N\) is considered in this paper, where \(M\) and \(N\) are smooth manifolds with \(\dim M>\dim N>2\). Using a transversal assumption, the coincidence set will be a smooth submanifold of \(M\) with dimension \(\dim M-\dim N\). The coincidence sets between homotopic maps are bordant to each other via a bordism in \(M\). The author of this paper introduces a concrete and constructive method to locally move the coincidence set of \(f, g: M\to N\). Moreover, a sufficient condition to remove a component of the coincidence set is obtained. The main result here gives us a crucial step to Wecken type theorems in coincidence theory in arbitrary codimension, which was developed by \textit{U. Koschorke} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 598, 211--236 (2006; Zbl 1107.55002)].