GLOBAL CLASSIFICATION OF GENERIC MULTI-VECTOR FIELDS OF TOP DEGREE

Abstract

For any closed oriented manifold $M$, the top degree multi-vector fields transverse to the zero section of $\wedge^{{\rm top}}TM$ are classified, up to orientation preserving diffeomorphism, in terms of the topology of the arrangement of their zero locus and a finite number of numerical invariants. The group governing the infinitesimal deformations of such multi-vector fields is computed, and an explicit set of generators exhibited. For the sphere $S^n$, a correspondence between certain isotopy classes of multi-vector fields and classes of weighted signed trees is established.