Bounds on Morse-Novikov Numbers of 3-Manifolds

Explore a lecture on bounding Morse-Novikov numbers of 3-manifolds, delivered by Ken Baker from the University of Miami. Delve into the minimum number of critical points among circle valued Morse functions in a homotopy class, prompted by Pajitnov's work. Examine hands-on bounds and discover a curious function on cohomology, illustrated through a toy model involving links in the thickened torus. Learn about height functions, mud areas, knot types, circular bridges, orientation, embedding, and critical points. Investigate compression bodies, incompressible structures, and current work in this field. This joint work with Fabiola Manjarrez-Gutierrez covers topics from introduction and outline to ad hoc methods, providing a comprehensive overview of this mathematical concept.