Some general constructions of tight mappings

Abstract

SynopsisWe present several general methods of constructing tight hypersurfaces f: Mn → En+1, n ≧ 2. We prove a smoothing lemma, which allows us to approximate tight continuous hypersurfaces by C∞ tight ones. We show that given a tight immersion or C∞-stable map f: M2 → E3 of a compact surface M2 other than S2, there is a tight C∞-stable map g: M2 # RP2:→ E3. We prove that given C∞ tight immersions f: Mn → En+1 and g: Nn → En+1 of compact n-manifolds Mn and Nn into En+1, there is a tight C∞ immersion of Mn # Nn into En+1. Two other methods involve hypersurfaces of rotation and sets in En+1 at a fixed distance from a tightly embedded n-manifold with boundary in En. One consequence of these methods is that the outer part of C∞ tight hypersurfacesf: Mn → En+1, n ≧ 3, is far more complicated than in the case of tight surfaces in En. For example, given any C∞n-manifold M with boundary tightly embedded in En, there is a tight immersion f:Nn → En+1 of a closed n-manifold having M as a topset. Kuiper's theorem describing tight immersions of surfaces into E3 does not generalise to the case of hypersurfaces f: Mn → En+1, n ≧ 3, without substantial restrictions on Mn and/or f.