On the Lusternik-Schnirelman theory of a real cohomology class

Farber developed a Lusternik-Schnirelman theory for finite CW-complexes X and cohomology classes H ¹ (X;). This theory has similar properties as the classical Lusternik-Schnirelman theory. In particular in 7] Farber defines a homotopy invariant cat(X,) as a generalization of the Lusternik-Schnirelman category. If X is a closed smooth manifold this invariant relates to the number of zeros of a closed 1-form representing . Namely, a closed 1-form representing which admits a gradient-like vector field with no homoclinic cycles has at least cat(X,) zeros. In this paper we define an invariant F(X,) for closed smooth manifolds X which gives the least number of zeros a closed 1-form representing can have such that it admits a gradient-like vector field without homoclinic cycles and give estimations for this number. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): Primary 37C29; Secondary 58E05