On the topology of semi-algebraic functions on closed semi-algebraic sets

We consider a closed semi-algebraic set ${X \subset \mathbb{R}^n}$ and a C ² semi-algebraic function ${f : \mathbb{R}^n \rightarrow\mathbb{R}}$ such that ${f_{\vert X}}$ has a finite number of critical points. We relate the topology of X to the topology of the sets ${X \cap \{ f * \alpha \}}$ , where ${* \in \{\le,=,\ge \}}$ and ${\alpha \in \mathbb{R}}$ , and the indices of the critical points of ${f_{\vert X}}$ and ${-f_{\vert X}}$ . We also relate the topology of X to the topology of the links at infinity of the sets ${X \cap \{ f * \alpha\}}$ and the indices of these critical points. We give applications when ${X=\mathbb{R}^n}$ and when f is a generic linear function.