Regularity via Links and Stein Factorization

Here, we introduce a new definition of regular point for piecewise-linear (PL) functions on combinatorial (PL triangulated) manifolds. This definition is given in terms of the restriction of the function to the link of the point. We show that our definition of regularity is distinct from other definitions that exist in the combinatorial topology literature. Next, we stratify the Jacobi set/critical locus of such a map as a poset stratified space. As an application, we consider the Reeb space of a PL function, stratify the Reeb space as well as the target of the function, and show that the Stein factorization is a map of stratified spaces.