Related papers: Representing Dehn twists with branched coverings

For the existence of a branched covering Sigma~ --> Sigma between closed surfaces there are easy necessary conditions in terms of chi(Sigma~), chi(Sigma), orientability, the total degree, and the local degrees at the branching points. A…

We prove that, for a closed oriented smooth spin 4-manifold $X$ with non-zero signature, the Dehn twist about a $(+2)$- or $(-2)$-sphere in $X$ is not homotopic to any finite order diffeomorphism. In particular, we negatively answer the…

We completely determine finite abelian regular branched covers of the 2-sphere $S^2$ with the property that each homeomorphism of $S^2$ preserving the branching set can be lifted.

Let f : Y -> X be a morphism of complex projective manifolds, and let F be a subsheaf of the tangent bundle which is closed under the Lie bracket, but not necessarily a foliation. This short paper contains an elementary and very geometric…

By introducing an invariant of loops on a compact oriented surface with one boundary component, we give an explicit formula for the action of Dehn twists on the completed group ring of the fundamental group of the surface. This invariant…

We consider the subspace of the homology of a covering space spanned by lifts of simple closed curves. Our main result is the existence of unbranched covers of surfaces where this is a proper subspace. More generally, for a fixed finite…

The topology of broken Lefschetz fibrations is studied by means of handle decompositions. We consider a slight generalization of round handles, and describe the handle diagrams for all that appear in dimension four. We establish simplified…

Shapes of four dimensional spaces can be studied effectively via maps to standard surfaces. We explain, and illustrate by quintessential examples, how to simplify such generic maps on 4-manifolds topologically, in order to derive simple…

I construct normal del Pezzo surfaces, and regular weak del Pezzo surfaces as well, with positive irregularity q>0. Such things can happen only over nonperfect fields. The surfaces in question are twisted forms of nonnormal del Pezzo…

Prime power fold cyclic branched covers along smoothly slice knots all bound rational homology balls. This phenomenon, however, does not characterize slice knots. In this paper, we give a new construction of non-slice knots that have the…

Let M be a compact, orientable, irreducible, atoroidal 3-manifold with boundary an incompressible torus. Techniques based on the characteristic submanifold theory are used to bound the intersection number of two slopes \alpha and \beta on…

Let $K\subseteq S^3$ be a knot with exterior $E_K$, and denote by $\rho\colon \pi_1(E_K)\twoheadrightarrow G$ a quotient of its group. We give a sharp obstruction to the existence of a connected, oriented, smooth surface $F\subseteq B^4$…

We classify up to conjugacy the group generated by a commuting pair of a periodic diffeomorphism and a hyperelliptic involution on an oriented closed surface. This result can be viewed as a refinement of Ishizaka's result on classification…

In this article, we construct a genus-$0$ or genus-$1$ positive allowable Lefschetz fibration on any minimal symplectic filling of the link of non-cyclic quotient surface singularities. As a byproduct, we also show that any minimal…

Deligne cohomology can be viewed as a differential refinement of integral cohomology, hence captures both topological and geometric information. On the other hand, it can be viewed as the simplest nontrivial version of a differential…

We examine the problem of determining which representations of the braid group on a Riemann surface are carried by the wave function of a quantized Abelian Chern-Simons theory interacting with non-dynamical matter. We generalize the…

Dilation surfaces, or twisted quadratic differentials, are variants of translation surfaces. In this paper, we study the question of what elements or subgroups of the mapping class group can be realized as affine automorphisms of dilation…

We consider homologically essential simple closed curves on Seifert surfaces of genus one knots in $S^3$, and in particular those that are unknotted or slice in $S^3$. We completely characterize all such curves for most twist knots: they…

This paper is devoted to discussing affine Hirsch foliations on $3$-manifolds. First, we prove that up to isotopic leaf-conjugacy, every closed orientable $3$-manifold $M$ admits $0$, $1$ or $2$ affine Hirsch foliations. Furthermore, every…

Using the algebraic geometry method of Berenstein and Leigh for the construction of the toroidal orbifold (T^2 x T^2 x T^2) / (Z_2 x Z_2) with discrete torsion and considering local K3 surfaces, we present non-commutative aspects of the…