Related papers: Realization of the mapping class group of handlebo…

In this paper we give explicit, handle-by-handle constructions of concave symplectic fillings of all closed, oriented contact 3-manifolds. These constructions combine recent results of Giroux relating contact structures and open book…

Let $M^n$, $n\geq 3$, be a closed orientable $n$-manifold and $\mathbb{D}_k(M^n;a,b,c)$ the set of axiom A diffeomorp\-hisms $f: M^n\to M^n$ satisfying the following conditions: (1) $f$ has $k\geq 1$ nontrivial basic sets each is either an…

This self-contained paper is part of a series \cite{FF2,FF3} on actions by diffeomorphisms of infinite groups on compact manifolds. The two main results presented here are: 1) Any homomorphism of (almost any) mapping class group or…

We classify closed, simply connected $n$-manifolds of non-negative sectional curvature admitting an isometric torus action of maximal symmetry rank in dimensions $2\leq n\leq 6$. In dimensions $3k$, $k=1,2$ there is only one such manifold…

We consider finite group-actions on 3-manifolds $\cal H_g$ obtained as the connected sum of $g$ copies of $S^2 \times S^1$, with free fundamental group $F_g$ of rank $g$. We prove that, for $g > 1$, a finite group of diffeomorphisms of…

Let G be a Lie group. On the trivial principal G-bundle over the Lie algebra of G there is a natural connection whose curvature is the Lie bracket. The exponential map is given by parallel transport of this connection. If G is the…

The main theorem shows that if M is an irreducible compact connected orientable 3-manifold with non-empty boundary, then the classifying space BDiff(M rel dM) of the space of diffeomorphisms of M which restrict to the identity map on…

In this paper, we consider a class of Morse-Smale diffeomorphisms defined on a closed 3-manifold (non-necessarily orientable) under the assumption that all their saddle points have the same dimension of the unstable manifolds. The simplest…

We show that any smooth, closed, oriented, connected 4--manifold can be trisected into three copies of $\natural^k (S^1 \times B^3)$, intersecting pairwise in 3--dimensional handlebodies, with triple intersection a closed 2--dimensional…

Gompf conjectured that the elliptic surface $E(n)_{p,q}$ has no handle decomposition without 1- and 3-handles. We prove that each of the elliptic surfaces $E(n)_{5,6}$, $E(n)_{6,7}$, $E(n)_{7,8}$ and $E(n)_{8,9}$ has a handle decomposition…

Suppose G is an almost simple group containing a subgroup isomorphic to the three-dimensional integer Heisenberg group. For example any finite index subgroup of SL(3,Z) is such a group. The main result of this paper is that every action of…

We prove that the mapping class group of a closed connected orientable surface of genus $g$ is generated by two elements of order $g$ for $g\geq 6$. Moreover, for $g\geq 7$ we found a generating set of two elements, of order $g$ and $g'$…

The unknot U in S^4 has non-unique smooth spanning 3-balls up to isotopy fixing U. Equivalently there are properly embedded non-separating 3-balls in S^1xB^3 not properly isotopic to 1xB^3. More generally there exist non-separating…

Mapping-class groups of 3-manifolds feature as symmetry groups in canonical quantum gravity. They are an obvious source through which topological information could be transmitted into the quantum theory. If treated as gauge symmetries,…

Let $M$ be a closed connected smooth manifold and $G=\textmd{Diff}_0(M)$ denote the connected component of the diffeomorphism group of $M$ containing the identity. The natural action of $G$ on $M$ induces the trace homomorphism on homology.…

In this paper we discuss the relationship between groups of diffeomorphisms of spheres and balls. We survey results of a topological nature and then address the relationship as abstract (discrete) groups. We prove that the identity…

In this article we consider diffeomorphism groups of manifolds with smooth boundary. We show that the diffeomorphism groups of the manifold and its boundary fit into a short exact sequence which admits local sections. In other words, they…

Associated to every complete affine 3-manifold M with nonsolvable fundamental group is a noncompact hyperbolic surface S. We classify such complete affine structures when Sigma is homeomorphic to a three-holed sphere. In particular, for…

Let $N_{g,n}$ denote the nonorientable surface of genus $g$ with $n$ boundary components and $M(N_{g,n})$ its mapping class group. We obtain an explicit finite presentation of $M(N_{g,n})$ for $n=0,1$ and all $g$ such that $g+n>3$.

The so-called class-invariant homomorphism $\psi$ measures the Galois module structure of torsors--under a finite flat group scheme $G$--which lie in the image of a coboundary map associated to an isogeny between (N\'eron models of) abelian…