Related papers: Classification of spin structures on 4-dimensional…

The configuration space of a non-linear sigma model is the space of maps from one manifold to another. This paper reviews the authors' work on non-linear sigma models with target a homogeneous space. It begins with a description of the…

We introduce the concept of generalized almost plastic structure, and, on a pseudo-Riemannian manifold endowed with two $(1,1)$-tensor fields satisfying some compatibility conditions, we construct a family of generalized almost plastic…

A locally flatly embedded $2$-sphere in a compact $4$-manifold $X$ is called a spine if the inclusion map is a homotopy equivalence. A spine is called simple if the complement of the $2$-sphere has abelian fundamental group. We prove that…

If $M$ is a closed Nil geometry 3-manifold then $\pi_1(M)$ is almost convex with respect to a fairly simple ``geometric'' generating set. If $G$ is a central extension or a ${\Bbb Z}$-extension of a word hyperbolic group, then $G$ is also…

A Riemannian manifold is said to be almost positively curved if the sets of points for which all $2$-planes have positive sectional curvature is open and dense. We show that the Grassmannian of oriented $2$-planes in $\mathbb{R}^7$ admits a…

We construct infinitely many pairwise non-diffeomorphic smooth structures on a definite $4$-manifold with non-cyclic fundamental group $\mathbb{Z}/2\times \mathbb{Z}/2$.

We construct a compact PL 5-manifold $M$ (with boundary) which is homotopy equivalent to the wedge of eleven 2-spheres, $\vee^{}_{1 1}S^2$, which is "spineless", meaning $M$ is not the regular neighborhood of any 2-complex PL embedded in…

Let $C$ be a smooth, projective and geometrically connected curve defined over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q(C)$. Given a semisimple $C-S$-group scheme $\underline{G}$ where $S$ is a finite set of closed points of $C$, we describe the set of…

We describe a construction of geometric U-folds compatible with a non-trivial extension of the global formulation of four-dimensional extended supergravity on a differentiable spin manifold. The topology of geometric U-folds depends on…

In \cite{Oh22}, the second author defined a complex of groups decomposition of the fundamental group of a finitely generated 2-dimensional special group, called an \emph{intersection complex}, which is a quasi-isometry invariant. In this…

The present, partly expository, monograph consists of three parts. The first part treats Spin- and Pin-structures from three different perspectives and shows them to be suitably equivalent. It also introduces an intrinsic perspective on the…

A branched twist spin is a generalization of twist spun knots, which appeared in the study of locally smooth circle actions on the $4$-sphere due to Montgomery, Yang, Fintushel and Pao. In this paper, we give a sufficient condition to…

Let $M$ be an $n$-dimensional manifold supporting a quasi Anosov diffeomorphism. If $n=3$ then either $M={\mathbb T}^3$, in which case the diffeomorphisms is Anosov, or else its fundamental group contains a copy of ${\mathbb Z} ^6$. If…

We construct examples of asymptotically cylindrical Riemannian 8-manifolds with holonomy group Spin(7). To our knowledge, these are the first such examples. The construction uses an extension to asymptotically cylindrical setting of Joyce's…

A Theorem of Kirichenko states that the torsion 3-form of the characteristic connection of a nearly K\"ahler manifold is parallel. On the other side, any almost hermitian manifold of type $\mathrm{G}_1$ admits a unique connection with…

Spinorial methods have proven to be a powerful tool to study geometric properties of spin manifolds. Our aim is to continue the spinorial study of manifolds that are not necessarily spin. We introduce and study the notion of $G$-invariance…

We prove a conjecture of Crapo and Penne which characterizes isotopy classes of skew configurations with spindle-structure. We use this result in order to define an invariant, spindle-genus, for spindle-configurations. We also slightly…

Homogeneous compatible almost complex structures on symplectic manifolds are studied, focusing on those which are special, meaning that their Chern-Ricci form is a multiple of the symplectic form. Non Chern-Ricci flat ones are proven to be…

We define a new class of irreducible groups, called groups not infinite-index presentable by products or not IIPP. We prove that certain aspherical manifolds with fundamental groups not IIPP do not admit maps of non-zero degree from direct…

We study the set of all closed oriented smooth 4-manifolds experimentally, according to a suitable complexity defined using Turaev's shadows. This complexity roughly measures how complicated the 2-skeleton of the 4-manifold is. We…