Related papers: Smooth, nonsymplectic embeddings of rational balls…

We study smooth proper embeddings of compact orientable surfaces in compact orientable $4$-manifolds and elements in the mapping class group of that surface which are induced by diffeomorphisms of the ambient $4$-manifolds. We call such…

We study smooth projective varieties with small dual variety using methods from symplectic topology. We prove the affine parts of such varieties are subcritical, and that the hyperplane class is invertible in their quantum cohomology. We…

We conjecture two generalisations of Elkies' theorem on unimodular quadratic forms to non-unimodular forms. We give some evidence for these conjectures including a result for determinant 3. These conjectures, when combined with results of…

The Lagrangian skeleton of the rational homology ball $B_{p,q}$, for $0<q<p$ coprime integers, is an immersed but not embedded Lagrangian, called a $(p,q)$-pinwheel. We show that any two embeddings of Lagrangian $(p,q)$-pinwheels in…

The aim of this paper is twofold. First of all, we confirm a few basic criteria of the finiteness of real forms of a given smooth complex projective variety, in terms of the Galois cohomology set of the discrete part of the automorphism…

Let $H$ be a semisimple algebraic group. We prove the semistable reduction theorem for $\mu$--semistable principal $H$--bundles over a {\it smooth projective variety $X$} defined over the field $\bc$. When $X$ is a {\it smooth projective…

We construct a smooth complex projective rational surface with infinitely many mutually non-isomorphic real forms. This gives the first definite answer to a long standing open question if a smooth complex projective rational surface has…

In an earlier paper we explained how to convert the problem of symplectically embedding one 4-dimensional ellipsoid into another into the problem of embedding a certain set of disjoint balls into \CP^2 by using a new way to desingularize…

Using an obstruction based on Donaldson's theorem on the intersection forms of definite 4-manifolds, we determine which connected sums of lens spaces smoothly embed in S^4. We also find constraints on the Seifert invariants of Seifert…

We prove several rigorous results about the asymptotic behaviour of the numbers of tadpoles (or lassos) embedded in a lattice, including cases where the head is subject to a constraint like being unknotted, or where the tail pierces the…

Every lens space has a locally flat embedding in a connected sum of 8 copies of the complex projective plane and a smooth embedding in n copies of the complex projective plane for some positive integer n. We show that there is no n such…

We prove that the group of compactly supported symplectomorphisms of the standard symplectic ball admits a continuum of linearly independent real-valued homogeneous quasimorphisms. In addition these quasimorphisms are Lipschitz in the Hofer…

We use the symplectic rational blow-up to study some Lagrangian pinwheels in symplectic rational manifolds. In particular, we determine which symplectic forms in the threefold blow-up of $\C P^2$ carry Lagrangian projective planes that can…

Greene and Owens explore cubiquitous lattices as an obstruction to rational homology 3-spheres bounding rational homology 4-balls. The purpose of this article is to better understand which sublattices of $\mathbb{Z}^n$ are cubiquitous with…

We show that if X is a smooth rationally connected threefold and C is a smooth projective curve then C can be embedded in X. Furthermore, a version of this property characterises rationally connected varieties of dimension at least 3. We…

This note contains a short proof of a classical result: any rational symplectic matrix can be put in diagonal form after right and left multiplication by integral symplectic matrices.

Given a canonically oriented Brieskorn sphere $Y=\Sigma(a_1,...,a_n)$, we confirm some statements conjectured by Gompf. More specifically, we obstruct the existence of rational homology ball symplectic fillings for any contact structure on…

We show that, if a rational homology 3-sphere $Y$ bounds a positive definite smooth 4-manifold, then there are finitely many negative definite lattices, up to the stable-equivalence, which can be realized as the intersection form of a…

We derive an obstruction to representing a homology class of a symplectic 4-manifold by an embedded, possibly disconnected, symplectic surface.

(1) We show that if a presentation of the trivial group is "hard to trivialize", in the sense that lots of Tietze moves are necessary to transform it into the trivial presentation, then the associated presentation complex (which is a…