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The mapping class group $\mathrm{Mod}_{g, 1}$ of a surface with one marked point can be identified with an index two subgroup of $\mathrm{Aut}(\pi_1 \Sigma_g)$. For a surface of genus $g \geq 2$, we show that any action of $\mathrm{Mod}_{g,…

Let $(M, \omega)$ be a 6-dimensional closed symplectic manifold with a symplectic $S^1$-action with $M^{S^1} \neq \emptyset$ and $\dim M^{S^1} \leq 2$. Assume that $\omega$ is integral with a generalized moment map $\mu$. We first prove…

Let $M$ be a $2n$-dimensional closed symplectic manifold admitting a Hamiltonian circle action with isolated fixed points. We show that if $M$ contains an $S^1$-invariant symplectic hypersurface $D$ such that $M\setminus D$ is a homology…

A free action of a finite group on an odd-dimensional sphere is said to be almost linear if the action restricted to each cyclic or 2-hyperelementary subgroup is conjugate to a free linear action. We begin this survey paper by reviewing the…

We prove that any smooth action of $\mathbb Z^{m-1}, m\ge 3$ on an $m$-dimensional manifold that preserves a measure such that all non-identity elements of the suspension have positive entropy is essentially algebraic, i.e. isomorphic up to…

We compute the topological mapping class group of every compact, simply connected, topological 4-manifold. This was previously only known in the closed case. If the 4-manifold is smooth, we deduce an analogous description of the stable…

The main result is a classification of smooth actions of $SL(n,{\bf R})$, $n \geq 3$, or connected groups locally isomorphic to it, on closed $n$-manifolds, extending a theorem of Uchida. We construct new exotic actions of $SL(n,{\bf Z})$…

We prove that a group $\Gamma$ admits a discrete topological (equivalently, smooth) action on some simply-connected 3-manifold if and only if $\Gamma$ has a Cayley complex embeddable -- with certain natural restrictions -- in one of the…

Consider a compact symplectic manifold of dimension $2n$ with a Hamiltionan circle action. Then there are at least $n+1$ fixed points. Motivated by recent works on the case that the fixed point set consists of precisely $n+1$ isolated…

Let $M_1$ and $M_2$ be two $n$-dimensional smooth manifolds with boundary. Suppose we glue $M_1$ and $M_2$ along some boundary components (which are, therefore, diffeomorphic). Call the result $N.$ If we have a group $G$ acting continuously…

Positive Dehn twist products for some elements of finite order in the mapping class group of a 2-dimensional closed, compact, oriented surface $\Sigma_g$, which are rotations of $\Sigma_g$ through $2\pi /p$, are presented. The homeomorphism…

Let $\widetilde{S}$ be a closed (compact without boundary) oriented surface with genus $g$, and $G$ be a group isomorphic to $% \mathbf{Z}_{p}^{m}$, where $p$ is a prime integer. An action of $G$ on $S$ is a pair $(\widetilde{S},f)$, where…

Let the circle act in a Hamiltonian fashion on a compact symplectic manifold $(M, \omega)$ of dimension $2n$. Then the $S^1$-action has at least $n+1$ fixed points. We study the case when the fixed point set consists of precisely $n+1$…

We classify all connected $n$-dimensional complex manifolds admitting an effective action of the unitary group $U_n$ by biholomorphic transformations. One consequence of this classification is a characterization of ${\bf C}^n$ by its…

We show that if $M$ and $N$ have the same homotopy type of simply connected closed smooth $m$-manifolds such that the integral and mod-$2$ cohomologies of $M$ vanish in odd degrees, then their homotopy inertia groups are equal. Let $M^{2n}$…

The symplectic group Sp(2g,Z) is a subgroup of the linear group SL(2g,Z) and admits a faithful action on the sphere S^(2g-1), induced from its linear action on Euclidean space R^(2g). Generalizing corresponding results for linear groups, we…

Using the continuous decomposition, we classify strongly free actions of discrete amenable groups on strongly amenable subfactors of type III$_\lambda, 0 < \lambda < 1$. Winsl{\o}w's fundamental homomorphism is a complete invariant. This…

A study of symplectic actions of a finite group $G$ on smooth 4-manifolds is initiated. The central new idea is the use of $G$-equivariant Seiberg-Witten-Taubes theory in studying the structure of the fixed-point set of these symmetries.…

Let $M$ be a symplectic manifold, equipped with a semifree symplectic circle action with a finite, nonempty fixed point set. We show that the circle action must be Hamiltonian, and $M$ must have the equivariant cohomology and Chern classes…

We are interested in finite groups acting orientation-preservingly on 3-manifolds (arbitrary actions, ie not necessarily free actions). In particular we consider finite groups which contain an involution with nonempty connected fixed point…