Related papers: Corks, covers, and complex curves

Recall that the moduli space of smooth (that is, stable) cubic curves is isomorphic to the quotient of the upper half plane by the group of fractional linear transformations with integer coefficients. We establish a similar result for…

We first study symplectically embedded curves in symplectic surfaces with high self-intersection numbers compared to their genus. We prove in two different ways that such a curve completely determines both the diffeomorphism type of the…

We construct an infinite order cork (W,f), which means that W is a smooth compact contractible 4-manifold with Stein structure, and f is a self diffeomorphism of the boundary of W, such that the n-fold composition maps f^{n}=f o f o... o f…

Let $C \s \pr^2$ be an irreducible plane curve whose dual $C^* \s \pr^{2*}$ is an immersed curve which is neither a conic nor a nodal cubic. The main result states that the Poincar\'e group $\pi_1(\pr^2 \se C)$ contains a free group with…

We describe algorithms based on invariant theory to solve problems on the geometry of curves, mainly those of genus 2, 3 and 4. New theoretical results building on the first author's PhD thesis are also included.

In this paper, we contribute toward a classification of two-variable polynomials by classifying (up to an automorphism of $C^2$) polynomials whose Newton polygon is either a triangle or a line segment. Our classification has several…

We develop an essentially algebraic method to study biharmonic curves into an implicit surface. Although our method is rather general, it is especially suitable to study curves into surfaces defined by a polynomial equation: in particular,…

We complete the classification of the smooth, closed, oriented 4-manifolds having Euler characteristic less than four and a horizontal handlebody decomposition of genus one. We use the classification result to find a large family of…

In all possible cases, we prove that local embeddings between two curve complexes whose complexities do not increase from domain to codomain are induced by surface homeomorphism. This is our first main result. From this we can deduce our…

This paper presents the first purely numerical (i.e., non-algebraic) subdivision algorithm for the isotopic approximation of a simple arrangement of curves. The arrangement is "simple" in the sense that any three curves have no common…

The primary objects of study in the ``knot theory of complex plane curves'' are C-links: links (or knots) cut out of a 3-sphere in the complex plane by complex plane transverse and totally tangential. Transverse C-links are naturally…

We show how to construct absolutely exotic smooth structures on compact 4-manifolds with boundary, including contractible manifolds. In particular, we prove that any compact smooth 4-manifold W with boundary that admits a relatively exotic…

Suppose $k$ is an algebraically closed field of characteristic two, let $A_4$ be an alternating group on four letters, and let $H$ be the unique Sylow two-subgroup of $A_4$. Let $X$ be a smooth projective irreducible curve over $k$ with a…

Call a smooth knot (or smooth link) in the unit sphere in $\mathbb{C}^2$ analytic (respectively, smoothly analytic) if it bounds a complex curve (respectively, a smooth complex curve) in the complex ball. Let $K$ be a smoothly analytic…

We study normal analytic compactifications of C^2 and describe their singularities and configuration of curves at infinity, in particular improving and generalizing results of (Brenton, Math. Ann. 206:303--310, 1973). As a by product we…

The main result is that an s-cobordism (topological or smooth) of 4-manifolds has a product structure outside a ``core'' sub s-cobordism. These cores are arranged to have quite a bit of structure, for example they are smooth and abstractly…

It is proven that for any topological or analytical types of isolated singular points of plane curves, there exists a non-real irreducible plane algebraic curve of degree $d$ which goes through $d^2$ real distinct points and has imaginary…

To any algebraic curve A in a complex 2-torus $(\C^*)^2$ one may associate a closed infinite region in a real plane called the amoeba of A. The amoebas of different curves of the same degree come in different shapes and sizes. All amoebas…

We prove necessary and sufficient conditions for a smooth surface in a 4-manifold X to be pseudoholomorphic with respect to some almost complex structure on X. This provides a systematic approach to the construction of pseudoholomorphic…

We study the M-theory five-brane wrapped around the Seiberg-Witten curves for pure classical and exceptional groups given by an integrable system. Generically, the D4-branes arise as cuts that collapse to points after compactifying the…