Related papers: On the mapping class groups of simply-connected sm…

Let $M=V\setminus D$ be a smooth quasi-projective variety for some smooth projective variety $V$ and a divisor $D$ with normal crossings. Assume that $M$ is diffeomorphic to a non-compact nilmanifold $\Gamma\backslash N\times\mathbb{R}^m$.…

Given a 2-manifold, a fundamental question to ask is which groups can be realized as the isometry group of a Riemannan metric of constant curvature on the manifold. In this paper, we give a nearly complete classification of such groups for…

Let $M$ be a closed, connected, orientable topological four-manifold with $H_1(M)$ nontrivial and free abelian, $b_2(M)\ne 0, 2$, and $\chi(M)\ne 0$. We show that if $G$ is a finite group of 2-rank $\le 1$ which admits a homologically…

We show that there exists an algorithm that takes as input two closed, simply connected, topological 4-manifolds and decides whether or not these 4-manifolds are homeomorphic. In particular, we explain in detail how closed, simply…

We prove that every continuous mapping from a separable infinite-dimensional Hilbert space $X$ into $\mathbb{R}^{m}$ can be uniformly approximated by $C^\infty$ smooth mappings {\em with no critical points}. This kind of result can be…

The mapping class group of a surface with one boundary component admits numerous interesting representations including as a group of automorphisms of a free group and as a group of symplectic transformations. Insofar as the mapping class…

We show that given a collection $X=\{f_1$, \ldots , $f_m\}$ of pure mapping classes on a surface $S$, there is an explicit constant N, depending only on $X$, such that their Nth powers $\{f_1^N$, \ldots , $f_m^N\}$ generate the expected…

Let M be a (possibly non-orientable) compact 3-manifold with (possibly empty) boundary consisting of tori and Klein bottles. Let $X\subset\partial M$ be a trivalent graph such that $\partial M\setminus X$ is a union of one disc for each…

We construct and study a new class $\mathscr{M}=\{\mathscr{M}_n\}_{n\ge 4}$ of compact hyperbolic $3$-manifolds with totally geodesic boundary. The members of $\mathscr{M}_n$ are defined via triples of pairwise compatible Eulerian cycles in…

We show that if $X$ is an indecomposable $PD_3$-complex and $\pi_1(X) is the fundamental group of a reduced finite graph of finite groups but is not virtually cyclic then $X$ is orientable, the underlying graph is a tree, all the edge…

A coarse group is a group endowed with a coarse structure so that the group multiplication and inversion are coarse mappings. Let $(X, \mathcal{E})$ be a coarse space and let $\mathfrak{M}$ be a variety of groups different from the variety…

We obtain a simple presentation of the hyperelliptic mapping class group $M^h(N)$ of a nonorientable surface N. As an application we compute the first homology group of $M^h(N)$ with coefficients in $H_1(N;Z)$.

The Torelli group of a manifold is the group of all diffeomorphisms which act as the identity on the homology of the manifold. In this paper, we calculate the invariant part (invariant under the action of the automorphisms of the homology)…

A trisection of a smooth, closed, oriented 4-manifold is a decomposition into three 4-dimensional 1-handlebodies meeting pairwise in 3-dimensional 1-handlebodies, with triple intersection a closed surface. The fundamental groups of the…

We show that if a closed oriented $n$-manifold $M$ has a non-trivial cohomology class of even degree $k$, whose all pullbacks to products of type $S^1\times N$ vanish, then the topological complexity $\mathrm{TC}(M)$ is at least $6$, if $n$…

On a smooth closed oriented $4$-manifold $M$ with a smooth action by a compact Lie group $G$, we define a $G$-monopole class as an element of $H^2(M;\Bbb Z)$ which is the first Chern class of a $G$-equivariant Spin$^c$ structure which has a…

The mapping class group of an orientable surface, which records its symmetries up to isotopy, plays a central role in low-dimensional topology. This chapter explores the foundational problem of determining minimal generating sets for these…

By extending a result of Kronheimer-Mrowka to the family setting, we prove a gluing formula for the family Seiberg-Witten invariant. This formula allows one to compute the invariant for a smooth family of 4-manifolds by cutting it open…

For Denjoy--Carleman differential function classes $C^M$ where the weight sequence $M=(M_k)$ is logarithmically convex, stable under derivations, and non-quasianalytic of moderate growth, we prove the following: A mapping is $C^M$ if it…

We construct infinite rank summands isomorphic to $\mathbb{Z}^\infty$ in the higher homotopy and homology groups of the diffeomorphism groups of certain $4$-manifolds. These spherical families become trivial in the homotopy and homology…