Related papers: Exotic $\mathbb{R}^4$'s with Compactly Supported D…
We construct an invariant of open four-manifolds using the Heegaard Floer theory of Ozsvath and Szabo. We show that there is a manifold X homeomorphic to R^4 for which the invariant is non-trivial, showing that X is an exotic R^4.
We construct an infinite family of mutually non-diffeomorphic irreducible smooth structures on the topological 4-manifold $S^2 \times S^2$.
We show that, for each integer n, there exist infinitely many pairs of n-framed knots representing homeomorphic but non-diffeomorphic (Stein) 4-manifolds, which are the simplest possible exotic 4-manifolds regarding handlebody structures.…
We determine for which exotic tori $\mathcal{T}$ of dimension $d\neq4$ the homomorphism from the group of isotopy classes of orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of $\mathcal{T}$ to ${\rm SL}_d(\mathbb Z)$ given by the action on the first…
The author recently proved the existence of an infinite order cork: a compact, contractible submanifold $C$ of a 4-manifold and an infinite order diffeomorphism $f$ of $\partial C$ such that cutting out $C$ and regluing it by distinct…
We study real rational models of the euclidean plane $\mathbb{R}^2$ up to isomorphisms and up to birational diffeomorphisms. The analogous study in the compact case, that is the classification of real rational models of the real projective…
In this survey we review some results concerning negatively curved exotic strucutres (DIFF and PL) and its (unexpected) implications on the limitations of some analytic methods in geometry. This article is dedicated to the memory of Armand…
The possibilities for new or unusual kinds of topological, locally linear periodic maps of non-prime order on closed, simply connected 4-manifolds with positive definite intersection pairings are explored. On the one hand, certain…
We investigate how exotic differential structures may reveal themselves in particle physics. The analysis is based on the A. Connes' construction of the standard model. It is shown that, if one of the copies of the spacetime manifold is…
We construct potentially new manifolds homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to $\mathbb{CP}^{2} \# 8 \overline{\mathbb{CP}^{2}}$ and $\mathbb{CP}^{2} \# 9 \overline{\mathbb{CP}^{2}}$ via rational blowdown surgery along certain $4$-valent…
We extend a construction of Stipsicz-Szab\'{o} of infinitely many irreducible exotic smooth structures of some closed four-manifolds with even $b_2^+$ and fundamental group $\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}$. We use the double node surgery and…
A pair of closed, smooth $4$-manifolds $M$ and $M'$ are stably exotic if they are stably homeomorphic but not stably diffeomorphic, where stabilisation refers to connected sum with copies of $S^2 \times S^2$. Orientable stable exotica do…
In this article, we construct infinitley many simply connected, nonsymplectic and pairwise nondiffeomorphic 4-manifolds starting from E(n) and applying the sequence of knot surgery, ordinary blowups and rational blowdown. We also compute…
Let $X$ be a compact, oriented, smooth, simply-connected $4$-manifold. The mapping class group of $X$ is defined as the group of smooth isotopy classes of diffeomorphisms of $X$. The Torelli group of $X$ is the subgroup of the mapping class…
Let M be either CP^2#3CP^2bar or 3CP^2#5CP^2bar. We construct the first example of a simply-connected symplectic 4-manifold that is homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to M.
We construct a contact 5-manifold supported by infinitely many distinct open books with the identity monodromy and pairwise exotic Stein pages (i.e. pages are pairwise homeomorphic but non-diffeomorphic Stein fillings of a fixed contact…
We provide information on diffeotopy groups of exotic smoothings of punctured 4-manifolds, extending previous results on diffeotopy groups of exotic $\mathbb{R}^4$'s. In particular, we prove that for a smoothable 4-manifold $M$ and for a…
For each nonnegative integer m we show that any closed, oriented topological four-manifold with fundamental group Z_{4m+2} and odd intersection form, with possibly seven exceptions, either admits no smooth structure or admits infinitely…
Closed (and simply-connected) manifolds whose dimensions are greater than 4 are classified via sophisticated algebraic and abstract theory such as surgery theory and homotopy theory. It is difficult to handle 3 or 4-dimensional closed…
$p$-Adic compactifications of geometric loop and diffeomorphism groups of compact manifolds on finite-dimensional spaces over non-Archimedean fields are investigated. Weakened topology is introduced. The structure of newly constructed…