Related papers: Manifold classification from the descriptive viewp…

We show that the first order theory of the homeomorphism group of a compact manifold interprets the full second order theory of countable groups of homeomorphisms of the manifold. The interpretation is uniform across manifolds of bounded…

We introduce a geometric invariant, called finite decomposition complexity (FDC), to study topological rigidity of manifolds. We prove for instance that if the fundamental group of a compact aspherical manifold M has FDC, and if N is…

We are dealing with the complexity of the homeomorphism equivalence relation on some classes of metrizable compacta from the viewpoint of invariant descriptive set theory. We prove that the homeomorphism equivalence relation of absolute…

The paper considers the equivalence relation of conjugacy-by-homeomorphism on diffeomorphisms of smooth manifolds. In dimension 2 and above it is shown that there is no Borel method of attaching complete numerical invariants. In dimension 5…

We undertake a systematic investigation of compact aspherical manifolds with boundary; motivated by the plethora of examples in the bounded case and by the beauty of the theory in the closed case. Our main theorems give a homological…

We develop new tools to analyze the complexity of the conjugacy equivalence relation $E_\mathsf{lo}(G)$, whenever $G$ is a left-orderable group. Our methods are used to demonstrate non-smoothness of $E_\mathsf{lo}(G)$ for certain groups $G$…

Given a countable o-minimal theory T, we characterize the Borel complexity of isomorphism for countable models of T up to two model-theoretic invariants. If T admits a nonsimple type, then it is shown to be Borel complete by embedding the…

We study the complexity of the isomorphism relation for various classes of closed subgroups of the group of permutations of the natural numbers. We use the setting of Borel reducibility between equivalence relations on Polish spaces. For…

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)…

Matchbox manifolds are foliated spaces with totally disconnected transversals. Two matchbox manifolds which are homeomorphic have return equivalent dynamics, so that invariants of return equivalence can be applied to distinguish…

Among plenty of applications, low-dimensional homogeneous spaces appear in cosmological models as both, classical factor spaces of multidimensional geometry and minisuperspaces in canonical quantization. Here a new tool to restrict their…

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…

The Hilbert-Smith conjecture states, for any connected topological manifold $M$, any locally compact subgroup of $\mathrm{Homeo}(M)$ is a Lie group. We generalize basic results of Segal-Kosniowski-tomDieck (2.6), James-Segal (2.12), G…

Let $X^{n}$ be an arbitrary oriented closed generalized $n$-manifold, $n\ge 5$. In our recent paper (Proc. Edinb. Math. Soc. (2) 63 (2020), no. 2, 597-607) we have constructed a map $t:\mathcal{N}(X^{n}) \to H^{st}_{n} ( X^{n};…

Object of investigation are almost hypercomplex manifolds with Hermitian-Norden metrics of the lowest dimension. The considered manifolds are constructed on 4-dimensional Lie groups. It is established a relation between the classes of a…

This is a survey on known results and open problems about closed aspherical manifolds, i.e., connected closed manifolds whose universal coverings are contractible. Many examples come from certain kinds of non-positive curvature conditions.…

We classify isotopy classes of automorphisms (self-homeomorphisms) of 3-manifolds satisfying the Thurston Geometrization Conjecture. The classification is similar to the classification of automorphisms of surfaces developed by Nielsen and…

We prove that topological isomorphism on procountable groups is not classifiable by countable structures, in the sense of descriptive set theory. In fact, the equivalence relation $\ell_\infty$ expressing that two sequences of reals have a…

If a (possibly finite) compact Lie group acts effectively, locally linearly, and homologically trivially on a closed, simply-connected four-manifold with second Betti number at least three, then it must be isomorphic to a subgroup of S^1 x…

We use the reflection group trick to glue manifolds with corners that are Borel-Serre compactifications of locally symmetric spaces of noncompact type and obtain aspherical manifolds. We call these \emph{piecewise locally symmetric}…