Related papers: Four-manifolds of large negative deficiency

Let n be greater than or equal to 3. We prove that the quaternion group of order 8 is realised as a subgroup of the sphere braid group B\_n(S^2) if and only if n is even. If n is divisible by 4 then the commutator subgroup of B\_n(S^2)…

We construct, for $m\geq 6$ and $2n\leq m$, closed manifolds $M^{m}$ with finite nonzero $\varphi(M^{m},S^{n}$), where $\varphi(M,N)$ denotes the minimum number of critical points of a smooth map $M\to N$. We also give some explicit…

Using the quaternionic formalism for the description of the group of isometries of hyperbolic $5$-space we consider arithmetically defined $5$-dimensional hyperbolic manifolds which are non-compact but of finite volume. They arise from…

For any positive integer $n$, we exhibit a cofinite subgroup $\Gamma_n$ of the mapping class group of a surface of genus at most two such that $\Gamma_n$ admits an epimorphism onto a free group of rank $n$. We conclude that…

This paper studies the homotopy and homeomorphism classifications of $4$-manifolds with boundary. Given $4$-manifolds $X_0$ and $X_1$ with fundamental group $\pi$, we consider the problem of extending a homotopy equivalence $h \colon…

We give necessary and sufficient conditions for a closed smooth 6-manifold N to be diffeomorphic to a product of a surface F and a simply connected 4-manifold M in terms of basic invariants like the fundamental group and cohomological data.…

Semistability at infinity is an asymptotic property of finitely presented groups that is needed in order to effectively define the fundamental group at infinity for a 1-ended group. It is an open problem whether or not all finitely…

We construct noncomplex smooth 4-manifolds which admit genus-2 Lefschetz fibrations over S^2. The fibrations are necessarily hyperelliptic, and the resulting 4-manifolds are not even homotopy equivalent to complex surfaces. Furthermore,…

Let $ 1 \rightarrow N \rightarrow G \rightarrow Q \rightarrow 1$ be an exact sequence of finitely presented groups where Q is infinite and not virtually cyclic, and is the fundamental group of some closed 3-manifold. If G is Kaehler, we…

A central problem in low-dimensional topology asks which homology $3$-spheres bound contractible $4$-manifolds or homology $4$-balls. In this paper, we address this question for plumbed $3$-manifolds and we present two new infinite…

We classify the non-degenerate homogeneous hypersurfaces in real and complex affine four-space whose symmetry group is at least four-dimensional.

Let $M$ be a simply connected spin manifold of dimension at least six which admits a metric of positive scalar curvature. We show that the observer moduli space of positive scalar curvature metrics on $M$ has non-trivial higher homotopy…

Quadric complexes are square complexes satisfying a certain combinatorial nonpositive curvature condition. These complexes generalize 2-dimensional CAT(0) cube complexes and are a square analog of systolic complexes. We introduce and study…

A finite nonabelian simple group does not admit a free action on a homology sphere, and the only finite simple group which acts on a homology sphere with at most 0-dimensional fixed point sets ("pseudofree action") is the alternating group…

Given a closed, smooth 4-manifold $X$ and self-diffeomorphism $f$ that is topologically pseudo-isotopic to the identity, we study the question of whether $f$ is moreover smoothly pseudo-isotopic to the identity. If the fundamental group of…

We prove that the minimal Euler characteristic of a closed symplectic four-manifold with given fundamental group is often much larger than the minimal Euler characteristic of almost complex closed four-manifolds with the same fundamental…

Almost hypercomplex pseudo-Hermitian manifolds are considered. Isotropic hyper-K\"ahler manifolds are introduced. A 4-parametric family of 4-dimensional manifolds of this type is constructed on a Lie group. This family is characterized…

We prove that a closed $n$-manifold $M$ with positive scalar curvature and abelian fundamental group admits a finite covering $M'$ which is strongly inessential. The latter means that a classifying map $u:M'\to K(\pi_1(M'),1)$ can be…

We prove that any one-relator group $G$ is the fundamental group of a compact Sasakian manifold if and only if $G$ is either finite cyclic or isomorphic to the fundamental group of a compact Riemann surface of genus g > 0 with at most one…

This survey aims to provide a guide to the literature on topological 4-manifolds. Foundational theorems on 4-manifolds are stated, especially in the topological category. Precise references are given, with indications of the strategies…