Related papers: Applications of controlled surgery in dimension 4:…

In this note we study four dimensional theories with N=3 superconformal symmetry, that do not also have N=4 supersymmetry. No examples of such theories are known, but their existence is also not ruled out. We analyze several properties that…

In \cite{BAMU}, an ergodic theorem \`a la Birkhoff-von Neumann for the action of the fundamental group of a compact negatively curved manifold on the boundary of its universal cover is proved. A quick corollary is the irreducibility of the…

In this paper, we study lower bounds on the K-theory of the maximal $C^*$-algebra of a discrete group based on the amount of torsion it contains. We call this the finite part of the operator K-theory and give a lower bound that is valid for…

We show that the fundamental groups of smooth $4$-manifolds that admit geometric decompositions in the sense of Thurston have asymptotic dimension at most four, and equal to 4 when aspherical. We also show that closed $3$-manifold groups…

We present a new, more elementary proof of the Freedman-Teichner result that the geometric classification techniques (surgery, s-cobordism, and pseudoisotopy) hold for topological 4-manifolds with groups of subexponential growth. In an…

We introduce a collection of 1/2-$\pi_1$-null 4-dimensional surgery problems. This is an intermediate notion between the classically studied universal surgery models and the $\pi_1$-null kernels which are known to admit a solution in the…

We show that any exceptional non-trivial Dehn surgery on a twist knot, except the trefoil, yields a 3-manifold whose fundamental group is left-orderable. This is a generalization of a result of Clay, Lidman and Watson, and also gives a new…

We classify Dehn surgeries on (p,q,r) pretzel knots resulting in a manifold M(s) having cyclic fundamental group and analyze those leading to a finite fundamental group. The proof uses the theory of cyclic and finite surgeries developed by…

Kreck's modified surgery theory reduces the classification of closed, connected 4-manifolds, up to connect sum with some number of copies of $S^2\times S^2$, to a series of bordism questions. We implement this in the case of unorientable…

This paper discusses the relationships between gauge theories defined by gauge groups with finite trivially-acting centers, and theories with restrictions on nonperturbative sectors, in two and four dimensions. In two dimensions, these…

We study subgroups of fundamental groups of real analytic closed 4-manifolds with nonpositive sectional curvature. In particular, we are interested in the following question: if a subgroup of the fundamental group is not virtually free…

We study four-dimensional superconformal field theories coupled to three-dimensional superconformal boundary or defect degrees of freedom. Starting with bulk N=2, d=4 theories, we construct abelian models preserving N=2, d=3 supersymmetry…

Four-dimensional twisted group lattices are used as models for space-time structure. Compared to other attempts at space-time deformation, they have two main advantages: They have a physical interpretation and there is no difficulty in…

The present work introduces new perspectives in order to extend finite group actions from surfaces to 3-manifolds. We consider the Schur multiplier associated to a finite group $G$ in terms of principal $G$-bordisms in dimension two, called…

Higher dimensional Chern-Simons theories, even though constructed along the same topological pattern as in 2+1 dimensions, have been shown recently to have generically a non-vanishing number of degrees of freedom. In this paper, we carry…

A surgery on a knot in 3-sphere is called SU(2)-cyclic if it gives a manifold whose fundamental group has no non-cyclic SU(2) representations. Using holonomy perturbations on the Chern-Simons functional, we prove that the distance of two…

Two 4-manifolds are stably diffeomorphic if they become diffeomorphic after connected sum with S^2 x S^2's. This paper shows that two closed, orientable, homotopy equivalent, smooth 4-manifolds are stably diffeomorphic, provided a certain…

Extending recent work of Kachru and Silverstein, we consider ``orbifolds'' of 4-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=4$ SU(n) super-Yang-Mills theories with respect to discrete subgroups of the SU(4) $R$-symmetry which act nontrivially on the gauge…

For any hyperbolic twist knot in the 3-sphere, we show that the resulting manifold by $r$-surgery on the knot has left-orderable fundamental group if the slope $r$ satisfies the inequality $0\le r \le 4$.

The existence or non-existence of Einstein metrics on 4-manifolds with non-trivial fundamental group and the relation with the underlying differential structure are analyzed. For most points $(n,m)$ in a large region of the integer lattice,…