Related papers: Nonsymplectic 4-Manifolds with One Basic Class

We demonstrate the existence of numerous non-spin 4-manifolds for which the smooth Nielsen realization problem fails; namely, there exist finite subgroups of their mapping class groups that cannot be realized by any group of…

We exhibit many examples of closed symplectic manifolds on which there is an autonomous Hamiltonian whose associated flow has no nonconstant periodic orbits (the only previous explicit example in the literature was the torus T^2n (n\geq 2)…

We produce infinitely many distinct irreducible smooth 4-manifolds homeomorphic to #(2m+1)(CP^2 # -CP^2) and #(2n+1)(S^2 x S^2), respectively, for each m>3 and n>4. These provide the smallest exotic closed simply connected 4-manifolds with…

The main result of this paper is a formula for calculating the Seiberg-Witten invariants of 4-manifolds with fixed-point free circle actions. This is done by showing under suitable conditions the existence of a diffeomorphism between the…

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…

This text is a set of lecture notes for a series of four talks given at I.P.A.M., Los Angeles, on March 18-20, 2003. The first lecture provides a quick overview of symplectic topology and its main tools: symplectic manifolds, almost-complex…

On a compact oriented four-manifold with an orientation preserving involution c, we count solutions of Seiberg-Witten equations, which are moreover symmetrical in relation to c, to construct "real" Seiberg-Witten invariants. Using Taubes'…

For each integer $n$ we construct a simply connected $4$-manifold $X$ admitting a smoothly embedded surface $\Sigma$ of self intersection number $n$ such that the complement of the surface has non-trivial fundamental group. This answers a…

We present a new proof of a result due to Taubes: if X is a closed symplectic four-manifold with b_+(X) > 1+b_1(X) and with some positive multiple of the symplectic form a rational class, then the Poincare dual of the canonical class of X…

The symplectic cone of a closed oriented 4-manifold is the set of cohomology classes represented by symplectic forms. A well-known conjecture describes this cone for every minimal Kaehler surface. We consider the case of the elliptic…

We classify nilmanifolds with an invariant symplectic half-flat structure. We solve the half-flat evolution equations in one example, writing down the resulting Ricci-flat metric. We study the geometry of the orbit space of 6-manifolds with…

We study the symplectic semi-characteristic of a closed 4n-dimensional symplectic manifold. First, using the even-degree part of the primitive cohomology, we define the symplectic semi-characteristic. Second, using a vector field with…

We construct examples of symplectic half-flat manifolds on compact quotients of solvable Lie groups. We prove that the Calabi-Yau structures are not rigid in the class of symplectic half-flat structures. Moreover, we provide an example of a…

We show that closed, connected 4-manifolds up to connected sum with copies of the complex projective plane are classified in terms of the fundamental group, the orientation character and an extension class involving the second homotopy…

We determine the algebraic and transcendental lattices of a general cubic fourfold with a symplectic automorphism of prime order. We prove that cubic fourfolds admitting a symplectic automorphism of order at least three are rational, and we…

In this paper, we investigate the minimal symplectic fillings of small Seifert 3-manifolds with a canonical contact structure. As a result, we classify all minimal symplectic fillings of small Seifert 3-manifolds satisfying certain…

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,…

In this paper we give an explicit construction of a symplectic Lefschetz fibration whose total space is a smooth compact four dimensional manifold with a prescribed fundamental group. We also study the numerical properties of the sections…

We use spinal open books to construct contact manifolds with infinitely many different Weinstein fillings in any odd dimension $> 1$, which were previously unknown for dimensions equal to $4n+1$. The argument does not involve understanding…

We exhibit the first examples of compact orientable hyperbolic manifolds that do not have any spin structure. We show that such manifolds exist in all dimensions $n \geq 4$. The core of the argument is the construction of a compact…