The normalized Ricci flow on four-manifolds and exotic smooth structures (Q525702)

In [Math. Ann. 340, No. 3, 647--674 (2008; Zbl 1131.53034)], \textit{F. Fang} et al. extended Hamilton's work on non-singular solutions to the normalized Ricci flow on three-manifolds [\textit{R. S. Hamilton}, Commun. Anal. Geom. 7, No. 4, 695--729 (1999; Zbl 0939.53024)] to the case of higher dimensions. In particular, they found a topological obstruction to the existence of non-singular solutions to the normalized Ricci flow on a closed 4-manifold. In this paper, the author refines part of Fang-Zhang-Zhang's work [loc. cit.] in the 4-dimensional case by showing that there are differential topological obstructions to the existence of non-singular solutions to the normalized Ricci flow on certain closed 4-manifolds. The proof relies on Fang-Zhang-Zhang [loc. cit.], and also uses the Seiberg-Witten theory.