Unique fiber sum decomposability of genus 2 Lefschetz fibrations (Q524324)

If \(\Sigma_g\) is a \(2\)-dimensional, closed, oriented, and connected Riemann surface of genus \(g>0\), \(\roman{Diff}^+(\Sigma_g)\) is the group of all orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms \(\Sigma_g\to\Sigma_g\), and \(\roman{Diff}^+_0(\Sigma_g)\) is the subgroup of \(\roman{Diff}^+(\Sigma_g)\) consisting of all orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms \(\Sigma_g\to\Sigma_g\) that are isotopic to the identity, then the mapping class group \(\Gamma_g\) of \(\Sigma_g\) is the group of isotopy classes of orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of \(\Sigma_g\). If \(\alpha\) is a simple closed curve on \(\Sigma_g\), then a right handed Dehn twist \(t_\alpha\) about \(\alpha\) is the isotopy class of a self-diffeomorphism of \(\Sigma_g\) obtained by cutting the surface \(\Sigma_g\) along \(\alpha\) and gluing the ends back after rotating one of the ends \(2\pi\) to the right. For a closed, oriented smooth \(4\)-manifold \(X\), the Lefschetz fibration of \(X\) comprises a smooth surjective map \(f:X\to \mathbb S^2\), which is a submersion on the complement of finitely many points \(p_i\) in distinct fibers, at which there are local complex coordinates with respect to which the map takes the form \((z^1,z^2)\mapsto z_1^2+z_2^2\). The lantern relation is a relation \(t_{\gamma}t_{\beta}t_{\alpha}=t_{\delta_1}t_{\delta_2}t_{\delta_3}t_{\delta_4}\) between Dehn twists about certain curves in any surface containing a four-times-punctured sphere. A Lefschetz fibration on a four-manifold determines a factorization of the identity in the mapping class group of the fiber as a product of Dehn twists about the vanishing cycles; if this product includes the subword \(t_{\delta_1}t_{\delta_2}t_{\delta_3}t_{\delta_4}\) then the lantern relation allows one to replace this subword by \(t_{\gamma}t_{\beta}t_{\alpha}\), thus producing a Lefschetz fibration with one fewer vanishing cycle than the original one. In [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 138, No. 3, 1131--1142 (2010; Zbl 1198.57017)], \textit{H. Endo} and \textit{Y. Z. Gurtas} discussed a connection between the lantern relation in mapping class groups and the rational blowing down process for \(4\)-manifolds, that is, if a positive relator in Dehn twist generators of the mapping class group by using a lantern relation is changed, the corresponding Lefschetz fibration changes into its rational blowdown along a copy of the configuration \(C_2\). In [Math. Res. Lett. 21, No. 1, 1--17 (2014; Zbl 1303.57022)], \textit{A.~Akhmedov} and the present author studied the genus two Lefschetz fibration on the \(4\)-manifold \(K3\#2\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\) over \(\mathbb{S}^2\) with global monodromy in the mapping class group \(M_2\) of a closed genus two surface. In this paper, the author finds lantern relations to construct exotic smooth 4-manifolds similar to the setting of the above paper. By applying the lantern relation substitutions to the positive relation of the genus two Lefschetz fibration over \(\mathbb{S}^2\), the author shows that \(K 3 \# 2\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\) can be rationally blown down along seven disjoint copies of the configuration \(C_2\). By counting the number of triangles in the line arrangement of the branched locus for the corresponding hyperelliptic Lefschetz fibration, it is shown that the maximum number of possible lantern relation substitutions on the global monodromy of \(K 3 \# 2 \overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\) is seven. The author computes the Seiberg-Witten invariant of the resulting symplectic 4-manifolds and shows that they are symplectically minimal. Also, it is shown that the genus 2 Lefschetz fibrations \(X(n)\) for \(2\leq n\leq 6\) are all decomposable into trivial fiber sum of other genus 2 Lefschetz fibrations. Namely, \(X(2)\) is isomorphic to an untwisted fiber sum of Matsumoto's fibration on \(\mathbb S^2\times\mathbb T^2\# 4\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\) with Lefschetz fibration on \(Z(0)=\mathbb{CP}^2\# 9\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\), and \(X(3)\), \(X(4)\), \(X(5)\), \(X(6)\) are isomorphic to an untwisted fiber sum of Matsumoto's fibration on \(\mathbb S^2\times\mathbb T^2\# 4\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\) with \(Z(1)\), \(Z(2)\), \(Z(3)\), \(Z(4)\), respectively. After showing decomposability, the author shows that one of the decomposable examples \(X(2)\) which is a minimal exotic symplectic 4-manifold with the homeomorphism type of \(3\mathbb{CP}^2\#19\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\) with \(b^+_2=3\) and symplectic Kodaira dimension \(\kappa^s=1\) has the unique genus 2 fiber sum decomposition up to diffeomorphism on the indecomposable summands.