Lantern substitution and new symplectic 4-manifolds with \(b_2^{+} = 3\) (Q743717)

In [4-manifolds and Kirby calculus. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (1999; Zbl 0933.57020)], \textit{R.~E.~Gompf} and \textit{A.~I.~Stipsicz} showed that for every Lefschetz fibration over \(\mathbb S^2\) there is a factorization of the identity element as a product of positive Dehn twists in the mapping class group of the fiber, and also that if \(g\geq 2\), then the total space of a genus \(g\) Lefschetz fibration admits a symplectic structure. 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 this paper, the authors consider 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. By performing six lantern relation substitutions and applying these lantern substitutions the total space of the Lefschetz fibration is topologically changed as a six rational blowdowns on \(K3\#2\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\). They show that by using the construction of \(K3\#2\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\), there exists an irreducible symplectic manifold \(X\) homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to \(3\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\#15\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\). Also, the authors construct an infinite family of pairwise non-diffeomorphic irreducible symplectic and non-symplectic \(4\)-manifolds homeomorphic to \(M=3\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\#(19-k)\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2\) for \(1\leq k\leq 4\). The goal of this paper is not to construct exotic smooth structures on very small \(4\)-manifolds with \(b_2^+=3\), but rather to use the lantern relation substitutions to study smooth structures on various \(4\)-manifolds.