New constructions of slice links (Q1026415)

A link of \(m\) components is the image of a flat embedding \(S^1\cup\cdots\cup S^1\to S^4\) of the ordered disjoint union of \(m\) oriented copies of the circle \(S^1\) into the oriented 3-sphere \(S^3\). Two such links are called concordant if there exists a flat embedding \((S^1\cup\cdots\cup S^1)\times[0, 1]\to[0, 1]\) which restricts to the given links at the ends. A link is called (topologically) slice if it is concordant to the trivial \(m\)-component link or, equivalently, if it bounds a flat embedding of \(m\) disjoint slice disks \(D^2\cup\cdots\cup D^2\to D^4\). If the embeddings above are required to be \(C^\infty\), or smooth, then these notions are called smoothly concordant and smoothly slice. The authors use techniques of \textit{M. H. Freedman} and \textit{P. Teichner} [Invent. Math. 122, No. 3, 531--557 (1995; Zbl 0857.57018)] to prove that under certain circumstances the multi-infection of a slice link is again slice (not necessarily smoothly slice). Then they provide a general context for proving links are slice that includes many of the previously known results.