On smoothable surgery for 4-manifolds (Q2466709)

Let \((X,\partial X)\) be a compact connected topological \(4\)-manifold with fundamental group \(\pi\) and orientation character \(\omega : \pi \to \{ \pm 1 \}\). Under certain homological hypotheses on \(X\), the author proves the exactness of the surgery sequences: \[ \mathcal S_{\text{DIFF}}^{s}(X) \overset\eta\rightarrow \mathcal{N}_{\text{DIFF}}(X) \overset{\sigma_{*}}\rightarrow L_4^h(\mathbb Z[\pi]^{\omega}) \] \[ \mathcal S_{\text{TOP0}}^{s}(X) \overset\eta\rightarrow \mathcal{N}_{\text{TOP0}}(X) \overset{\sigma_{*}}\rightarrow L_4^h(\mathbb Z[\pi]^{\omega}). \] The result generalizes a theorem of \textit{C. T. C. Wall} [Surgery on Compact Manifolds, second edition. Mathematical Surveys and Monographs 69, American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI (1999; Zbl 0935.57003)]. The hypotheses are algebraic-topological in nature, coming from the surgery characteristic class formulas of Sullivan-Wall and from the assembly map components of \textit{L. Taylor} and \textit{B. Williams} [Surgery spaces: formulae and structure. Algebraic topology, Proc. Conf., Waterloo/Canada 1978, Lect. Notes Math. 741, 170--195 (1979; Zbl 0491.57013)], as well as the control of \(\pi_2\) in non-orientable cases. The main examples fulfilling the hypotheses are: (1) \(\pi\) is a free product of torsion-free lattices in Isom(\({\mathbb E}^{m_i}\)), Isom(\({\mathbb H}^{m_i}\)) or Isom(\(\mathbb {CH}^{m_i}\)) with trivial orientation character \(\omega\); (2) \(\pi\) is a free product of odd-torsion groups; (3) \(X\) is a DIFF \(4\)-manifold which is a finite connected sum of copies of \(S^2 \times S^2\), \(S^2 \times {\mathbb R} \text{ P}^2\), \(S^2 \rtimes {\mathbb R} \text{ P}^2\) or \(\sharp_{S^1}n({\mathbb R} \text{ P}^4) (1 \leq n \leq 4)\); (4) \(X\) is a TOP \(4\)-manifold which is a finite connected sum of copies of \(S^2 \times S^2\) and total spaces of fiber bundles over \(S^1\) with fibers \(S^3\), \(D^3\) or irreducible compact connected \(3\)-manifolds with positive first Betti number; (5) \(X\) is a TOP \(4\)-manifold which is a finite connected sum of copies of \(S^2 \times S^2\) and total spaces of surface bundles over surface. In most of the examples, the manifolds have non-vanishing second mod \(2\) homology and have fundamental groups of exponential growth, which are not known to be tractable by Freedman-Quinn topological surgery. The proofs employ topological transversality and the analysis of smooth normal invariants of the Novikov pinching trick.