Kodaira dimension of fiber sums along spheres (Q2516415)

The author studies the behaviour of the symplectic Kodaira dimension under symplectic sums along spheres in symplectic \(4\)-manifolds, showing that it is non-decreasing. In the symplectic category, the notion of symplectic sum has been studied by \textit{R. E. Gompf} [Ann. Math. (2) 142, No. 3, 527--595 (1995; Zbl 0849.53027)] and by \textit{J. D. McCarthy} and \textit{J. G. Wolfson} [Topology 33, No. 4, 729--764 (1994; Zbl 0812.53033)]. For the notion of symplectic Kodaira dimension, see [\textit{T.-J. Li}, J. Differ. Geom. 74, No. 2, 321--352 (2006; Zbl 1105.53068)]. The main result is Theoren 3.1: Let \(M=X\sharp_V Y\) be a symplectic fibre sum along a symplectic hypersurface \(V\) of genus \(0\). Then, the symplectic Kodaira dimension is non-decreasing: \[ \kappa(M) \geq \max\{ \kappa(X), \kappa(Y), \kappa(V) \} . \] The higher genus case is studied in [\textit{T.-J. Li} and \textit{S.-T. Yau}, ``Embedded surfaces and Kodaira dimension'', ICCM (2007)]. The statement of the above theorem is reduced to Theorem 3.2 by a result of McDuff. Then it is studied by considering two cases: \([V]^2\neq\pm4\) and the \((-4)\)-blow-down of an embedded symplectic \((-4)\)-sphere. Results on the structure of the manifold obtained from the blow-down of an embedded symplectic \((-4)\)-sphere are obtained.