Minimal genus smooth embeddings in \(S^2\times S^2\) and \(CP^2\# n\overline{CP^2}\) with \(n\leq 8\) (Q1384307)

During the last decades many efforts have been made about the problem of finding the minimal genus of a smoothly embedded closed orientable surface which represent a given two-dimensional homology class with integer coefficients in a smooth 4-manifold \(M\): see [\textit{T. Lawson}, Expo. Math. 10, No. 4, 289-309 (1992; Zbl 0764.57020)] and the references there for the particular case of embedded 2-spheres [\textit{P. B. Kronheimer} and \textit{T. S. Mrowka}, Bull. Am. Math. Soc., New Ser. 30, No. 2, 215-221 (1994; Zbl 0815.57010); \textit{J. W. Morgan}, \textit{Z. Szabo} and \textit{C. H. Taubes}, A product formula for the Seiberg-Witten invariants and the generalized Thom conjecture, J. Differ. Geom. 44, No. 4, 706-788 (1996)] for the general case. The present paper takes into account the smooth 4-manifolds \(\mathbb{S}^2 \times \mathbb{S}^2\) and \(\mathbb{C} \mathbb{P}^2 \# n\overline {\mathbb{C} \mathbb{P}^2}\), with \(1\leq n\leq 8\), and faces the general minimal genus problem by making use of the generalized adjunction inequality for symplectic 4-manifolds with \(b^+_2 =1\) obtained in [\textit{T. J. Li} and \textit{A. Liu}, Math. Res. Lett. 2, No. 4, 453-471 (1995; Zbl 0855.53019)]. As a consequence, the problem results to be completely solved in the following situations: a) if \(M\cong \mathbb{S}^2 \times \mathbb{S}^2\) or \(M \cong \mathbb{C} \mathbb{P}^2\# \overline {\mathbb{C} \mathbb{P}^2}\) (as already done by \textit{D. Ruberman} [Turk. J. Math. 20, No. 1, 129-133 (1996; Zbl 0870.57025)]); b) if \(M\cong \mathbb{C} \mathbb{P}^2\neq n \overline {\mathbb{C} \mathbb{P}^2}\) with \(2\leq n\leq 6\), in case of two-dimensional homology classes with positive squares; c) if \(M\cong \mathbb{C} \mathbb{P}^2\neq n\overline {\mathbb{C} \mathbb{P}^2}\) with \(n\in \{7, 8\} \), in case of two-dimensional homology classes with positive squares and genus \(\leq\begin{cases} 20 & \text{ if } n=7 \\ 6 & \text{ if } n=8 \end{cases}\).