Generalized chain surgeries and applications (Q2146789)

It is well-known that the link of the singularity \((0,0)\) for \(g(x,y)=x^p+y^q\) is the \((p,q)\)-torus knot and its complement is fibered via \(\frac{g}{\vert g\vert}\) with fibers denoted by \(M(p,q)\). For the Brieskorn singularity \((0,0,0)\) of \(f(x,y,z)=x^p+y^q+z^r\) one denotes \(M(p,q,r)=f^{-1}(\epsilon)\) for some small \(\epsilon>0\). This \(4\)-manifold is an \(r\)-fold branched covering of \(B^4\) branched along \(M(p,q)\). From this one obtains a positive allowable Lefschetz fibration and a Stein structure on \(M(p,q,r)\). The paper under review converts the Lefschetz fibration into a handlebody diagram yielding the Stein structure. In the case \(p=q=r\) the paper describes a Lefschetz fibration on \(M_{\min}(p,q,r)\), that is, on the minimal resolution of the singularity. The authors use it to construct an open book decomposition on the \(5\)-sphere and show that it agrees with the other one constructed from the Lefschetz fibration of \(M(p,q,r)\). Using this the authors define a symplectic surgery operation, which they call Generalized Chain Surgeries, as follows. For a symplectic \(4\)-manifold \(X\) containing a symplectic surface \(\Sigma\) of genus \((p-1)(p-2)/2\) and self intersection \(-p\le -3\), a neighborhood \(N(\Sigma)\) is symplectomorphic to the minimal resolution of \(x^p+y^p+z^p=0\) so that \(N(\Sigma)\) forms a strong symplectic filling for the canonical contact structure on the link of the singularity (by complex tangencies \(TS^5\cap iTS^5\)). The authors remove \(N(\Sigma)\) and glue in \(M(p,p,p)\). The resulting manifold allows a symplectic structure extending the one on \(X\setminus N(\Sigma)\). This is called Generalized Chain Blow-up, and Generalized Chain Surgery is the iteration of this construction. An immediate consequence is that for \(p\ge 3\) the canonical contact structure has at least \(2(p-2)\) distinct Stein fillings: for every \(3\le p^\prime\le p\) one can embed \(M(p^\prime,p^\prime,p^\prime)\) into \(M(p,p,p)\) and replace it by \(M_{\min}(p^\prime,p^\prime,p^\prime)\). (This corresponds to Generalized Chain Blow-down.) The authors obtain a new relation in the mapping class group and via this relation interpret the Generalized Chain Surgeries as certain monodromy substitutions for the Lefschetz fibrations. They prove that the Generalized Chain Blow-up corresponds to the symplectic sum with a degree \(p\) hypersurface in \(\mathbb{C}P^3\).