Free fermions on a piecewise linear four-manifold. II: Pachner moves (Q1686880)

The present paper is the continuation of [Adv. Appl. Clifford Algebr. 27, No. 2, 1411--1430 (2017; Zbl 1391.15081)]. By making use of the \textit{exotic torsion} of the unusual chain complex introduced in the first paper, the author introduces an invariant of a pair \((M,h)\), where \(M\) is a PL 4-manifold and \(h\in H^2(M, \mathbb C)\) is a given middle cohomology class. Then, the invariant -- which is the square root of exotic torsion with a correcting multiplier -- is expressed in terms of the Grassmann-Berezin calculus of anticommuting variables, in order to study its behavior under Pachner moves (see [\textit{U. Pachner}, Eur. J. Comb. 12, No. 2, 129--145 (1991; Zbl 0729.52003)]). This approach enables to completely determine the multiplicative factor defining the invariant, while previous results obtained in [the author, Lett. Math. Phys. 104, No. 10, 1235--1261 (2014; Zbl 1327.15057)] provided only an existence theorem. However, as the author himself points out, the invariance still depends on a Conjecture involving the Pachner move 3-3, which is strongly supported by random calculation; hence, the conjecture is not formally proven, but the author considers it a ``firmly established mathematical fact''.