Realization of simply-connected 4-manifolds with a given boundary (Q1801798)

The author completes work initiated in an earlier paper [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 298, 331-357 (1986; Zbl 0615.57008)] to provide an algebraic classification for simply connected 4-manifolds with a given boundary \(M\) in terms of marked presentations for the intersection form. For each such manifold he defines the notion of a marked presentation. The presentation gives the algebraic information from the relationship of the linking form with the intersection form of \((W,M)\) and the exact sequence \[ 0 \to H_ 2(M) \to H_ 2(W) \to H_ 2(W,M) \to H_ 1(M) \to 0 \] when \(M\) bounds a simply connected manifold \(W\). The marking algebraicizes the information from the Kirby-Siebenmann invariant in the odd case, and the spin structure in the even case. The main result is that each marked presentation \((E,{\mathcal L})\) arises from a simply connected 4-manifold \(W\), and any two realizations are homeomorphic by a homeomorphism extending the identity function on \(M\). The author gives bijections between the isomorphism classes \({\mathcal V}^ 0_{\mathcal L}\) of compact, simply connected, oriented 4-manifolds with boundary \(M\) and intersection pairing isomorphic to \((E,{\mathcal L})\) and left cosets of groups of automorphisms of the linking form of \(M\). These results are extended to the unbased case where homeomorphisms of the 4-manifolds are no longer required to be the identity on \(M\). These results are applied to prove some existence and uniqueness theorems for representations of primitive homology classes in simply connected, oriented 4-manifolds by locally flat closed surfaces. Some of the latter results were proved independently by \textit{R. Lee} and \textit{D. M. Wilczynski} [Comment. Math. Helv. 65, 388-412 (1990; Zbl 0723.57015)] by different techniques.