Isotopy of 4-manifolds (Q1822096)

Let M be a closed orientable TOP 4-manifold. Then intersections define a symmetric, nonsingular bilinear form \(\lambda\) on \(H_ 2(M)\). The main result of the paper under review is that for M simply connected, the natural homomorphism \(\pi_ 0(TOP(M))\to Aut(H_ 2(M),\lambda)\) is an isomorphism. [The surjectivity has already been established by \textit{M. H. Freedman}, ibid. 17, 357-453 (1982; Zbl 0528.57011).] Other important results include the following theorems: (1) \(\pi_ 4(TOP(4)/PL(4)\))\(=0\); (2) Any two (topological) handlebody structures on a compact 1-connected 5-manifold pair \((M,\partial_ 0M)\) can be joined by a one-parameter family of structures (in a one-parameter family of structures the following changes are allowed: change of attaching embeddings by an ambient isotopy, introduction or deletion of a cancelling pair of handles, change of the order of attachements, change of the identification with M by isotopy, and insertion or deletion of collars between layers of handles); (3) For every compact 1-connected 4- manifold M every pseudoisotopy H of M such that \(H| \partial M=id\) is topologically isotopic rel \(\partial M\) to an isotopy. If H is smooth then H is smoothly isotopic to the identity after connected sum with some number of copies of the identity on \(S^ 2\times S^ 2\times I\); (4) Every compact 1-connected 4-manifold M can be presented as \(M=N\cup D\), where N is a handlebody on \(\partial M\) with handles of index \(\leq 2\) and D is a flat 4-cell. (When M is closed this is already known - due to P. Vogel and L. Siebenmann.)