Symplectic surgeries along certain singularities and new Lefschetz fibrations (Q2281337)

If \(\Sigma^k_g\) is a compact, connected, and oriented 2-dimensional surface of genus \(g\) with \(k\) boundary components, \(\text{Diff}^+(\Sigma^k_g)\) is the group of all orientation-preserving self-diffeomorphisms of \(\Sigma^k_g\) which are the identity on the boundary, \(\text{Diff}_0^+(\Sigma^k_g)\) is the subgroup of \(\text{Diff}^+(\Sigma^k_g)\) consisting of all orientation-preserving self-diffeomorphisms that are isotopic to the identity, and the isotopies are assumed to fix the points on the boundary, then the mapping class group \(\Gamma^k_g\) of \(\Sigma^k_g\) is the group of isotopy classes of orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of \(\Sigma^k_g\), i.e., \(\Gamma^k_g=\text{Diff}^+(\Sigma^k_g)/\text{Diff}_0^+(\Sigma^k_g)\). If \(\Sigma_g=\Sigma_g^0\) and \(\Gamma_g=\Gamma_g^0\), then the hyperelliptic mapping class group \(H_g\) of \(\Sigma_g\) is defined as the subgroup of \(\Gamma_g\) consisting of all isotopy classes which commute with the isotopy class of the hyperelliptic involution \(\imath:\Sigma_g\to\Sigma_g\). If \(\alpha\) is a simple closed curve on \(\Sigma^k_g\), then a right handed Dehn twist about \(\alpha\) is a diffeomorphism \(t_\alpha:\Sigma^k_g\to\Sigma^k_g\) obtained by cutting the surface \(\Sigma^k_g\) along \(\alpha\) and gluing the ends back after rotating one of the ends \(2\pi\) to the right. It is well-known that the mapping class group \(\Gamma^k_g\) is generated by Dehn twists and that the conjugate of a Dehn twist is again a Dehn twist. If \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) are two simple disjoint closed curves on \(\Sigma^k_g\), then their corresponding Dehn twists satisfy the commutativity relation \(t_\alpha t_\beta=t_\beta t_\alpha\), and if \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) transversely intersect at a single point, then their corresponding Dehn twists satisfy the braid relation \(t_\alpha t_\beta t_\alpha=t_\beta t_\alpha t_\beta\). If \(c_1\), \(c_2\), \(c_3\) are the three boundary curves and \(a_0\), \(a_1\), \(a_2\), \(a_3\) are simple closed curves on \(\Sigma_1^3\), then the relation \(\left(t_{a_0} t_{a_1} t_{a_2} t_{a_3}\right)^3=t_{c_1}t_{c_2}t_{c_3}\) is called the star relation in the mapping class group \(\Gamma^3_1\). If \(c_1\), \(c_2\), \(c_3\) are the three boundary curves and \(a_0,a_1,\dots,a_{2g+1}\) are simple closed curves on \(\Sigma_g^3\), then the relation \(\left(t_{a_0},t_{a_1},\dots,t_{a_{2g+1}}\right)^{2g+1}=t_{c_1}{t_{c_2}}^gt_{c_3}\) is called the generalized star relation in the mapping class group \(\Gamma^3_g\). If \(a_1,\dots,a_m\) is an ordered \(m\)-tuple of simple closed curves on an orientable surface \(\Sigma_g\), then it is called a chain of length \(m\) if (i)\, the curves \(a_i\) and \(a_{i+1}\) intersect at one point for all \(i\) between \(1\) and \(n-1\) and (ii) the curves \(a_i\) and \(a_j\) do not intersect if \(|i-j|>1\). For a closed, oriented, and smooth 4-manifold \(Y\), a smooth map \(f:Y\to\mathbb{S}^2\) is called a genus \(g\) Lefschetz fibration if (i)\, \(f\) is a smooth \(\Sigma_g\)-bundle away from finitely many critical values \(p_1,\dots,p_m\in\mathbb{S}^2\), (ii)\, for each critical value \(p_i\), there exists a unique critical point \(q_i\) in the singular fiber \(f^{-1}(p_i)\) such that about each point \(q_i\) and \(p_i\) there are local complex coordinate charts agreeing with the orientations of \(Y\) and \(\mathbb{S}^2\) on which \(f\) is given by \(f(z_1,z_2)=z_1^2+z_2^2\), and (iii) \(f\) is relatively minimal, which means no fiber contains a sphere of self-intersection \(-1\). In this paper, the authors define a new 4-dimensional symplectic cut and paste operation arising from the generalized star relations. If \(S_g\) is the Stein 4-manifold determined by the Lefschetz fibration \(\left(t_{a_0},t_{a_1},\dots,t_{a_{2g+1}}\right)^{2g+1}\) in \(\Gamma^3_g\), \(\mathbb{P}_g\) is a symplectic filling determined by the monodromy \(t_{c_1}{t_{c_2}}^gt_{c_3}\), and there is a symplectic embedding of \(S_g\) into a closed symplectic 4-manifold \(X\), then the authors define the generalized star surgery manifold \(X_g\) by replacing the Stein filling \(S_g\) with the symplectic filling \(\mathbb{P}_g\), i.e., \(X_g=(X\backslash S_g)\cup\mathbb{P}_g\). Also, they define a reverse generalized star surgery operation, which replaces the symplectic filling \(\mathbb{P}_g\) in a closed symplectic 4-manifold \(Y\) with the Stein filling \(S_g\), i.e., \(Y_g=(Y\backslash\mathbb{P}_g)\cup S_g\). The authors prove that the generalized star relation surgery and the reverse generalized star relation surgery operations are both symplectic operations. Furthermore, the authors construct many examples of Lefschetz fibrations over \(\mathbb{S}^2\) by applying the generalized star relation surgery and the chain relations in the mapping class group \(\Gamma_g\) of the closed orientable surface of genus \(g \geq 1\) and \(n \geq 1\). Finally, they show that the total spaces of some of these Lefschetz fibrations are irreducible exotic symplectic 4-manifolds. By using the degenerate cases of the generalized star relations, the authors also obtain all elliptic Lefschetz fibrations and genus two Lefschetz fibrations over \(\mathbb{S}^2\) with non-separating vanishing cycles.