Space of smooth 1-knots in a 4-manifold: is its algebraic topology sensitive to smooth structures? (Q2356486)

This paper addresses the problem of finding invariants which would detect smooth structures on 4-manifolds but for which the techniques would come from topology rather than from analysis. The author argues that this would not only be esthetically pleasant but that the existing analytic techniques are not sufficient or convenient to work with in various settings. The author gives a potential avenue of approach to this problem: Find a topological analog of a Seiberg-Witten invariant. The existence of such an object is supported by the Fintushel-Stern surgery which gives a relationship between the Seiberg-Witten invariant and the Alexander polynomial. The author explores this relationship, which leads him to a discussion of how the loop space of a space \(X\) can potentially be improved to capture the smooth structure of \(X\). This comes down to understanding the homology of the differentiable loops on \(X\), for which the author suggests the Vassiliev approach, namely studying the space of singular knots to produce invariants. As the author notes, this poses new challenges that were not present in Vassiliev's original setup. As an alternative, the author at the end offers the possibility that string topology might be applicable in this setting since it is also concerned with understanding the loop space.