The symplectic topology of Ramanujam's surface (Q2577074)

The complement \(M\) of a certain singular curve in the Hirzebruch surface \({\mathbb F}_1\) is a contractible algebraic surface which is not homeomorphic to \({\mathbb R}^4.\) It is shown that for all \(m\) the product \(M^m\) cannot be symplectically embedded into a subcritical Stein manifold. In particular for \(m\geq 2\) one obtains an exotic symplectic structure on \({\mathbb R}^{4m}.\) The following consequence answers a question posed by \textit{Y. Eliashberg} [Problem 3, NATO ASI Ser., Ser. C, Math. Phys. Sci. 488, 49--67 (1997; Zbl 0881.32010)]: For all \(m\), any exhausting plurisubharmonic Morse function on \(M^m\) has at least three critical points.