Path-connectedness of the moduli spaces of metrics with positive isotropic curvature on four-manifolds (Q330882)

Let \(M\) be a compact smooth manifold. Denote the space of Riemannian metrics with positive scalar curvature by \(\mathcal R_+(M)\). The group of diffeomorphisms on \(M\), denoted by \(\mathrm{Diff}(M)\), acts on \(\mathcal R_+(M)\) naturally. Denote the space of metrics on \(M\) with positive isotropic curvature by \(\mathrm{PIC}(M)\). It is well known that \(\mathrm{PIC}(M)\subset\mathcal R_+(M)\). The aim of the present paper is to prove that the moduli space \(\mathrm{PIC}(M)/\mathrm{Diff}(M)\) is path-connected in the case of \(\dim M=4\). The main results of the paper are the following: Theorem 1.1. Let \(M\) be a compact four-dimensional smooth manifold. The moduli space \(\mathrm{PIC}(M)/\mathrm{Diff}(M)\) is path-connected if \(M\) is orientable and diffeomorphic to one of the following manifolds: (1) \(S^4\), (2) \((S^3\times\mathbb R)/G\), where \(G\) is a cocompact fixed point free discrete isometric subgroup of \(S^3\times\mathbb R\), (3) a finite connected sum \((S^3/\Gamma_1\times S^1)\#\cdots\#(S^3/\Gamma_k\times S^1)\), where \(\Gamma_i\) \((1 \leq i \leq k)\) is either the trivial group or a non-cyclic isometric group of \(S^3\). Theorem 1.2. Let \(M\) be a compact four-dimensional smooth manifold with \(\mathrm{PIC}(M)\neq \phi\). If \(g\in\mathrm{PIC}(M)\), then there is a path of metrics \(g_\mu\), \(\mu\in [0, 1]\), such that \(g_0 = g\), \(g_1\) is a canonical metric, and \(g_\mu\in \mathrm{PIC}(M)\) for all \(\mu\in[0, 1]\).