Topology of symplectomorphism groups of rational ruled surfaces (Q4501061)

Rational ruled surfaces occur as projectivizations \(\mathbf{P}(L_k\oplus \mathbb{C})\), where \(L_k\) is a complex line bundle over \(S^2\) with first Chern class \(k\). There are two cases to consider, first (\(k\) is even) when the underlying manifold is diffeomorphic to the product \(S^2\times S^2\) and second (\(k\) is odd) when it is diffeomorphic to \(\mathbb{C}P^2\sharp \overline{\mathbb{C}P}^2\), the one point blow up of \(\mathbb{C}P^2\). Every symplectic form on one of these manifolds is standard, i.e. it belongs to one of the two following families \[ M_{\lambda}^0 = \left(S^2\times S^2, \quad \omega_{\lambda}^0=(1+\lambda)\sigma_0\times \sigma_0 \right),\quad 0\leq\lambda\in \mathbb{R}, \] where \(\sigma_0\) is an area form on \(S^2\) with total area 1, and \[ M_{\lambda}^1 = \left(\mathbb{C}P^2\sharp \overline{\mathbb{C}P}^2, \;\omega_{\lambda}^1 \right),\quad -1<\lambda\in \mathbb{R}, \] where \(\omega_{\lambda}^1\) takes the value \(2+\lambda\) on the line and \(1+\lambda\) on the exceptional divisor. We will denote the corresponding groups of symplectomorphisms by \(G^i_{\lambda}\), \(i=0,1\). The first author calculated the rational cohomology ring of \(G^0_{\lambda}\) for \(0<\lambda\leq 1\). The first main result of the present paper is a completion of this calculation for arbitrary \(\lambda\). We denote by \(\Lambda(x_1,\dots , x_{\ell})\) the exterior algebra over \(\mathbb{Q}\) on generators \(x_j\) of odd degree and by \(S(w_1,\dots , w_{\ell})\) the polynomial algebra on even generators \(w_j\). Theorem 1.1. When \(\lambda>0\), the group \(G^0_{\lambda}\) is path-connected and has fundamental group \(\mathbb{Z}\oplus \mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}\oplus\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}\). Moreover, if \(0\leq {\ell}-1<\lambda \leq {\ell}\) for some \({\ell}\in \mathbb{N}\), \[ H^{*}(G^0_{\lambda};\mathbb{Q})=\Lambda(a,x,y)\otimes S(w_{\ell}), \] where \(\operatorname {deg}a=1\), \(\operatorname {deg}x=\operatorname {deg}y=3\) and \(\operatorname {deg}w_{\ell}=4{\ell}\). Theorem 1.2. If \(0\leq {\ell}-1<\lambda \leq {\ell}\) for some \({\ell}\in \mathbb{N}\), then \[ H^{*}(BG^0_{\lambda};\mathbb{Q})=S(A,X,Y)/\{A(X-Y)(4X-Y)\dots ({\ell}^2X-Y)=0\}, \] where \(BG^0_{\lambda}\) is classifying space of \(G^0_{\lambda}\), \(\operatorname {deg}A=2\) and \(\operatorname {deg}X=\operatorname {deg}Y=4\). There is a complete analogous result for the groups \(G^1_{\lambda}\) of symplectomorphisms of \(\mathbb{C}P^2\sharp \overline{\mathbb{C}P}^2\). Some of these results can be extended to ruled surfaces over arbitrary bases [D. McDuff, in preparation].