Kirby diagrams and 5-colored graphs representing compact 4-manifolds (Q6052381)

It is well-known that in dimension \(4\) any framed link \((L, c)\) serves as a unique representation for the piecewise-linear (PL) \(4\)-manifold \(M^4(L, c)\). This manifold is derived from \(\mathbb{D}^4\) by the addition of 2-handles along the framed link \((L, c)\). Extending this insight, if one considers Kirby diagrams allowing trivial dotted components, denoted as \((L^{(*)}, d)\), the associated PL \(4\)-manifold \(M^4(L^{(*)}, d)\) is obtained by incorporating \(1\)-handles along the dotted components and \(2\)-handles along the framed components into \(\mathbb{D}^4\). In the article under review, the authors delve into the connections between framed links, Kirby diagrams, and the representation theory of compact PL manifolds through edge-colored graphs. Specifically, they articulate an algorithmic construction of a (regular) \(5\)-colored graph that represents \(M^4(L^{(*)}, d)\). This graph is directly superimposed onto a planar diagram of \((L^{(*)}, d)\) or, equivalently, an algorithmic approach is outlined to derive a triangulation for \(M^4(L^{(*)}, d)\). Consequently, this procedure provides triangulations for any closed (simply-connected) PL \(4\)-manifold that allows handle decompositions without \(3\)-handles. Moreover, the authors establish upper bounds for both the invariants gem-complexity and regular genus of \(M^4(L^{(*)}, d)\). These bounds are expressed in terms of the combinatorial properties inherent in the Kirby diagram.