Exotic 4-manifolds with \(b_ 2^ + =1\) (Q676117)

In this well written article, the author constructed a family of smooth closed simply connected 4-manifolds \(Y_n\), \(n>1\) such that \(b^+_2=1\), \(b^-_2=9\) and they are all homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic. In addition \(Y_n\) are irreducible and do not admit any symplectic structure. More recently Fintushel and Stern also constructed homotopy K3 surfaces with these last properties, however the author's examples were the first. The author's construction of \(Y_n\) can be traced back to the famous example of Kodaira-Thurston of a torus bundle \(W\) over a torus which is symplectic but does not admit any Kähler structure. Inside \(W\), there are two disjoint tori \(T_1\), \(T_2\) with open tubular neighborhood \(\text{tub}(T_1)\), \(\text{tub}(T_2)\). The manifolds \(Y_n\) are obtained by first removing \(\text{tub}(T_1)\), then gluing \(W-\text{tub}(T_1)\) to a rational elliptic surface \(E(1)= CP^2 \#9\overline{CP}^2\) along the neighborhood of a generic fiber, and finally regluing \(\text{tub}(T_2)\) by a family of twisted diffeomorphisms \(\phi_n\). The proof relies on the calculation of Seiberg-Witten invariant \(SW_{Y_n}\) of \(Y_n\): First, the author explained that in the present setting the invariant is independent of the Riemannian metric. Then he proceeded with the calculation using a gluing formula from his joint work with \textit{J. Morgan} and \textit{T. Mrowka} [Product formulas along \(T^3\) for Seiberg-Witten invariants (in preparation)].