Unknotted codimension one spheres in smooth manifolds (Q795380)

The major result of this paper is the following: let \(M^ n\) be a connected orientable smooth manifold and let \(S^{n-1}\) be an (n-1)- sphere smoothly embedded and inessential in M. Then when \(n=3\) or 4 \(S^{n-1}\) has a homotopy n-disc cover (i.e. lies in a smoothly embedded compact contractible n-manifold whose boundary is an (n-1)-sphere), and when \(n\geq 5 S^{n-1}\) lies in a smoothly embedded n-disc (hence is unknotted) if one of the following holds: M is non-compact; M is closed and cannot be expressed as a connected sum of two rational homology spheres both different from the n-sphere; the fundamental group of M is infinite. Some counterexamples to a weakening of the hypotheses are considered.