Pseudoconvex regions of finite D'Angelo type in four dimensional almost complex manifolds (Q846900)

This paper studies the geometry of four-dimensional almost complex manifolds. More precisely, the main theorem shows that if \(D\) is a smooth pseudoconvex region in such a manifold, and \(p\) is a point on the boundary of \(D\) with finite D'Angelo type, then there exists a local peak plurisubharmonic function at \(p\). This is shown to imply that \(D\) is locally Kobayashi hyperbolic at \(p\). If moreover the D'Angelo type is less than five, or if one approaches the boundary nontangentially, then the author proves sharp lower bounds for the Kobayashi distance. The proofs use a thorough analysis of \(J\)-holomorphic disks near \(p\).