Symplectic 4-manifolds, Stein domains, Seiberg-Witten theory and mapping class groups (Q906846)

Mapping class groups have been extensively used to study 3-manifolds, however their connections to 4-manifolds are less direct. It is through Lefschetz fibrations, which are intimately connected to symplectic 4-manifolds, that mapping class groups have entered the picture. This survey gives an overview of basic smooth 4-manifold theory, the connection to Lefschetz fibrations and mapping class groups. It describes results obtained about mapping class groups from geometric arguments, such as commutator lengths, as well as consequences of mapping class group results for Lefschetz fibrations, surface bundles and Stein domains. Numerous open problems are stated. For the entire collection see [Zbl 1333.57003].