Trisections, intersection forms and the Torelli group

DOI10.2140/AGT.2020.20.1015MaRDI QIDQ2175887zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Peter Lambert-Cole

Publication date 30 April 2020

Published in Algebraic \& Geometric Topology (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.10834

zbMATH Keywords

Heegaard splittingTorelli grouptrisection of a 4-manifold

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

2-dimensional topology (including mapping class groups of surfaces, Teichmüller theory, curve complexes, etc.) (57K20) General topology of 4-manifolds (57K40) General low-dimensional topology (57M99)

Abstract: We apply mapping class group techniques and trisections to study intersection forms of smooth 4-manifolds. Johnson defined a well-known homomorphism from the Torelli group of a compact surface. Morita later showed that every homology 3-sphere can be obtained from the standard Heegaard decomposition of $S^3$ by regluing according to a map in the kernel of this homomorphism. We prove an analogous result for trisections of 4-manifolds. Specifically, if $X$ and $Y$ admit handle decompositions without 1- or 3-handles and have isomorphic intersection forms, then a trisection of $Y$ can be obtained from a trisection of $X$ by cutting and regluing by an element of the Johnson kernel. We also describe how invariants of homology 3-spheres can be applied, via this result, to obstruct intersection forms of smooth 4-manifolds. As an application, we use the Casson invariant to recover Rohlin's Theorem on the signature of spin 4-manifolds.

Review text

Trisections of closed 4-manifolds are analogous to Heegaard splittings of 3-manifolds; specifically, a trisection of a closed 4-manifold \(X\) is a decomposition of \(X\) into three 4-dimensional handlebodies \(\sharp (S^1 \times B^3)\) such that the intersection of each two of these 4-dimensional handlebodies is a 3-dimensional handlebody \(\sharp (S^1 \times B^2\)), and the intersection of all three of them is a closed orientable surface. \textit{S. Morita} showed [Topology 28, No. 3, 305--323 (1989; Zbl 0684.57008); ibid. 30, No. 4, 603--621 (1991; Zbl 0747.57010)] that every integral homology 3-sphere can be obtained by cutting the standard Heegaard splitting of the 3-sphere along the Heegaard surface and regluing by an element of the Torelli group (the subgroup of the mapping class group acting trivially on homology) which lies in the kernel of the Johnson homomorphism (the subgroup of the Torelli group generated by seperating twists: \textit{D. Johnson} [Topology 24, 127--144 (1985; Zbl 0571.57010)]). The main result of the present paper is a 4-dimensional analogue of Morita's result. ``Specifically, if \(X\) and \(Y\) admit handle decompositions without 1- and 3-handles and have isomorphic intersection forms, then a trisection of \(Y\) can be obtained from a trisection of \(X\) by cutting and regluing by an element of the Johnson kernel. We also describe how invariants of homology 3-spheres can be applied, via this result, to obstruct intersection forms of smooth 4-manifolds. As an application, we use the Casson invariant to recover Rohlin's theorem on the signature of spin 4-manifolds.

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Cited in

(11)

• Bridge trisections in \(\mathbb{CP}^2\) and the Thom conjecture
• The minimal genus problem -- a quarter century of progress
• Nielsen equivalence and trisections
• Trisection diagrams and twists of 4-manifolds
• 4-manifold invariants from Hopf algebras
• Torsions and intersection forms of 4-manifolds from trisection diagrams
• Triviality of the J₄-equivalence among homology 3-spheres
• Calculating the homology and intersection form of a 4-manifold from a trisection diagram
• Simplifying indefinite fibrations on 4-manifolds
• Lecture notes on trisections and cohomology
• A surgery approach to abelian quotients of the level 2 congruence group and the Torelli group

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