The trace embedding lemma and spinelessness

MaRDI QIDQ6332020zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Kyle Hayden, Lisa Piccirillo

Publication date 30 December 2019

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Embeddings and immersions in PL-topology (57Q35) Differentiable structures in differential topology (57R55) Surgery and handlebodies (57R65)

Abstract: We demonstrate new applications of the trace embedding lemma to the study of piecewise-linear surfaces and the detection of exotic phenomena in dimension four. We provide infinitely many pairs of homeomorphic 4-manifolds $W$ and $W^{\prime }$ homotopy equivalent to $S^2$ which have smooth structures distinguished by several formal properties: $W^{\prime }$ is diffeomorphic to a knot trace but $W$ is not, $W^{\prime }$ contains $S^2$ as a smooth spine but $W$ does not even contain $S^2$ as a piecewise-linear spine, $W^{\prime }$ is geometrically simply connected but $W$ is not, and $W^{\prime }$ does not admit a Stein structure but $W$ does. In particular, the simple spineless 4-manifolds $W$ provide an alternative to Levine and Lidman's recent solution to Problem 4.25 in Kirby's list. We also show that all smooth 4-manifolds contain topological locally flat surfaces that cannot be approximated by piecewise-linear surfaces.

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