Fixed-point free circle actions on 4-manifolds

DOI10.2140/AGT.2015.15.3253zbMATH Open1335.57045arXiv1303.0852OpenAlexW3099316904MaRDI QIDQ907765FDOQ907765

Authors: N. E. Zubov 

Publication date: 26 January 2016

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

Abstract: This paper is concerned with fixed-point free $S^1$-actions (smooth or locally linear) on orientable 4-manifolds. We show that the fundamental group plays a predominant role in the equivariant classification of such 4-manifolds. In particular, it is shown that for any finitely presented group with infinite center, there are at most finitely many distinct smooth (resp. topological) 4-manifolds which support a fixed-point free smooth (resp. locally linear) $S^1$-action and realize the given group as the fundamental group. A similar statement holds for the number of equivalence classes of fixed-point free $S^1$-actions under some further conditions on the fundamental group. The connection between the classification of the $S^1$-manifolds and the fundamental group is given by a certain decomposition, called fiber-sum decomposition, of the $S^1$-manifolds. More concretely, each fiber-sum decomposition naturally gives rise to a Z-splitting of the fundamental group. There are two technical results in this paper which play a central role in our considerations. One states that the Z-splitting is a canonical JSJ decomposition of the fundamental group in the sense of Rips and Sela. Another asserts that if the fundamental group has infinite center, then the homotopy class of principal orbits of any fixed-point free $S^1$-action on the 4-manifold must be infinite, unless the 4-manifold is the mapping torus of a periodic diffeomorphism of some elliptic 3-manifold. The paper ends with two questions concerning the topological nature of the smooth classification and the Seiberg-Witten invariants of 4-manifolds admitting a smooth fixed-point free $S^1$-action.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1303.0852

Recommendations

• Fundamental groups of 4-manifolds with circle actions
• Cyclic group actions and embedded spheres in 4-manifolds
• On the topological classification of pseudofree group actions on 4- manifolds. I
• Circle actions on 4-manifolds. II
• Four-manifolds which admit {Z_p x Z_p} actions

zbMATH Keywords

circle actionsfour-manifoldsgeometrization of 3-orbifoldsRips-Sela theory

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Topological methods in group theory (57M07) General geometric structures on low-dimensional manifolds (57M50) Compact Lie groups of differentiable transformations (57S15)

Cited In (12)

• A characterization of the standard smooth structure of $K3$ surface
• Minimal genus in 4-manifolds with a free circle action
• FIXED POINT FREE CIRCLE ACTIONS AND FINITENESS THEOREMS
• Circle actions on 4-manifolds. I
• Circle actions on 4-manifolds. II
• On finite symmetries of simply connected four-manifolds
• Circle actions on 8-dimensional almost complex manifolds with 4 fixed points
• Action of free commuting involutions on closed two-dimensional manifolds
• Four-manifolds which admit {Z_p x Z_p} actions
• Fixed-point free SU(n)-actions on acyclic manifolds
• \(S^ 4\) does not have one fixed point actions
• Title not available (Why is that?)

This page was built for publication: Fixed-point free circle actions on 4-manifolds

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q907765)