The inertia-group conjecture for 4-dimensional complete intersections

Let X4(d)X_4(\underline d) be a 44-dimensional complete intersection, let v2(X4(d))v_2(X_4(\underline d)) and v4(X4(d))v_4(X_4(\underline d)) denote its Wu classes, regarded as elements of Z/2\mathbb{Z}/2, and let p1(4,d)p_1(4,\underline d) be the integer determined by its first Pontryagin class. Write I(X4(d))Θ8Z/2I(X_4(\underline d))\subseteq\Theta_8\cong\mathbb{Z}/2 for the inertia group, consisting of homotopy 88-spheres whose connected sum with X4(d)X_4(\underline d) is diffeomorphic to X4(d)X_4(\underline d). The inertia-group conjecture. The inertia groups are given by

v2(X4(d))v4(X4(d))p1(4,d) ⁣ ⁣mod 8I(X4(d))0010Θ81130117Θ8\begin{array}{c|c|c|c} v_2(X_4(\underline d)) & v_4(X_4(\underline d)) & p_1(4,\underline d)\!\!\mod~8 & I(X_4(\underline d)) \\ \hline\hline 0 & - & - & 0 \\ \hline 1 & 0 & - & \Theta_8 \\ \hline 1 & 1 & 3 & 0 \\ \hline 1 & 1 & 7 & \Theta_8 \end{array}

Here a dash means that the corresponding invariant is irrelevant in that case. The first two cases are established earlier in the paper, while the third and fourth cases concern the previously unknown non-spin situation and would determine whether the exotic 88-sphere acts trivially on the diffeomorphism type.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Diarmuid Crowley and Csaba Nagy, “The smooth classification of 4-dimensional complete intersections”, arXiv:2003.09216 (2025).

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