Pulling-apart criterion for four components in a simply connected 4-manifold

Let XX be a simply connected 44-manifold, and let A=A1,A2,A3,A4A=A_1,A_2,A_3,A_4 support an order-22 non-repeating Whitney tower W\mathcal W. Let λ2(A)\lambda_2(A) be the order-22 intersection invariant, and let Λ2/INT2(A)\Lambda_2/\operatorname{INT}_2(A) be the quotient by the intersection relations defined in Section 8 of Schneiderman and Teichner's work. Pulling-apart conjecture. The components of AA can be pulled apart if and only if

λ2(A)Λ2/INT2(A)\lambda_2(A)\in\Lambda_2/\operatorname{INT}_2(A)

is zero. This gives a proposed complete obstruction for pulling apart four components in the first partially understood non-repeating case. The conjecture remains open.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Rob Schneiderman, “Introduction to Whitney Towers”, arXiv:2012.01475 (2020).

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