The external stabilization conjecture for exotic 4-manifolds
The external stabilization conjecture for exotic 4-manifolds
Let be an exotic pair of closed, simply-connected smooth -manifolds, meaning that they are homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic. Let denote the connected sum of smooth -manifolds. External stabilization conjecture. Then
This asks whether one external stabilization by eliminates the smooth distinction between every exotic pair of closed simply-connected -manifolds. The supplied text identifies this as a conjecture but gives no resolution evidence, so its status is recorded as open.
Progress summary
Nothing recorded yet. Refresh searches the literature and the public web for attempts on this problem, and writes the first summary here.
Sources & referencesView supporting material
Primary source
Ian A. Sullivan, “Bar-Natan skein lasagna modules and exotic surfaces in 4-manifolds”, arXiv:2504.03968 (2025).
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