The external stabilization conjecture for exotic 4-manifolds

From papers

Let (X0,X1)(X_{0},X_{1}) be an exotic pair of closed, simply-connected smooth 44-manifolds, meaning that they are homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic. Let X#YX\#Y denote the connected sum of smooth 44-manifolds. External stabilization conjecture. Then

X0#(S2×S2) is diffeomorphic to X1#(S2×S2).X_{0}\#(S^{2}\times S^{2})\text{ is diffeomorphic to }X_{1}\#(S^{2}\times S^{2}).

This asks whether one external stabilization by S2×S2S^{2}\times S^{2} eliminates the smooth distinction between every exotic pair of closed simply-connected 44-manifolds. The supplied text identifies this as a conjecture but gives no resolution evidence, so its status is recorded as open.

Progress summary

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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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