arXiv research

In 1993, Bismut and Zhang establish a mod Z embedding formula of Atiyah-Patodi-Singer reduced eta invariants. In this paper, we explain the hidden mod Z term as a spectral flow and extend this embedding formula to the equivariant family case. In this case, the spectral flow is generalized to the equivariant chern chara…

Formula for subgroup growth in mapping class groups.

Minhyong Kim introduced arithmetic Chern-Simons invariants for totally imaginary number fields as arithmetic analogues of the Chern-Simons invariants for 3-manifolds. In this paper, we extend Kim's definition for any number field, by using the modified étale cohomology groups and fundamental groups which take real plac…

Researchers compute mod 2 Seiberg-Witten invariants for spin structures and families.

The paper studies twisted Alexander polynomials for knot groups in various extensions.

The paper studies Gauss sums and their applications in algebra and topology.

We compute cup product pairings in the integral cohomology ring of the moduli space of rank two stable bundles with odd determinant over a Riemann surface using methods of Zagier. The resulting formula is related to a generating function for certain skew Schur polynomials. As an application, we compute the nilpotency d…

We prove a gluing formula for the families Seiberg-Witten invariants of families of $4$-manifolds obtained by fibrewise connected sum. Our formula expresses the families Seiberg-Witten invariants of such a connected sum family in terms of the ordinary Seiberg-Witten invariants of one of the summands, under certain assu…

Let F be a closed orientable surface. We give an explicit formula for the number mod 2 of quadruple points occurring in any generic regular homotopy between any two regularly homotopic embeddings e,e':F -> R^3. The formula is in terms of homological data extracted from the two embeddings.

When a cyclic group G of prime order acts on a 4-manifold X, we prove a formula which relates the Seiberg-Witten invariants of X to those of X/G.

Consider the moduli space of framed flat $U(2)$ connections with fixed odd determinant over a surface. Newstead combined some fundamental facts about this moduli space with the Mayer-Vietoris sequence to compute its betti numbers over any field not of characteristic two. We adapt his method in characteristic two to pro…

Several proofs have been published of the Mod Z gluing formula for the eta-invariant of a Dirac operator. However, so far the integer contribution to the gluing formula for the eta-invariant is left obscure in the literature. In this article we present a gluing formula for the eta-invariant which expresses the integer …

By calculating the Fermat limit of certain q-Fermat functions, we get explicit surgery formulae for the second and third Ohtsuki invariants for homology 3-spheres. The surgery formula of the second Ohtsuki invariant λ_2, combined with an argument using the general theory of finite type invariants of homology 3-spheres,…

Study shows Dehn twist coefficients are consistent across different actions on surfaces.

New cubic forms linked to η-invariants and mod 2 indices.

We introduce a formula for the action of Dehn twists on the HOMFLY-PT type skein module of a surface. As an application of the formula to mapping class group, we give an embedding from the Torelli group of a surface $Σ_{g,1}$ of genus $g$ with non-empty connected boundary into the completed HOMFLY-PT type skein algebra…

Given a rank 2 hermitian bundle over a 3-manifold that is non-trivial admissible in the sense of Floer, one defines its Casson invariant as half the signed count of its projectively flat connections, suitably perturbed. We show that the 2-divisibility of this integer invariant is controlled in part by a formula involvi…

This paper is about cohomology of mapping class groups from the perspective of arithmetic groups. For a closed surface $S$ of genus $g$, the mapping class group $Mod(S)$ admits a well-known arithmetic quotient $Mod(S)\rightarrow Sp(2g, Z)$, under which the stable cohomology of $Sp(2g,Z)$ pulls back to algebra generated…

Identifies a mod-$p$ triple cup product for rational homology 3-spheres with specific first homology.

For a convex cocompact subgroup $G<Mod(S)$, and points $x,y \in Teich(S)$ we obtain asymptotic formulas as $R\to \infty$ of $|B_{R}(x)\cap Gy|$ as well as the number of conjugacy classes of pseudo-Anosov elements in $G$ of dilatation at most $R$. We do this by developing an analogue of Patterson-Sullivan theory for the…

We develop homological techniques for finding explicit combinatorial expressions of finite-type cohomology classes of spaces of knots in $R^n, n \ge 3,$ generalizing Polyak--Viro formulas for invariants (i.e. 0-dimensional cohomology classes) of knots in $R^3$. As the first applications we give such formulas for the (r…

We study the quotient of the mapping class group $\operatorname{Mod}_g^n$ of a surface of genus $g$ with $n$ punctures, by the subgroup $\operatorname{Mod}_g^n[p]$ generated by the $p$-th powers of Dehn twists. Our first main result is that $\operatorname{Mod}_g^1 /\operatorname{Mod}_g^1[p]$ contains an infinite normal…

Proves simple type conjecture for mod 2 Seiberg-Witten invariants.

Formula connects knot invariants to Alexander polynomials.

We consider two mod-p central series of the free group given by Stallings and Zassenhaus. Applying these series to definitions of Dennis Johnson's filtration of the mapping class group we obtain two mod-p Johnson filtrations. Further, we adapt the definition of the Johnson homomorphisms to obtain mod-p Johnson homomorp…

To a link L in the 3-sphere, we associate a spectral sequence whose E^2 page is the reduced Khovanov homology of L and which converges to a version of the monopole Floer homology of the branched double cover. The pages E^k for k > 1 depend only on the mutation equivalence class of L. We define a mod 2 grading on the sp…

Let Mod(S) be the extended mapping class group of a surface S. For S the twice-punctured torus, we show that there exists an isomorphism of finite index subgroups of Mod(S) which is not the restriction of an inner automorphism. For S a torus with at least three punctures, we show that every injection of a finite index …

We show how the families Seiberg-Witten invariants of a family of smooth $4$-manifolds can be recovered from the families Bauer-Furuta invariant via a cohomological formula. We use this formula to deduce several properties of the families Seiberg-Witten invariants. We give a formula for the Steenrod squares of the fami…

Handlebody groups are rigid under measure equivalence.

Consider a Riemann surface $X$ of genus $g \geq 2$ equipped with an antiholomorphic involution $τ$. This induces a natural involution on the moduli space $M(r,d)$ of semistable Higgs bundles of rank $r$ and degree $d$. If $D$ is a divisor such that $τ(D) = D$, this restricts to an involution on the moduli space $M(r,D)…

This paper introduces a new method to create mod m almost classical links from virtual knots.

Smooth approximation of integral cycles mod 2 in Riemannian manifolds.

A virtual link diagram is called mod $m$ almost classical if it admits an Alexander numbering valued in integers modulo $m$, and a virtual link is called mod $m$ almost classical if it has a mod $m$ almost classical diagram as a representative. In this paper, we introduce a method of constructing a mod $m$ almost class…

In this paper, we construct spines, i.e., $\Mod_g$-equivariant deformation retracts, of the Teichmüller space $\T_g$ of compact Riemann surfaces of genus $g$. Specifically, we define a $\Mod_g$-stable subspace $S$ of positive codimension and construct an intrinsic $\Mod_g$-equivariant deformation retraction from $\T_g$…

We introduce an invariant for trivalent fatgraph spines of a once bordered surface, which takes values in the first homology of the surface. This invariant is the secondary object coming from two 1-cocycles on the dual fatgraph complex, one introduced by Morita and Penner in 2008, and the other by Penner, Turaev, and t…

Formula for Z_2-valued index of symmetric operators on manifolds.

Let Mod_g be the mapping class group of a genus g >= 2 surface. The group Mod_g has virtual cohomological dimension 4g-5. In this note we use a theorem of Broaddus and the combinatorics of chord diagrams to prove that H^{4g-5}(Mod_g; Q) = 0.

Homological model for quantum representations of mapping class groups.

We establish a mod 2 index theorem for real vector bundles over 8k+2 dimensional compact pin$^-$ manifolds. The analytic index is the reduced $η$ invariant of (twisted) Dirac operators and the topological index is defined through $KO$-theory. Our main result extends the mod 2 index theorem of Atiyan and Singer to non-o…

A new systolic inequality for mod 2 systoles is established.

Let $S_g$ be the closed oriented surface of genus g and let $\text{Mod}(S_g)$ be the mapping class group. When the genus is at least 3, $\text{Mod}(S_g)$ can be generated by torsion elements. We prove the follow results. For $g \geq 4$, $\text{Mod}(S_g)$ can be generated by 4 torsion elements. Three generators are invo…

We characterize convex cocompact subgroups of mapping class groups that arise as subgroups of specially embedded right-angled Artin groups. That is, if the right-angled Artin group G in Mod(S) satisfies certain conditions that imply G is quasi-isometrically embedded in Mod(S), then a purely pseudo-Anosov subgroup H of …

Let Mod_{g,b} denote the mapping class group of a surface of genus g with b punctures. Feng Luo asked in a recent preprint if there is a universal upper bound, independent of genus, for the number of torsion elements needed to generate Mod_{g,b}. We answer Luo's question by proving that 3 torsion elements suffice to ge…

Paper shows ergodicity and irreducibility of mapping class group boundary representation.

The paper solves the Nielsen realization problem for high degree del Pezzo surfaces.

The paper characterizes finite metacyclic subgroups in mapping class groups of surfaces.

Paper extends Miyazawa's construction to more 4-manifolds, finding exotic involutions and embeddings.

We give a presentation for the baseleaf preserving mapping class group $Mod(§)$ of the punctured solenoid $§$. The generators for our presentation were introduced previously, and several relations among them were derived. In addition, we show that $Mod(§)$ has no non-trivial central elements. Our main tool is a new com…