arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Jae Choon Cha.
We prove that topological isotopy implies smooth isotopy for neat surfaces with common nonempty boundary in a smooth orientable 4-manifold, in the presence of a geometric dual in the boundary. Together with our earlier work on surface smoothing, this shows that the natural map from smooth isotopy classes to topological isotopy classes of such surfaces with prescribed boundary is bijective.
We obtain a solution to a bordism version of Gromov's linearity problem over a large family of acyclic groups, for manifolds with arbitrary dimension. Every group embeds into some acyclic group in this family. Thus, the linear bordism problem has an affirmative solution over a possibly enlarged acyclic group. Our result holds in both PL and smooth categories, and for both oriented and unoriented cases. In the PL case, our results hold without assuming bounded local geometry. As an application, we prove that there is a universal linear bound for the Cheeger-Gromov $L^2$ $ρ$-invariants of PL $(4k-1)$-manifolds associated with arbitrary regular covers. We also show that the minimum number of simplices in a PL triangulation of $(4k-1)$-manifolds with a fixed simple homotopy type is unbounded if the fundamental group has nontrivial torsion. The proof of our main results builds on quantitative algebraic and geometric techniques over the simplicial classifying spaces of groups.
We present new smoothing techniques for topologically embedded surfaces in smooth 4-manifolds, which give topological isotopy to a smooth surface. As applications, we prove "topological = smooth" results in dimension 4 for certain disks and spheres modulo isotopy. A key step in our approach is to link Quinn's smoothing theory with ideas in Gabai's 4-dimensional light bulb theorem and succeeding developments of Schneiderman-Teichner and Kosanović-Teichner. As another application of our smoothing technique, we obtain a topological version of the Dax invariant which gives topological isotopy obstructions for topological disks in 4-manifolds.
We show that for a winding number zero satellite operator $P$ on the knot concordance group, if the axis of $P$ has nontrivial self-pairing under the Blanchfield form of the pattern, then the image of the iteration $P^n$ generates an infinite rank subgroup for each $n$. Furthermore, the graded quotients of the filtration of the knot concordance group associated with $P$ have infinite rank at all levels. This gives an affirmative answer to a question of Hedden and Pinzón-Caicedo in many cases. We also show that under the same hypotheses, $P^n$ is not a homomorphism on the knot concordance group for each $n$. We use amenable $L^2$-signatures to prove these results.
In 2009, Calegari constructed smooth homotopy 4-spheres from monodromies of fibered knots. We prove that all these are diffeomorphic to the standard 4-sphere. Our method uses 5-dimensional handlebody techniques and results on mapping class groups of 3-dimensional handlebodies. As an application, we present potential counterexamples to the smooth 4-dimensional Schoenflies conjecture which are related to the work of Casson and Gordon on fibered ribbon knots.
In his 1957 paper, John Milnor introduced link invariants which measure the homotopy class of the longitudes of a link relative to the lower central series of the link group. Consequently, these invariants determine the lower central series quotients of the link group. This work has driven decades of research with profound influence. One of Milnor's original problems remained unsolved: to extract similar invariants from the transfinite lower central series of the link group. We reformulate and extend Milnor's invariants in the broader setting of 3-manifolds, with his original invariants as special cases. We present a solution to Milnor's problem for general 3-manifold groups, developing a theory of transfinite invariants and realizing nontrivial values.
We address primary decomposition conjectures for knot concordance groups, which predict direct sum decompositions into primary parts. We show that the smooth concordance group of topologically slice knots has a large subgroup for which the conjectures are true and there are infinitely many primary parts each of which has infinite rank. This supports the conjectures for topologically slice knots. We also prove analogues for the associated graded groups of the bipolar filtration of topologically slice knots. Among ingredients of the proof, we use amenable $L^2$-signatures, Ozsváth-Szabó $d$-invariants and Némethi's result on Heegaard Floer homology of Seifert 3-manifolds. In an appendix, we present a general formulation of the notion of primary decomposition.
The bipolar filtration of Cochran, Harvey and Horn presents a framework of the study of deeper structures in the smooth concordance group of topologically slice knots. We show that the graded quotient of the bipolar filtration of topologically slice knots has infinite rank at each stage greater than one. To detect nontrivial elements in the quotient, the proof simultaneously uses higher order amenable Cheeger-Gromov $L^2$ $ρ$-invariants and infinitely many Heegaard Floer correction term $d$-invariants.
For every integer g, we construct a 2-solvable and 2-bipolar knot whose topological 4-genus is greater than g. Note that 2-solvable knots are in particular algebraically slice and have vanishing Casson-Gordon obstructions. Similarly all known smooth 4-genus bounds from gauge theory and Floer homology vanish for 2-bipolar knots. Moreover, our knots bound smoothly embedded height four gropes in $D^4$, an a priori stronger condition than being 2-solvable. We use new lower bounds for the 4-genus arising from $L^{(2)}$-signature defects associated to meta-metabelian representations of the fundamental group.
We show that every good boundary link with a pair of derivative links on a Seifert surface satisfying a homotopically trivial plus assumption is freely slice. This subsumes all previously known methods for freely slicing good boundary links with two or more components, and provides new freely slice links.
We relate certain abelian invariants of a knot, namely the Alexander polynomial, the Blanchfield form, and the Arf invariant, to intersection data of a Whitney tower in the 4-ball bounded by the knot. We also give a new 3-dimensional algorithm for computing these invariants.
This paper, to be regularly updated, lists those prime knots with the fewest possible number of crossings for which values of basic knot invariants, such as the unknotting number or the smooth 4-genus, are unknown. This list is being developed in conjunction with "KnotInfo" (www.indiana.edu/~knotinfo), a web-based table of knot invariants.
We study complexities of 3-manifolds defined from triangulations, Heegaard splittings, and surgery presentations. We show that these complexities are related by linear inequalities, by presenting explicit geometric constructions. We also show that our linear inequalities are asymptotically optimal. Our results are used in [arXiv:1405.1805] to estimate Cheeger-Gromov $L^2$ $ρ$-invariants in terms of geometric group theoretic and knot theoretic data.
We study the structure of the exteriors of gropes and Whitney towers in dimension 4, focusing on their fundamental groups. In particular we introduce a notion of unknottedness of gropes and Whitney towers in the 4-sphere. We prove that various modifications of gropes and Whitney towers preserve the unknottedness and do not enlarge the fundamental group. We exhibit handlebody structures of the exteriors of gropes and Whitney towers constructed by earlier methods of Cochran, Teichner, Horn, and the first author, and use them to construct examples of unknotted gropes and Whitney towers. As an application, we introduce geometric bi-filtrations of knots which approximate the double sliceness in terms of unknotted gropes and Whitney towers. We prove that the bi-filtrations do not stabilize at any stage.
We present complete classifications of links in the 3-sphere modulo framed and twisted Whitney towers in a rational homology 4-ball. This provides a geometric characterization of the vanishing of the Milnor invariants of links in terms of Whitney towers. Our result also says that the higher order Arf invariants, which are conjectured to be nontrivial, measure the potential difference between the Whitney tower theory in rational homology 4-balls and that in the 4-ball extensively developed by Conant, Schneiderman and Teichner.
We present a large family of knots for which the Rasmussen s-invariants of arbitrary satellites do not detect sliceness. This answers a question of Hedden. The proof hinges on work of Kronheimer-Mrowka and Cochran-Harvey-Horn.
Polytopes in R^n with integral vertices form a monoid under the Minkowski sum, and the Grothendieck construction gives rise to a group. We show that every symmetric polytope is a norm in this group for every n.
We prove that a Casson tower of height 4 contains a flat embedded disc bounded by the attaching circle, and we prove disc embedding results for height 2 and 3 Casson towers which are embedded into a 4-manifold, with some additional fundamental group assumptions. In the proofs we create a capped grope from a Casson tower and use a refined height raising argument to establish the existence of a symmetric grope which has two layers of caps, data which is sufficient for a topological disc to exist, with the desired boundary. As applications, we present new slice knots and links by giving direct geometric constructions of slicing discs. In particular we construct a family of slice knots which are potential counterexamples to the homotopy ribbon slice conjecture.