1. Geography
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Problem 1.1.
[Baykur]- (a) Does there exist a simply-connected symplectic 4-manifold $X \neq \mathbb{C}P^2$ on the BMY line?
- (b) Are there symplectic 4-manifolds on the BMY line that are not complex? (An infinite family on the same lattice point would be the most desirable outcome.)
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Remark. Any complex manifold $X \neq \mathbb{C}P^2$ on the BMY line and with holomorphic Euler characteristic $\chi_h(X) > 0$ is a minimal surface of general type, so it has only one Seiberg-Witten basic class up to sign. Moreover, it is a ball quotient, so the fundamental group is a torsion-free cocompact arithmetic subgroup of $\operatorname{PU}(2,1)$. Therefore, one possible approach is to perform Luttinger surgeries along tori in a Kähler surface on the BMY line to vary either the number of SW basic classes or $\pi_1$.
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Problem 1.2.
[Palka] Consider a (possibly singular) surface $C \subset \mathbb{C}P^2$ homeomorphic to $S^2$ that either (i) is symplectic or (ii) satisfies the adjunction formula.- (a) What is the maximal number of singularities of $C$? (When $C$ is algebraic, it is conjectured that the answer is four.)
- (b) Do the collections of realizable singularities differ for symplectic and complex curves?
- (c) What if neither condition (i) or (ii) is satisfied?
Cite this as: AimPL: Symplectic four-manifolds through branched coverings, available at http://aimpl.org/symplecticfour.