arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Nikolai Saveliev.
We define an integer valued invariant for two-component links in S^3 by counting projective SU(2) representations of the link group having non-trivial second Stiefel-Whitney class. We show that our invariant is, up to sign, the linking number of the link. Our construction generalizes that of X.-S. Lin who defined a similar invariant for knots in S^3; his invariant equals half the knot signature.
Let $F$ be a genus $g$ curve and $σ: F \to F$ a real structure with the maximal possible number of fixed circles. We study the real moduli space $\N' = \Fix (σ^{#})$ where $σ^{#}: \N \to \N$ is the induced real structure on the moduli space $\N$ of stable holomorphic bundles of rank 2 over $F$ with fixed non-trivial determinant. In particular, we calculate $H^* (\N',\mathbb Z)$ in the case of $g = 2$, generalizing Thaddeus' approach to computing $H^* (\N,\mathbb Z)$.
This paper studies Dirac operators on end-periodic spin manifolds of dimension at least 4. We provide a sufficient condition for such an operator to be Fredholm for a generic end-periodic metric; this condition is shown to be necessary in dimension 4. We make use of end-periodic Dirac operators to give an analytical interpretation of an invariant of non-orientable smooth 4-manifolds due to Cappell and Shaneson. From this interpretation we show that some exotic non-orientable 4-manifolds do not admit a metric of positive scalar curvature.
This is the third in our series of papers relating gauge theoretic invariants of certain 4-manifolds with invariants of 3-manifolds derived from Rohlin's theorem. Such relations are well-known in dimension three, starting with Casson's integral lift of the Rohlin invariant of a homology sphere. We consider two invariants of a spin 4-manifold that has the integral homology of a 4-torus. The first is a degree zero Donaldson invariant, counting flat connections on a certain SO(3)-bundle. The second, which depends on the choice of a 1-dimensional cohomology class, is a combination of Rohlin invariants of a 3-manifold carrying the dual homology class. We prove that these invariants, suitably normalized, agree modulo 2, by showing that they coincide with the quadruple cup product of 1-dimensional cohomology classes.
This article surveys our ongoing project about the relationship between invariants extending the classical Rohlin invariant of homology spheres and those coming from 4-dimensional (Yang-Mills) gauge theory. The main conjecture towards which this project is directed is that the Rohlin invariant and the gauge theoretic invariant coincide for a homology $S^1\times S^3$. We discuss the implications of this conjecture for some classical problems in low-dimensional topology, and progress we have made towards proving the conjecture.
This is the second in a series of papers studying the relationship between Rohlin's theorem and gauge theory. We discuss an invariant of a homology S^1 cross S^3 defined by Furuta and Ohta as an analogue of Casson's invariant for homology 3-spheres. Our main result is a calculation of the Furuta-Ohta invariant for the mapping torus of a finite-order diffeomorphism of a homology sphere. The answer is the equivariant Casson invariant (Collin-Saveliev 2001) if the action has fixed points, and a version of the Boyer-Nicas (1990) invariant if the action is free. We deduce, for finite-order mapping tori, the conjecture of Furuta and Ohta that their invariant reduces mod 2 to the Rohlin invariant of a manifold carrying a generator of the third homology group. Under some transversality assumptions, we show that the Furuta-Ohta invariant coincides with the Lefschetz number of the action on Floer homology. Comparing our two answers yields an example of a diffeomorphism acting trivially on the representation variety but non-trivially on Floer homology.
This is the first in a series of papers exploring the relationship between the Rohlin invariant and gauge theory. We discuss the Casson-type invariant of a 3-manifold with the integral homology of a torus, given by counting projectively flat connections. We show that its mod 2 evaluation is given by the triple cup product in cohomology, and so it coincides with a sum of Rohlin invariants. Our counting argument makes use of a natural action of the first cohomology on the moduli space of projectively flat connections; along the way we construct perturbations that are equivariant with respect to this action. Combined with the Floer exact triangle, this gives a purely gauge-theoretic proof that Casson's homology sphere invariant reduces mod 2 to the Rohlin invariant.
Let $X$ be a smooth contractible affine algebraic threefold with a nontrivial algebraic ${\bf C}_+$-action on it. We show that $X$ is rational and the algebraic quotient $X//{\bf C}_+$ is a smooth contractible surface $S$ which is isomorphic to ${\bf C}^2$ in the case when $X$ admits a dominant morphism from a threefold of form $C \times {\bf C}^2$. Furthermore, if the action is free then $X$ is isomorphic to $S \times {\bf C}$ and the action is induced by translation on the second factor. In particular, we have the following criterion: if a smooth contractible affine algebraic threefold $X$ with a free algebraic ${\bf C}_+$-action admits a dominant morphism from $C\times {\bf C}^2$ then $X$ is isomorphic to ${\bf C}^3$.
In this paper we answer the question posed by M.~Atiyah and give an explicit formula for Floer homology of Brieskorn homology spheres in terms of their branching sets over the 3--sphere. We further show how Floer homology is related to other invariants of knots and 3--manifolds, among which are the $\barμ$--invariant of W.~Neumann and L.~Siebenmann and the Jones polynomial. Essential progress is made in proving the homology cobordism invariance of our own $ν$--invariant.
In this paper we present our results on the homology cobordism group $\Th$ of the oriented integral homology 3-spheres. We specially emphasize the role played in the subject by the gauge theory including Floer homology and invariants by Donaldson and Seiberg -- Witten.