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8 votes
1 answer
224 views

Can increasing the winding number of a 2-cell make a CW complex embeddable?

Let $X$ be a 2-dimensional CW complex and let $c\subset X$ be a 2-cell attached along a simple closed loop $\gamma$ in the 1-skeleton $X^{(1)}$. For a natural number $n\ge 2$ consider the operation of ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
25 votes
1 answer
582 views

Does every oriented $3$-dimensional submanifold of $\mathbb{R}^6$ bound an oriented $4$-dimensional submanifold?

In my recent research, I encountered the following problem about embeddings. Let $M^3$ be a closed compact oriented smooth $3$-dimensional submanifold of $\mathbb{R}^6$. Does there exist a compact ...
Zhenhua Liu's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
154 views

Is there a notion of "locally flat" for CW complexes?

A submanifold $X^n\subset Y^m$ is locally flat if each point $x\in X$ has a neighborhood $U\subset Y$ so that $(U,U\cap X)\simeq (\Bbb R^m, \Bbb R^n)$ with the standard embedding $\Bbb R^n\...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
3 votes
1 answer
161 views

How to properly define a slice knot (or a locally flat disk)?

A knot $K\subset\Bbb S^3=\partial \Bbb D^4$ is said to be (topolopgically) slice if there is a locally flat disk $D\subset\Bbb D^4$ with $\partial D=D\cap \Bbb S^3=K$. As far as I understand, locally ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
4 votes
1 answer
169 views

"Almost embedding" the complete 2-dimensional complex $\mathcal K_7^2$ into $\Bbb R^4$

Let $\mathcal K_7^2$ be the complete 2-dimensional simplicial complex on seven vertices, i.e. it has all $7\choose 2$ edges and all $7\choose 3$ 2-simplices (and no higher-dimensional simplices). I ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
0 votes
1 answer
135 views

Local embedding and disk in domain perturbation

Consider say $M=(\mathbb{S}^1\times\dotsb\times \mathbb{S}^1)-q$ ($n$-times). Assume that $B$ is an $n$ disk in $M$ (for instance, thinking of $\mathbb{S}^1$ as gluing $-1$ and $1$, the cube $B=[-\...
monoidaltransform's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
141 views

Can a closed null-homotopic curve be filled in by a disc?

Let $U\subseteq\Bbb R^n$ be an open set and $\gamma\subset U$ a closed null-homotopic curve in $U$ (i.e. it can be contracted to a point). Then is there an embedded disc $D\subset U$ with boundary $\...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
8 votes
1 answer
264 views

Does the continuous image of a disc contain an embedded disc?

Let $\phi:\Bbb D^2\to\Bbb R^n$ be a continuous mapping of the 2-disc $\Bbb D^2$ that is injective on the boundary $\partial\Bbb D^2=\Bbb S^1$. Does its image contain an embedded disc with the same ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
4 votes
2 answers
374 views

Knot theory in handlebodies of arbitrary genus

It is well known that not all graphs embed on the plane (e.g. the graph $K_{3,3}$). However, every finite graph embeds into a surface of some genus. One can think of this procedure as starting with a ...
João Lobo Fernandes's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
542 views

If a polyhedron in $\mathbb{R}^3$ has local intersections, does it also have more global intersections?

Consider a simplicial complex $K$. A piecewise linear map $f: K \to \mathbb{R}^n$ is an almost-embedding if $f(\sigma) \cap f(\tau) = \emptyset$ for any two disjoint simplices $\sigma,\tau$ in $K$. ...
Omega Tree's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
263 views

Does this "join-like complex" of $K_5$ and $K_3$ embed in $\Bbb R^4$?

Consider the following 2-dimensional CW-complex: its 1-skeleton is $K_8$, which we write as an edge-disjoint union $K_5\cup K_{5,3}\cup K_3$. Then for any two edges $ab\in E(K_5)$ and $cd\in E(K_3)$ ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
4 votes
0 answers
114 views

Mostow-Palais equivariant embedding for manifolds with corners

Let $M$ be a compact smooth manifold and let $G$ be a connected compact Lie group acting on $M$. According to an old theorem of Mostow and Palais, there exists a $G$-equivariant embedding of $M$ into ...
Laurent Cote's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
88 views

Is the thickening of a PL 2-disc in $\Bbb R^4$ a 4-ball?

Let $D\subset\Bbb R^4$ be a PL-embedded 2-dimensional disc. Let $N=D+K$ be a thickening of the disc, where $K$ is some sufficiently small 4-dimensional PL-ball and "$+$" means Minkowski ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
4 votes
0 answers
183 views

In how far does the Whitney trick work in the piecewise linear setting in $\Bbb R^4$?

I usually read about the Whitney trick in the context of smooth manifolds, but I wonder in how far it works in the piecewise linear (PL) category as well. I have a specific setting in mind that I will ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
8 votes
0 answers
123 views

Is every simplicial $d$-sphere linearly embeddable in $\Bbb R^{d+1}$?

A simplicial $d$-sphere is a simplicial complex homeomorphic to the $d$-sphere. It is known that not every such complex can be embedded into $\Bbb R^{d+1}$ as the boundary complex of a convex ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
8 votes
0 answers
298 views

A conjecture about homotopy $S^1\times B^3$'s

$\textbf{Conjecture}:$ Let $X^4$ be a homotopy $S^1\times B^3$ with the following properties: Attaching a four dimensional 2-handle gives a standard $B^4$. The $k$-fold cyclic cover is diffeomorphic ...
Daniel H. Hartman's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
207 views

The knot $K\subset \Bbb S^3$ is smoothly slice, but the disc $D\subset \Bbb D^4$ is only locally flat. Can $D$ be smoothed?

Suppose I am given a smoothly slice knot $K\subset\Bbb S^3$. But I am only given a locally flat disc $D\subset \Bbb D^4$ with boundary $K$. Question: Is there a smooth disc $D'\subset\Bbb D^4$ with ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
11 votes
2 answers
516 views

Given a 2-disc embedded in $\Bbb R^4$, can I fit another 2-disc with the same boundary?

I am given a 2-disc $D^2$ embedded into $\Bbb R^4$, that is, I have an injective continuous map $\phi:D^2\to\Bbb R^4$. I want to "double" this disc in the sense that I am looking for a ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
25 votes
1 answer
2k views

On a curious map from the complex projective plane into $S^5$

I have heavily edited the post (including the title), based on a comment by @GregoryArone that my map $f$ is not injective. In an earlier version of this post, I had thought to have constructed a ...
Malkoun's user avatar
  • 5,215
2 votes
0 answers
77 views

Dense embeddings into Euclidean space

The question is a follow-up on this old post. Fix a positive integer $d$ and consider $\mathbb{R}^d$ with its usual Euclidean topology. Given a metric space $(X,\delta_X)$, what conditions are ...
ABIM's user avatar
  • 5,405
9 votes
1 answer
334 views

Can a knotted sphere isometrically embed into $\mathbb R^3$?

All smooth simple closed curves in $\mathbb R^3$ (knotted or not) can be isometrically embedded into $\mathbb R^2$ as a circle of equal arclength. The situation for knotted spheres seems more ...
Christian Bueno's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
1k views

An orientable surface that cannot be embedded into $\Bbb R^3$? [duplicate]

I previously asked this question on MSE, without success. By Whitney's embedding theorem, every 2-dimensional manifold (aka. a surface) can be embedded into $\Bbb R^4$. Now, Wikipedia states in this ...
M. Rumpy's user avatar
  • 283
9 votes
1 answer
666 views

A wild embedding of $\mathbb{S}^1$ into $\mathbb{R}^3$

Can one construct an embedding of $\mathbb{S}^1$ into $\mathbb{R}^3$ so that every orthogonal projection onto a two dimensional plane is a unit disc? It is easy to construct an embedding of $\...
Piotr Hajlasz's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
220 views

Embedding spaces and surface knots in high dimensional manifolds

This is a variation of Craig's Knot complement diffeomorphism groups and embedding spaces for a different type of very simple manifold (surfaces which have a 1-relator fundamental group instead of ...
Nati's user avatar
  • 1,981
9 votes
1 answer
384 views

embedding of quaternionic projective spaces

Let $\mathbb{H}P^m$ be the $m$-th quaternionic projective space. What is the smallest integer $N$ such that there exists an embedding $$ \mathbb{H}P^2\longrightarrow \mathbb{R}^N? $$ Are there any ...
Shiquan Ren's user avatar
  • 1,990
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

embeddings of product of spheres in Euclidean spaces [closed]

I notice that $T^2=S^1\times S^1$ can be embedded in $\mathbb{R}^3$ as a hypersurface (submnaifolds of codimension 1). In general, (1). could the product of spheres $S^{m_1}\times\cdots\times S^{...
QSR's user avatar
  • 2,223
10 votes
1 answer
277 views

Complements of unknotted tori (higher dimensions)

It is well-known that an unknotted 2-torus in $S^3$ provides the standard Heegaard splitting, in particular its complement consists of two solid tori. It is also known that an unknotted 3-torus in $S^...
ThiKu's user avatar
  • 10.4k
9 votes
3 answers
1k views

Contractibility of space of embeddings of a disc

I'm pretty sure that both of the following spaces are contractible. However, I can't seem to find a proof or a reference. Can anyone provide one? Let $D^2$ be the unit disc in $\mathbb{R}^2$. The ...
Lior's user avatar
  • 99
2 votes
0 answers
139 views

Disks in Flat Embeddings of Graphs in $\mathbb{R}^3$

Robertson, Seymour and Thomas proved that any linkless graph $G$ has a flat embedding in $\mathbb{R}^3$ (see for example A survey of linkless embeddings). An embedding of $G$ is flat if for any cycle $...
Hooman's user avatar
  • 415
3 votes
0 answers
177 views

Different definitions of linkless graphs

Robertson, Seymour and Thomas defined linkless embeddings of graphs as follows: An embedding of $G$ is linkless if every pair of disjoint circuits of $G$ have zero linking number (see here). However ...
Hooman's user avatar
  • 415
1 vote
1 answer
451 views

Difference between straight and piecewise linear and continuous embeddings of graphs / complexes in d-dimensional space?

Here is my main question: what is the difference between "straight" and "piecewise linear" and "continuous" embeddings of graphs/complexes in d-dimensional space? Moreover I would like to know if any ...
Hooman's user avatar
  • 415
20 votes
3 answers
2k views

Homotopy groups of spaces of embeddings

Let $\mathrm{Emb}(M, N)$ be the space of smooth embeddings of a closed manifold $M$ into a manifold $N$ equipped with smooth compact-open topology. Question 1. Are there conditions ensuring that ...
Igor Belegradek's user avatar
16 votes
3 answers
2k views

When does a CW-complex of dimension 2 embed in $\Bbb R^4$?

Let $X$ be a finite CW-complex of dimension two having just one 0-cell (+ finitely many 1-cells + finitely many 2-cells). Is it true that X can be embedded in $\Bbb R^4$? If true, is it due to ...
Pierre de la Harpe's user avatar