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The study of differentiable manifolds and differentiable maps. One fundamental problem is that of classifying manifolds up to diffeomorphism. Differential topology is what Poincaré understood as topology or “analysis situs”.

7 votes
Accepted

Smooth map between oriented manifolds

This follows from a result of Hopf (see the exposition of Epstein). By this result, one may assume that there is a disk $D\subset N$ such that $f^{-1}(D)$ is $d$ disks mapping diffeomorphically to $D$ …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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2 votes
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Reference request and prerequisites for understanding the Sphere Theorem and the Loop Theore...

On Marc Lackenby’s webpage you can find notes on 3-manifold topology (Michaelmas 1999). The proof of the loop theorem in Chapter 9 uses special hierarchies (instead of Papakyriakopoulos’ towers) follo …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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7 votes

Embedded 2-tori in $S^1\times S^4$

I think this is true (homotopy implies isotopy). Consider a generic smooth torus embedding $f: T^2 \to S^1\times S^4$, then the projection to $S^1$ gives a circle-valued Morse function on $T^2$. Becau …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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7 votes
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Does every triangulable manifold have a vertex-transitive triangulation?

There exists many closed connected hyperbolic 3-manifolds $M$ with trivial symmetry group, and hence trivial mapping class group. $M$ cannot be homeomorphic to a simplicial complex $\tau$ which admits …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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6 votes

Doubles of 2-handlebodies

A hyperbolic 4-manifold has zero signature and hence is null-cobordant. However there exist hyperbolic 4-manifolds with trivial isometry group, and hence which cannot be a double of a 2-handlebody (su …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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5 votes

Classification of surface bundles over surfaces

For a), when $\chi(F)<0$ $F$-bundles over $B$ are classified by maps $\pi_1(B)\to Mod(F)$, where $Mod(F)$ is the mapping class group of $F$. This boils down to the fact that $Diff_0(F)$ is contractibl …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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4 votes
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Compact closed aspherical manifolds with vanishing second homology in all the covering spaces

I think that the answer to this question is unknown in general. If one had a closed aspherical manifold with this property, then it could not contain a Baumslag-Solitar subgroup since such a group has …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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4 votes

Under what conditions can an orientable Riemannian 3-manifold be defined implicitly?

This is too long for a comment. If you want $0$ to be a regular value of $f$, then this should be possible iff there is a smooth isometric embedding to $R^n$ with trivial normal bundle (for any dimens …
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9 votes
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When can a surface in a 3-manifold be isotoped off a knot?

Let’s assume that the manifold $M$ is irreducible and orientable and the surface $S$ is orientable. This is to avoid 1-sided surfaces. First let’s assume that the surface $S$ is fully compressible. T …
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18 votes
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Very particular kind of 4-manifolds. Classification

There are plenty of such manifolds, but as Danny indicates in his answer, there is not a known classification. Take any acyclic group $G$ with a finite aspherical 2-complex $C$ with $\pi_1(C)=G$. Then …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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6 votes
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Irreducibility of 3-manifolds with (non)empty boundary

You're asking how reducibility/irreducibility behaves under drilling and filling. I think you've captured the essence of drilling: if a link is "sphere busting" in a reducible manifold (meets every es …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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8 votes
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Realizing Morse functions on $S^2$ as height functions

Any Morse function on $S^2$ may be realized by an embedding $S^2\hookrightarrow \mathbb{R}^3 \to \mathbb{R}$. For a Morse function $F:S^2\to \mathbb{R}$, take the equivalence relation with equivalence …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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43 votes

Is differential topology a dying field?

I don't think differential topology is a dying field. I'll interpret this as the classification of smooth manifolds and, more broadly, maps between them (immersions, embeddings, diffeomorphism group …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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4 votes

Classification of oriented vector bundles of rank 5 over closed oriented 5-manifolds

I don't know how to answer this question completely, but I'll make some observations. The oriented vector bundles over $M$ are classified by homotopy classes of maps $f:M\to \tilde{G}_5$, the orient …
Ian Agol's user avatar
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6 votes
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On limits of manifolds

In general, this will be false. Examples are found among solenoidal manifolds, defined by Sullivan. For example, 1-dimensional solenoids. Many of these are obtained by taking the inverse limit of fi …
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