Symplectic 4-manifolds, singular plane curves, and isotopy problems
arXiv:math/0411233
Abstract
We give an overview of various recent results concerning the topology of symplectic 4-manifolds and singular plane curves, using branched covers and isotopy problems as a unifying theme. While this paper does not contain any new results, we hope that it can serve as an introduction to the subject, and will stimulate interest in some of the open questions mentioned in the final section.
15 pages, 2 figures; to appear in Proceedings of the CMI Summer School on Floer Homology, Gauge Theory, and Low Dimensional Topology (Budapest, 2004)