Featured Speaker: Isaac Sundberg (Bryn Mawr)

Title: The Khovanov homology of slice disks.

Abstract:
A smooth, oriented surface that is properly embedded in the 4-ball can be regarded as a cobordism between the links it bounds, namely, the empty link and its boundary in the 3-sphere. To such link cobordisms, there is an associated linear map between the Khovanov homology groups of the boundary links, and moreover, these maps are invariant, up to sign, under boundary-preserving isotopy of the surface. In this talk, we review these maps and use their invariance to understand the existence and uniqueness of slice disks and other surfaces in the 4-ball. This reflects joint work with Jonah Swann and joint work with Kyle Hayden.

Zoom Info Available Upon Request.
Email: conwaya@mit.edu

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