Non-isotopic surfaces in $T^4\#(S^2\times S^2)$: an example

Abstract

We prove that there exist infinitely many embedded tori with a common geometric dual in $T^4\#(S^2\times S^2)$ that are homotopic, diffeomorphic, but not isotopic to each other, even after arbitrary many external stabilizations. These surfaces are obtained by applying the Norman trick to a fixed immersed surface, using non-homotopic tubing arcs. The isotopy classes of these surfaces are distinguished by homotopy classes of the 2-handles (relative to the boundary) in the complement of the image of the $0$- and $1$-handles.