Slicing the Hopf link

Slava Krushkal (Virginia)

Abstract: The Hopf link may be thought of as the most robust link in 3-space. Surprisingly, there is a generalized sense in which the Hopf link is "slice" while the Borromean rings are not. The talk will describe a construction of submanifolds of the 4-ball with unusual properties, based on the properties of the Milnor group.