On large orientation-reversing finite group-actions on 3-manifolds and equivariant Heegaard decompositions

We consider finite group-actions on closed, orientable and nonorientable 3-manifolds; such a finite group-action leaves invariant the two handlebodies of a Heegaard splitting of M of some genus g. The maximal possible order of a finite group-action of an orientable or nonorientable handlebody of genus $$g>1$$ is $$24(g-1)$$, and in the present paper we characterize the 3-manifolds M and groups G for which the maximal possible order $$|G| = 24(g-1)$$ is obtained, for some G-invariant Heegaard splitting of genus $$g>1$$. If M is reducible then it is obtained by doubling an action of maximal possible order $$24(g-1)$$ on a handlebody of genus g. If M is irreducible then it is a spherical, Euclidean or hyperbolic manifold obtained as a quotient of one of the three geometries by a normal subgroup of finite index of a Coxeter group associated to a Coxeter tetrahedron, or of a twisted version of such a Coxeter group.     

A survey on large finite group actions on graphs,surfaces and 3-manifolds

We give a survey on large finite group actions on low-dimensional objects such as graphs, surfaces, handlebodies and closed 3-manifolds, and also on large finite subgroups of the outer automorphism groups of their fundamental groups (free groups and surface groups) and of linear groups GL (n, ℤ); in particular we discuss recent results on maximal orders in various situations.     

On medial links and hyperbolic 3-manifolds with large isometry groups

Starting from the regular Platonic solids we construct links, generalizing the Borromean rings, with few components but large finite symmetry groups. We consider the 3-manifolds obtained by equivariant surgeries on these links, most of them hyperbolic, and the quotient orbifolds obtained from these group actions, among them various of the smallest known hyperbolic 3-orbifolds. Also, various of the manifolds obtained by equivariant surgery on these links are maximally symmetric hyperbolic 3-manifolds.     

Finite Groups Acting on Homology 3-Spheres: On a Result of M. Reni

 We give a list including all finite groups G which admit smooth orientation preserving actions on homology 3-spheres (arbitrary actions, i.e. possibly with fixed points; if the action is free then the group G has periodic cohomology and the classification of such groups is well known). The main work in this direction is due to M. Reni. In the present paper, we complete and extend his results for the case of nonsolvable groups G. Received 19 March 2001; in revised form 15 September 2001     

A note on hyperbolic 3-manifolds of the same volume

We describe a method for constructing an arbitrary number of closed hyperbolic 3-manifolds of the same volume. In fact we prove that many hyperbolic 3-manifolds of finite volume have an arbitrary number of non-homeomorphic finite convering spaces of the same degree and hence the same volume. This applies, for example, to all hyperbolic 3-manifolds whose universal covering group is a subgroup of finite index in a Coxeter group generated by the reflections in the faces of a hyperbolic Coxeter polyhedron. It also applies to all hyperbolic 3-manifolds of finite volume with at least one cusp.     

The elliptic genus on non-spin even 4-manifolds

We prove the rigidity under circle actions of the elliptic genus on oriented non-spin closed smooth 4-manifolds with even intersection form.     

Finite Group Actions with Fixed Points on Homology 3-Spheres

 If a finite group acts freely on a homology 3-sphere, then it has periodic cohomology. To say that a finite group F has periodic cohomology is equivalent to say that any Sylow subgroup of F of odd order is cyclic and a Sylow 2-subgroup of F is either cyclic or a quaternion group. In this paper we consider more generally smooth actions of finite groups G on homology 3-spheres which may have fixed points. We prove that any Sylow subgroup of G of odd order is either cyclic or the direct sum of two cyclic groups. Moreover, we show that if G has odd order, then it splits as a semidirect product of a subgroup A and a normal subgroup B such that B acts freely and there exist some simple closed curves in the homology 3-sphere which are fixed pointwise by some non-trivial element of A. We discuss the relation between these algebraic results and some classical constructions of the theory of 3-manifolds. Received 25 September 1997; in revised form 2 June 1998     

Orientation-reversing free actions on handlebodies

We examine free orientation-reversing group actions on orientable handlebodies, and free actions on nonorientable handlebodies. A classification theorem is obtained, giving the equivalence classes and weak equivalence classes of free actions in terms of algebraic invariants that involve Nielsen equivalence. This is applied to describe the sets of free actions in various cases, including a complete classification for many (and conjecturally all) cases above the minimum genus. For abelian groups, the free actions are classified for all genera.     

On the topological classification of pseudofree group actions on 4-manifolds: II

This paper is concerned with the algebraic aspects of the classification of pseudofree, locally linear group actions on a simply connected 4-manifold, particularly with the splitting and stability properties of the associated Hermitian intersection module and its isometry group. Our main result is the proof of stability of the equivariant intersection form for a large class of pseudofree actions. We also prove a topological rigidity theorem stating that two locally linear, pseudofree actions on a closed, oriented, simply connected 4-manifold, with the equivariant intersection forms indefinite and of rank at least 3 at each irreducible character, are topologically conjugate by an orientation preserving homeomorphism if and only if their oriented local representations at the corresponding fixed points are linearly equivalent.Partially supported by the N.S.F.     

Finite group actions on bordered surfaces of small genus

This paper considers finite group actions on compact bordered surfaces — quotients of unbordered orientable surfaces under the action of a reflectional symmetry. Classification of such actions (up to topological equivalence) is carried out by means of the theory of non-euclidean crystallographic groups, and determination of normal subgroups of finite index in these groups, up to conjugation within their automorphism group. A result of this investigation is the determination, up to topological equivalence, of all actions of groups of finite order 6 or more on compact (orientable or non-orientable) bordered surfaces of algebraic genus p for 2≤p≤6. We also study actions of groups of order less than 6, or of prime order, on bordered surfaces of arbitrary algebraic genus p≥2.     

The Cannon–Thurston map for punctured-surface groups

Let Γ be the fundamental group of a compact surface group with non-empty boundary. We suppose that Γ admits a properly discontinuous strictly type preserving action on hyperbolic 3-space such that there is a positive lower bound on the translation lengths of loxodromic elements. We describe the Cannon–Thurston map in this case. In particular, we show that there is a continuous equivariant map of the circle to the boundary of hyperbolic 3-space, where the action on the circle is obtained by taking any finite-area complete hyperbolic structure on the surface, and lifting to the boundary of hyperbolic 2-space. We deduce that the limit set is locally connected, hence a dentrite in the singly degenerate case. Moreover, we show that the Cannon–Thurston map can be described topologically as the quotient of the circle by the equivalence relations arising from the ends of the quotient 3-manifold. For closed surface bundles over the circle, this was obtained by Cannon and Thurston. Some generalisations and variations have been obtained by Minsky, Mitra, Alperin, Dicks, Porti, McMullen and Cannon. We deduce that a finitely generated kleinian group with a positive lower bound on the translation lengths of loxodromics has a locally connected limit set assuming it is connected.     

The minimal genus problem for elliptic surfaces

We solve a certain case of the minimal genus problem for embedded surfaces in elliptic 4-manifolds. The proofs involve a restricted transitivity property of the action of the orientation preserving diffeomorphism group on the second homology. In the case we consider we get the minimal possible genus allowed by the adjunction inequality.     

The topological structure of 3-pseudomanifolds

A 3-pseudomanifold (briefly 3-pm) is a finite connected simplicial 3-complex in which the link of every vertex is a closed 2-manifold. Such a link issingular if it is not a sphere. It is proved that for a preassigned list Σ of closed 2-manifolds (other than spheres), there is a 3-pm in which the list of singular links is precisely Σ, iff the number of the non-orientable members in Σ with odd genus is even. Close relationship is found between 3-pms and 3-manifolds with boundary. This yields a simple proof for the 2-dimensional case of Pontrjagin-Thom’s theorem (i.e., necessary and sufficient condition for a 2-manifold to bound a 3-manifold). The concept of a 3-pm is generalized to higher dimensions.     

On 4-manifolds homotopy equivalent to circle bundles over 3-manifolds

We give criteria for a closed 4-manifold to be homotopy equivalent to the total space of an S¹-bundle over a closed 3-manifold. In the aspherical case the conditions are that the Euler characteristic be 0 and that the fundamental group have an infinite cyclic normal subgroup such that the quotient group has one end and finite cohomological dimension. Under further assumptions on this quotient group we characterize the total spaces of such bundles over -or H² × E¹-manifolds and over E³-, Nil³- or Sol³-manifolds up to s-cobordism and homeomorphism respectively.     

Finite covers of random 3-manifolds

A 3-manifold is Haken if it contains a topologically essential surface. The Virtual Haken Conjecture posits that every irreducible 3-manifold with infinite fundamental group has a finite cover which is Haken. In this paper, we study random 3-manifolds and their finite covers in an attempt to shed light on this difficult question. In particular, we consider random Heegaard splittings by gluing two handlebodies by the result of a random walk in the mapping class group of a surface. For this model of random 3-manifold, we are able to compute the probabilities that the resulting manifolds have finite covers of particular kinds. Our results contrast with the analogous probabilities for groups coming from random balanced presentations, giving quantitative theorems to the effect that 3-manifold groups have many more finite quotients than random groups. The next natural question is whether these covers have positive betti number. For abelian covers of a fixed type over 3-manifolds of Heegaard genus 2, we show that the probability of positive betti number is 0.In fact, many of these questions boil down to questions about the mapping class group. We are led to consider the action of the mapping class group of a surface Σ on the set of quotients π₁(Σ)→Q. If Q is a simple group, we show that if the genus of Σ is large, then this action is very mixing. In particular, the action factors through the alternating group of each orbit. This is analogous to Goldman’s theorem that the action of the mapping class group on the SU(2) character variety is ergodic. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 57M50, 57N10     

Three-manifolds with Heegaard genus at most two represented by crystallisations with at most 42 vertices

It is known that every closed compact orientable 3-manifold M can be represented by a 4-edge-coloured 4-valent graph called a crystallisation of M. Casali and Grasselli proved that 3-manifolds of Heegaard genus g can be represented by crystallisations with a very simple structure which can be described by a 2(g+1)-tuple of non-negative integers. The sum of first g+1 integers is called complexity of the admissible 2(g+1)-tuple. If c is the complexity then the number of vertices of the associated graph is 2c. In the present paper we describe all prime 3-manifolds of Heegaard genus two described by 6-tuples of complexity at most 21.     

Free actions of finite abelian groups on handlebodies

We show that two free actions of a finite abelian group (of orientation preserving homeomorphisms) on a handlebody are equivalent. Moreover, the free genus of such a group is determined.     

The Thurston norm, fibered manifolds and twisted Alexander polynomials

Every element in the first cohomology group of a 3-manifold is dual to embedded surfaces. The Thurston norm measures the minimal ‘complexity’ of such surfaces. For instance the Thurston norm of a knot complement determines the genus of the knot in the 3-sphere. We show that the degrees of twisted Alexander polynomials give lower bounds on the Thurston norm, generalizing work of McMullen and Turaev. Our bounds attain their most concise form when interpreted as the degrees of the Reidemeister torsion of a certain twisted chain complex. We show that these lower bounds give the correct genus bounds for all knots with 12 crossings or less, including the Conway knot and the Kinoshita-Terasaka knot which have trivial Alexander polynomial.We also give obstructions to fibering 3-manifolds using twisted Alexander polynomials and detect all knots with 12 crossings or less that are not fibered. For some of these it was unknown whether or not they are fibered. Our work in particular extends the fibering obstructions of Cha to the case of closed manifolds.     

Generating pairs and group actions

An action of a finite group on a closed 2-manifold is called almost free if it has a single orbit of points with nontrivial stabilizers. It is called large when the order of the group is greater than or equal to the genus of the surface. We prove that the orientation-preserving large almost free actions of G on closed orientable surfaces correspond to the Nielsen equivalence classes of generating pairs of G  . We classify the almost free actions on the surfaces of genera 3 and 4, find the large almost free actions of the alternating group _A5$A_5$, and give various other examples.     

The first homology of the group of equivariant diffeomorphisms and its applications

Let V be a representation space of a finite group G. We determinethe group structure of the first homology of the equivariantdiffeomorphism group of V. Then we can apply it to the calculationof the first homology of the corresponding automorphism groupsof smooth orbifolds, compact Hausdorff foliations, codimensionone or two compact foliations and the locally free S¹-actionson 3-manifolds. Received November 5, 2007.