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     

Symmetric group actions on homotopy S 2 × S 2

Let X be a closed smooth 4-manifold which is homotopy equivalent to S ² × S ². In this paper we use Seiberg-Witten theory to prove that if X admits a spin symmetric group S ₄ action of even type with b ₂ ⁺ (X/S ₄) = b ₂ ⁺ (X), then as an element of R (S ₄), Ind _S4 D _X = k ₁ (1 − θ) + k ₂(ψ₁ − ψ₂) for some integers k ₁ and k ₂, where 1, θ, ψ₁, ψ₂ are irreducible characters of S ₄ of degree 1, 1, 3, and 3 respectively. Authors’ address: Ximin Liu and Hongxia Li, Department of Applied Mathematics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, P.R. China     

A Note on Surfaces Bounding Hyperbolic 3-Manifolds

We consider the problem of whether a given hyperbolic surface occurs as the totally geodesic boundary of a compact hyperbolic 3-manifold (as some or as the only boundary component). We discuss some explicit examples of hyperbolic surfaces, in particular the surface associated to the small stellated dodecahedron (one of the four Kepler-Poinsot polyhedra) which is the boundary of a hyperbolic icosahedral 3-manifold.     

Partial Actions of Groups on Cell Complexes

 In this paper, we study partial group actions on 2-complexes. Our results include a characterization, in terms of generating sets, of when a partial group action on a connected 2-complex has a connected globalization. Using this result, we give a short combinatorial proof that a group acting without fixed points on a connected 2-complex, with finite quotient, is finitely generated. This result is then generalized to characterize finitely generated groups as precisely those groups having a partial action, without fixed points, on a finite tree, with a connected globalization. Finally, using Bass-Serre theory, we determine when a partial group action on a graph has a globalization which is a tree. The author was supported in part by NSF-NATO postdoctoral fellowship DGE-9972697, by Praxis XXI scholarship BPD 16306 98 and by FCT through Centro de Matemática da Universidade do Porto. Received September 20, 2001; in revised form June 25, 2002     

Hyperbolic Structures and Measured Foliations on 2-Dimensional Complexes

 In this paper, we introduce hyperbolic structures and measured foliations on 2-dimensional complexes and we describe moduli spaces for these structures. Received November 19, 2001; in revised form August 5, 2002 Published online February 28, 2003     

Comparing Semigroup and Monoid Presentations for Finite Monoids

 It is known that for any finite group G given by a finite group presentation there exists a finite semigroup presentation for G of the same deficiency, i.e. satisfying . It is also known that the analogous statement does not hold for all finite monoids. In this paper we give a necessary and sufficient condition for a finite monoid M, given by a finite monoid presentation, to have a finite semigroup presentation of the same deficiency. (Received 17 April 2001; in revised form 15 September 2001)     

Class-Preserving Coleman Automorphisms of Finite Groups

 Let G be a finite group whose Sylow 2-subgroups are either cyclic, dihedral, or generalized quaternion. It is shown that a class-preserving automorphism of G of order a power of 2 whose restriction to any Sylow subgroup of G equals the restriction of some inner automorphism of G is necessarily an inner automorphism. Interest in such automorphisms arose from the study of the isomorphism problem for integral group rings, see [6, 7, 13, 14]. Received 30 September 2001; in revised form 10 December 2001     

The LMO-invariant of 3-manifolds of rank one and the Alexander polynomial

We prove that the LMO-invariant of a 3-manifold of rank one is determined by the Alexander polynomial of the manifold, and conversely, that the Alexander polynomial is determined by the LMO-invariant. Furthermore, we show that the Alexander polynomial of a null-homologous knot in a rational homology 3-sphere can be obtained by composing the weight system of the Alexander polynomial with the ?rhus invariant of knots. Received February 14, 2000 / Published online October 11, 2000     

On symplectic cobordisms

In this note we make several observations concerning symplectic cobordisms. Among other things we show that every contact 3-manifold has infinitely many concave symplectic fillings and that all overtwisted contact 3-manifolds are “symplectic cobordism equivalent”. Received: 26 March 2001 / Revised version: 1 May 2001 / Published online: 28 February 2002     

Constructing infinitely many smooth structures on $3\mathbb{CP}^2 \# n\overline{\mathbb{CP}}^2$

Using Seiberg-Witten theory and rational blow-down procedures of R. Fintushel and R.J. Stern, we construct infinitely many irreducible smooth structures, both symplectic and non-symplectic, on the four-manifold for each integer n lying in the interval . Received: 17 January 2000 / Published online: 18 January 2002     

On an Extremal Problem About the Arc-Length of Algebraic Polynomials

In this work we investigate polynomials of maximal (minimal) arc-length in the interval [−1, 1] amongst all monic polynomials of fixed degree n with n real zeros in [−1, 1].     

On abelian quantum invariants of links in 3-manifolds

From a finite abelian group G, a quadratic form onG and an element in , we define a topological invariant of a pair(M,L) where is a closed oriented 3-manifold and L an oriented, framedn-component link inM. The main result consists in an explicit formula for this invariant, based on a reciprocity formula for Gauss sums, which features a special linking pairing. This pairing depends on both the quadratic form q and the linking pairing of M. A necessary and sufficient condition for the invariant to vanish is described in terms of a characteristic class for this pairing. We also discuss torsion spin-structures and related structures which appear in this context. Received May 13, 1998 / Accepted November 11, 1999 / Published online February 5, 2001     

Circularity of Finite Groups without Fixed Points

Let be a fixed point free group given by the presentation where and are relative prime numbers, t = /s and s = gcd( – 1,), and is the order of modulo . We prove that if (1) = 2, and (2) is embeddable into the multiplicative group of some skew field, then is circular. This means that there is some additive group N on which acts fixed point freely, and |((a)+b)((c)+d)| 2 whenever a,b,c,d N, a0c, are such that (a)+b(c)+d.     

Nielsen realization for 3-manifolds containing two-sided projective planes

For compact irreducible sufficiently large 3-manifolds containing 2-sided projective planes, we consider the following Realization Problem: Given a finite subgroup of the outer automorphism group of the fundamental group, is there a finite group of homeomorphisms, which induces this subgroup? Received: 16 November 1999; in final form: 18 January 2001 / Published online: 8 November 2002     

Finite volume schemes for nonhomogeneous scalar conservation laws: error estimate

Summary. In this paper, we study finite volume schemes for the nonhomogeneous scalar conservation law with initial condition . The source term may be either stiff or nonstiff. In both cases, we prove error estimates between the approximate solution given by a finite volume scheme (the scheme is totally explicit in the nonstiff case, semi-implicit in the stiff case) and the entropy solution. The order of these estimates is in space-time -norm (h denotes the size of the mesh). Furthermore, the error estimate does not depend on the stiffness of the source term in the stiff case. Received October 21, 1999 / Published online February 5, 2001     

Orbits of Inner Mapping Groups

 Several new tools are developed dealing with multiplication groups of loops. One of them is based upon the theorem that the inner mapping group of a loop never acts faithfully on any of its orbits, unless it is trivial. The applications include an analysis of loops whose inner mapping group is nonabelian of order pq. Some important earlier results are proved anew in a shorter way. (Received 5 March 2001; in revised form 11 June 2001)     

Finite maximal orientation reversing group actions on handlebodies and 3-manifolds

We study arbitrary (that is not necessarily orientation preserving) finite group actions on 3-dimensional orientable or nonorientable handlebodies of genus g. For g>1, the maximal possible order is 24(g−1); we characterize the corresponding groups of this order and also the occuring quotient orbifolds. Then we use this to study finite group actions of large order (with respect to the equivariant Heegaard genus g) on closed 3-manifolds, again concentrating on the maximal case of order 24(g−1). Our results extend corresponding results in the orientation preserving setting. Whereas for arbitrary finite group actions on handlebodies much more types of quotient orbifolds occur than in the orientation preserving case, it turns out that for closed 3-manifolds the situation is quite rigid, in contrast to the orientation preserving case where one has many possibilities to construct manifolds with large group actions.     

Singhof fillings of closed 3-manifolds

We give a complete classification of all closed, connected 3-manifolds which admit a Singhof filling with any number of solid tori. Received: 15 March 2001 / Revised version: 17 September 2001     

Kauffman bracket skein module of a connected sum of 3-manifolds

We show that for the Kauffman bracket skein module over the field of rational functions in variable A, the module of a connected sum of 3-manifolds is the tensor product of modules of the individual manifolds. Received: 12 January 1998 / Revised version: 15 September 1999