arXiv research

Proves regularity of isomorphisms between hyperbolic 3-manifolds.

Generalized Agol's theorem to 3-manifold groups.

In this short note, we show that the twisted Alexander polynomial associated to a parabolic SL(2,C)-representation detects genus and fibering of the twist knots. As a corollary, a conjecture of Dunfield, Friedl and Jackson is proved for the hyperbolic twist knots.

Using Seifert fibered three-manifold examples of Boileau and Zieschang, we demonstrate that the Reshetikhin-Turaev quantum invariants may be used to provide a sharp lower bound on the Heegaard genus which is strictly larger than the rank of the fundamental group.

Algorithm calculates $L^2$-Euler characteristic for complex spaces.

We study Dehn surgeries on null-homotopic knots that yield fibred $3$--manifolds when an additional (but natural) homological restriction is imposed. The major tool used is Gabai's theory of sutured manifold decomposition. Such surgeries are negative examples to a question of Michel Boileau. Another result we will prov…

In this short note we use methods of Friedl, Livingston and Zentner to show that there are knots that are not algebraically concordant to a connected sum of positive and negative L-space knots.

We answer a question of Aschenbrenner and Friedl regarding virtual $p$-efficiency for 3-manifold groups. We then study conjugacy $p$-separability and prove results for Fuchsian groups, Seifert fibre spaces and graph manifolds.

A three-dimensional closed orientable orbifold (with no bad suborbifolds) is known to have a geometric decomposition from work of Perelman along with earlier work of Boileau-Leeb-Porti and Cooper-Hodgson-Kerckhoff. We give a new, logically independent, unified proof of the geometrization of orbifolds, using Ricci flow.…

This paper provides two obstructions to small knot complements in $S^3$ admitting hidden symmetries. The first obstruction is being cyclically commensurable with another knot complement. This result provides a partial answer to a conjecture of Boileau, Boyer, Cebanu, and Walsh. We also provide a second obstruction to a…

We decribe and announce some results (joint with G. Besson, L. Bessieres, M. Boileau and J.Porti) about the geometry and topology of 3-manifolds. Most of the article is primarily intended as an introduction for nonexperts to geometrization of 3-manifolds, Ricci flow with surgery, and the simplicial volume approach to c…

We characterize the quasiprojective groups that appear as fundamental groups of compact $3$-manifolds (with or without boundary). We also characterize all closed $3$-manifolds that admit good complexifications. These answer questions of Friedl--Suciu, \cite{fs}, and Totaro \cite{tot}

We study the Newton polytopes of determinants of square matrices defined over rings of twisted Laurent polynomials. We prove that such Newton polytopes are single polytopes (rather than formal differences of two polytopes); this result can be seen as analogous to the fact that determinants of matrices over commutative …

Null-homotopic knots in certain 3-manifolds are uniquely identified by their complements.

In this paper we show that the twisted Alexander polynomial associated to a parabolic representation determines fiberedness and genus of a wide class of 2-bridge knots. As a corollary we give an affirmative answer to a conjecture of Dunfield, Friedl and Jackson for infinitely many hyperbolic knots.

We consider the question, asked by Friedl, Livingston and Zentner, of which sums of torus knots are concordant to alternating knots. After a brief analysis of the problem in its full generality, we focus on sums of two torus knots. We describe some effective obstructions based on Heegaard Floer homology.

We study the generalization of quasipositive links from the three-sphere to arbitrary closed, orientable three-manifolds. Our main result shows that the boundary of any smooth, properly embedded complex curve in a Stein domain is a quasipositive link. This generalizes a result due to Boileau and Orevkov, and it provide…

We calculate the twisted Alexander polynomials of $(-2,3,2n+1)$-pretzel knots associated to their holonomy representations. As a corollary, we obtain new supporting evidences of Dunfield, Friedl and Jackson's conjecture, that is, the twisted Alexander polynomials of hyperbolic knots associated to their holonomy represe…

Friedl and Kim show any taut sutured manifold can be realized as a twisted homology product, but their proof gives no practical description of how complicated the realizing representation needs to be. We give a number of results illustrating the relationship between the topology of a taut sutured handlebody and the com…

We show that recent results of Friedl-Vidussi and Chen imply that a symplectic manifold admits a fixed point free circle action if and only if it admits a symplectic circle action and we give a complete description of the symplectic cone in this case. This then completes the characterisation of symplectic 4-manifolds t…

This paper explores the relationship between the existence of an exact embedded Lagrangian filling for a Legendrian knot in the standard contact $\rr^3$ and the hierarchy of positive, strongly quasi-positive, and quasi-positive knots. On one hand, results of Eliashberg and especially Boileau and Orevkov show that every…

The coefficients of twisted Alexander polynomials of a knot induce regular functions of the $SL_2(\mathbb{C})$-character variety. We prove that the function of the highest degree has a finite value at an ideal point which gives a minimal genus Seifert surface by Culler-Shalen theory. It implies a partial affirmative an…

Simon's knot genus problem solved with 3-manifold groups.

In this paper we apply the twisted Alexander polynomial to study the fibering and genus detecting problems for oriented links. In particular we generalize a conjecture of Dunfield, Friedl and Jackson on the torsion polynomial of hyperbolic knots to hyperbolic links, and confirm it for an infinite family of hyperbolic 2…

Study on pretzel knots showing cyclic branched covers are L-spaces.

We use a link invariant defined by Cimasoni-Florens to compute ρ-invariants. This generalizes results of Cochran-Teichner and Friedl on knots to the setting of links. As an application, we prove with only twelve possible exceptions that the twist knots of algebraic order two are linearly independent in the topological …

Suppose that $X$ is a torus bundle over a closed surface with homologically essential fibers. Let $X_K$ be the manifold obtained by Fintushel--Stern knot surgery on a fiber using a knot $K\subset S^3$. We prove that $X_K$ has a symplectic structure if and only if $K$ is a fibered knot. The proof uses Seiberg--Witten th…

New method classifies $\mathbb C$-boundaries up to 6 crossings.

Study shows how to embed any group into the first homology of a 3-manifold cover.

It was shown by Bonahon-Otal and Hodgson-Rubinstein that any two genus-one Heegaard splittings of the same 3-manifold (typically a lens space) are isotopic. On the other hand, it was shown by Boileau, Collins and Zieschang that certain Seifert manifolds have distinct genus-two Heegaard splittings. In an earlier paper, …

In this paper, we show that any non-arithmetic hyperbolic $2$-bridge link complement admits no hidden symmetries. As a corollary, we conclude that a hyperbolic $2$-bridge link complement cannot irregularly cover a hyperbolic $3$-manifold. By combining this corollary with the work of Boileau and Weidmann, we obtain a ch…

Study uses twisted Alexander polynomials to link fibered classes in 3-manifolds.

Proves connection between $\ell^2$-Betti numbers and BNSR invariants.

Defines a new knot invariant and studies its properties.

This note contains two remarks about the application of the d-invariant in Heegaard Floer homology and Donaldson's diagonalization theorem to knot theory. The first is the equivalence of two obstructions they give to a 2-bridge knot being smoothly slice. The second carries out a suggestion by Stefan Friedl to replace t…

The paper classifies algebraic curves in 4-balls and their boundaries.

Recently twisted and higher order Alexander polynomials were used by Cochran, Harvey, Friedl--Kim and Turaev to give lower bounds on the Thurston norm. We first show how Reidemeister torsion relates to these Alexander polynomials. We then give lower bounds on the Thurston norm in terms of the Reidemeister torsion which…

In this paper, we prove a conjecture of Friedl and Powell that their Casson-Gordon type invariant of 2-component link with linking number one is actually an obstruction to being height 3.5 Whitney tower/grope concordant to the Hopf Link. The proof employs the notion of solvable cobordism of 3-manifolds with boundary, w…

We prove global rigidity for compact hyperbolic and spherical cone-3-manifolds with cone-angles $\leq π$ (which are not Seifert fibered in the spherical case), furthermore for a class of hyperbolic cone-3-manifolds of finite volume with cone-angles $\leq π$, possibly with boundary consisting of totally geodesic hyperbo…

Alexander polynomial condition blocks crossing changes in some knots.

New groups can't be fundamental groups of symplectic Calabi-Yau manifolds.

Homologically fibered knots are knots whose exteriors satisfy the same homological conditions as fibered knots. In our previous paper, we observed that for such a knot, higher-order Alexander invariants defined by Cochran, Harvey and Friedl are generally factorized into the part of the Magnus matrix and that of a certa…

We give a new proof that the Levine-Tristram signatures of a link give lower bounds for the minimal sum of the genera of a collection of oriented, locally flat, disjointly embedded surfaces that the link can bound in the 4-ball. We call this minimal sum the 4-genus of the link. We also extend a theorem of Cochran, Frie…

New Thurston norm defined for a specific type of groups using $L^2$-invariants.

We give two infinite families of examples of closed, orientable, irreducible 3-manifolds $M$ such that $b_1(M)=1$ and $π_1(M)$ has weight 1, but $M$ is not the result of Dehn surgery along a knot in the 3-sphere. This answers a question of Aschenbrenner, Friedl and Wilton, and provides the first examples of irreducible…

New Milnor's invariant condition for topologically slice links.

The paper calculates ribbon numbers for 12-crossing knots using Alexander polynomials.

The splitting number of a link is the minimal number of crossing changes between different components required to convert it into a split link. We obtain a lower bound on the splitting number in terms of the (multivariable) signature and nullity. Although very elementary and easy to compute, this bound turns out to be …