Related papers: Handle number one links and generalized property R

We show that, for any integers, $g \geq 3$ and $n \geq 2$, there exists a link in $S^3$ such that its complement has a genus $g$ Heegaard splitting with distance $n$.

Let $M_1$ and $M_2$ be orientable irreducible 3--manifolds with connected boundary and suppose $\partial M_1\cong\partial M_2$. Let $M$ be a closed 3--manifold obtained by gluing $M_1$ to $M_2$ along the boundary. We show that if the gluing…

In this paper, we show that, for each non-trivial two bridge knot K and for each g > 2, every genus g Heegaard splitting of the exterior E(K) of K is reducible.

The generalized Property R conjecture (GPRC) predicts that if framed surgery on an $n$-component link $L$ in $S^3$ produces $\#^{n} (S^1\times S^2)$, then $L$ is handleslide equivalent to an unlink, the obvious way to construct such a…

We show that the members of a large class of unbalanced four-manifold trisections are standard, and we present a family of trisections that is likely to include non-standard trisections of the four-sphere. As an application, we prove a…

A manifold which admits a reducible genus-$2$ Heegaard splitting is one of the $3$-sphere, $S^2 \times S^1$, lens spaces or their connected sums. For each of those splittings, the complex of Haken spheres is defined. When the manifold is…

For a boundary-reducible $3$-manifold $M$ with $\partial M$ a genus $g$ surface, we show that if $M$ admits a genus $g+1$ Heegaard surface $S$, then the disk complex of $S$ is simply connected. Also we consider the connectedness of the…

Let M be a closed, irreducible, genus two 3-manifold, and F a maximal collection of pairwise disjoint, closed, orientable, incompressible surfaces embedded in M. Then each component manifold M_i of M-F has handle number at most one, i.e.…

In a previous paper we introduced a notion of "genericity" for countable sets of curves in the curve complex of a surface S, based on the Lebesgue measure on the space of projective measured laminations in S. With this definition we prove…

A knot K in the 3-sphere is said to have Property nR if, whenever K is a component of an n-component link L and some integral surgery on L produces the connected sum of n copies of S^1 x S^2, there is a sequence of handle slides on L that…

Following an example discovered by John Berge, we show that there is a 4-component link L \subset (S^1 x S^2)#(S^1 x S^2) so that, generically, the result of Dehn surgery on L is a 3-manifold with two inequivalent genus 2 Heegaard…

There is a relation between the generalized Property R Conjecture and the Schoenflies Conjecture that suggests a new line of attack on the latter. The approach gives a quick proof of the genus 2 Schoenflies Conjecture and suffices to prove…

The manifold which admits a genus-$2$ reducible Heegaard splitting is one of the $3$-sphere, $\mathbb{S}^2 \times \mathbb{S}^1$, lens spaces and their connected sums. For each of those manifolds except most lens spaces, the mapping class…

A gap in a paper of Rubinstein-Scharlemann is explored: new examples are found of closed orientable 3-manifolds with possibly multiple genus 2 Heegaard splittings. Properties common to all the examples in the original paper are not…

We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a simple closed curve on the boundary of a genus two handlebody to decompose the handlebody into (torus with one boundary component times [0,1]. We use this condition to decide whether a…

We show that sub-surfaces of a Heegaard surface for which the relative Hempel distance of the splitting is sufficiently high have to appear in any Heegaard surface of genus bounded by half that distance.

A Heegaard splitting of a closed, orientable three-manifold satisfies the disjoint curve property if the splitting surface contains an essential simple closed curve and each handlebody contains an essential disk disjoint from this curve…

We prove that the mapping class groups of the genus 3 Heegaard splittings of the connected sum of two lens spaces are finitely generated, and the corresponding reducing sphere complexes are all connected.

We show that if $V^3$ is a handlebody in $\R^3$, with curves $J_1, ..., J_g \subset \partial V$ which are the attaching curves for a Heegaard splitting of a homology sphere, then there exists a homeomorphism $h\colon V \to V$ so that each…

Let M and M' be simple 3-manifolds, each with connected boundary of genus at least two. Suppose that M and M' are glued via a homeomorphism between their boundaries. Then we show that, provided the gluing homeomorphism is `sufficiently…