English

A complete invariant for closed surfaces in the three-sphere

Geometric Topology 2021-03-09 v2 Algebraic Topology

Abstract

Associated to an embedded surface in the 33-sphere, we construct a diagram of fundamental groups, and prove that it is a complete invariant, wherefrom we deduce complete invariants of handlebody links, tunnels of handlebody links, and spatial graphs.The main ingredients in the proof of the completeness are a generalization of the Kneser conjecture for 33-manifolds with boundary proved also here, and extensions of Waldhausen's theorem by Evans, Tucker and Swarup. Computable invariants of handlebody links derived therefrom are calculated.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1909.09328,
  title  = {A complete invariant for closed surfaces in the three-sphere},
  author = {Giovanni Bellettini and Maurizio Paolini and Yi-Sheng Wang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1909.09328},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

20 pages, 6 figures, proof of the main theorem simplified, following referee's report; section 6 restructured: Theorem 1.4 in v1 removed due to a gap in its proof; a new example added

R2 v1 2026-06-23T11:20:59.404Z