Synopses & Reviews
The book is concerned with one of the most interesting and important topological invariants of 3-dimensional manifolds based on an original idea of Kurt Reidemeister (1935). This invariant, called the maximal abelian torsion, was introduced by the author in 1976. The purpose of the book is to give a systematic exposition of the theory of maximal abelian torsions of 3-manifolds. Apart from publication in scientific journals, many results are recent and appear here for the first time. Topological properties of the torsion are the main focus. This includes a detailed description of relations between the torsion and the Alexander-Fox invariants of the fundamental group. The torsion is shown to be related to the cohomology ring of the manifold and to the linking form. The reader will also find a definition of the torsion norm on the 2-homology of a 3-manifold, and a comparison with the classical Thurston norm. A surgery formula for the torsion is provided which allows to compute it explicitly from a surgery presentation of the manifold. As a special case, this gives a surgery formula for the Alexander polynomial of 3-manifolds. Treated in detail are a number of relevant notions including homology orientations, Euler structures, and Spinc structures on 3-manifolds. Relations between the torsion and the Seiberg-Witten invariants in dimension 3 are briefly discussed. Students and researchers with basic background in algebraic topology and low-dimensional topology will benefit from this monograph. Previous knowledge of the theory of torsions is not required. Numerous exercises and historical remarks as well as a collection of open problems complete the exposition.
Review
"This is an excellent exposition about abelian Reidemeister torsions for three-manifolds." --Zentralblatt Math "The present monograph covers in great detail the work of the author spanning almost three decades. ...[Establishing an explicit formula given a 3-manifold] is a truly remarkable feat... This monograph contains a wealth of information many topologists will find very handy. ...Many of the new points of view pioneered by Turaev are gradually becoming mainstream and are spreading beyond the pure topology world. This monograph is a timely and very useful addition to the scientific literature." --Mathematical Reviews
Synopsis
Three-dimensional topology includes two vast domains: the study of geometric structures on 3-manifolds and the study of topological invariants of 3-manifolds, knots, etc. This book belongs to the second domain. We shall study an invariant called the maximal abelian torsion and denoted T. It is defined for a compact smooth (or piecewise-linear) manifold of any dimension and, more generally, for an arbitrary finite CW-complex X. The torsion T(X) is an element of a certain extension of the group ring Z Hl(X)]. The torsion T can be naturally considered in the framework of simple homotopy theory. In particular, it is invariant under simple homotopy equivalences and can distinguish homotopy equivalent but non homeomorphic CW-spaces and manifolds, for instance, lens spaces. The torsion T can be used also to distinguish orientations and so-called Euler structures. Our interest in the torsion T is due to a particular role which it plays in three-dimensional topology. First of all, it is intimately related to a number of fundamental topological invariants of 3-manifolds. The torsion T(M) of a closed oriented 3-manifold M dominates (determines) the first elementary ideal of 7fl (M) and the Alexander polynomial of 7fl (M). The torsion T(M) is closely related to the cohomology rings of M with coefficients in Z and ZjrZ (r; 2). It is also related to the linking form on Tors Hi (M), to the Massey products in the cohomology of M, and to the Thurston norm on H2(M)."
Synopsis
From the reviews: "This is an excellent exposition about abelian Reidemeister torsions for three-manifolds." --Zentralblatt Math "This monograph contains a wealth of information many topologists will find very handy. ...Many of the new points of view pioneered by Turaev are gradually becoming mainstream and are spreading beyond the pure topology world. This monograph is a timely and very useful addition to the scientific literature." --Mathematical Reviews