Stable maps and branched shadows of 3-manifolds (Q522649)

Given a compact 3-manifold \(M\) with torus boundary components and a link \(L\) in \(M\), the authors define the \textit{branched shadow complexity,} denoted \(\mathrm{bsc}(M,L)\), of the pair \((M,L)\) to be the minimum number of vertices in any branched shadow of \((M,L)\) and define the \textit{stable map complexity,} denoted \(\mathrm{smc}(M,L)\) to be the minimum weighted count of the components of the singular fibers of any stable map \(f : M \rightarrow {\mathbb R}^2\). The main theorem is that \(\mathrm{bsc}(M,L) = \mathrm{smc}(M,L)\). The inequality \(\mathrm{bsc}(M,L) \leq \mathrm{smc}(M,L)\) follows easily from a result in [\textit{F. Costantino} and \textit{D. Thurston}, J. Topol. 1, No. 3, 703--745 (2008; Zbl 1166.57016)]. The authors construct a stable map from a given branched shadow to prove the reverse inequality. Using this theorem they characterize hyperbolic links in the 3-sphere with \(\mathrm{smc} = 1\) in terms of Dehn surgeries and investigate relations between stable maps and hyperbolic volume.