An alternative proof of Lickorish-Wallace theorem (Q387200)

A closed surface \(F\) in a closed orientable \(3\)-manifold \(M\) is called a Heegaard splitting if we obtain two handlebodies, say \(V\) and \(W\) when we cut \(M\) along \(F\). We write \(M= V \cup_F W\). In [Topology 40, No. 3, 631--657 (2001; Zbl 0985.57014)], \textit{J. Hempel} introduced the notion of distance of a Heegaard splitting. It is known that a \(3\)-manifold which admits a Heegaard splitting of distance at least \(3\) is hyperbolic. The distance \(d(\alpha, \beta)\) between two essential simple closed curves \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) in a closed orientable surface \(F\) is the smallest integer \(n\) such that there is a sequence of essential simple closed curves \(\alpha=\alpha_0, \alpha_1, \cdots, \alpha_n = \beta\) in \(F\) with \(\alpha_{i-1} \cap \alpha_i = \emptyset\) for any \(i \in \{ 1,2,\cdots, n \}\). Then the distance of a Heegaard splitting \(M = V \cup_F W\), denoted by \(d(F)\), is the minimal number of \(d(\alpha, \beta)\) over all simple closed curves \(\alpha\) which bound a disk in \(V\) and all simple closed curves \(\beta\) which bound a disk in \(W\). In the paper under review, the notions of s-distances \(s(\alpha, \beta)\), \(s(F)\) are introduced by substituting the condition \(\lq\lq \alpha_{i-1}\) and \(\alpha_i\) intersect transversely in a single point'' for the condition \(\lq\lq \alpha_{i-1} \cap \alpha_i = \emptyset\)''. Then \((d(F)/2)+1 \leq s(F) \leq 2d(F)\) holds if \(g(F) \geq 2\) and \(d(F)>0\). It is also shown that a Heegaard splitting \(M=V \cup_F W\) of s-distance \(s(F)\) with \(s(F) \geq 2\) can be deformed into another stabilized Heegaard splitting \(M' = V' \cup_F W\) by a certain Dehn surgery on a certain link of \(s(F)-1\) components in int\,\(V\) such that each component of the link could be isotoped into \(F\) in \(V\). Here \(\lq\lq\)stabilized'' means that there are two essential disks, one in each of \(V'\) and \(W\) such that their boundary circles intersect each other transverly in a single point, and \(M'\) admits a Heegaard splitting of lower genus. (More precisely, let \(\alpha_0, \alpha_1, \cdots, \alpha_{s(F)}\) be the simple closed curves in \(F\) as in the definition of s-distance, then we can obtain the link with components \(\ell_1, \ell_2, \cdots, \ell_{s(F)-1}\) by pushing \(\alpha_1, \alpha_2, \cdots, \alpha_{s(F)-1}\) into int\,\(V\) one by one in this order. The \(i\)-th surgery is performed on the component \(\ell_i\) along the slope such that \(\alpha_i\) bounds a disk after the surgery.) This implies the fundamental theorem of surgery theory which was originally shown in [\textit{W. B. R. Lickorish}, Ann. Math. (2) 76, 531--540 (1962; Zbl 0106.37102)] and [\textit{A. H. Wallace}, Can. J. Math. 12, 503--528 (1961; Zbl 0108.36101)].