Virtual Betti numbers and virtual symplecticity of 4-dimensional mapping tori (Q2249623)

\(vb_1(M)=\max\{b_1(\widetilde M)\}\in\mathbb Z_{\geq 0}\cup\{\infty\}\) is called the virtual first Betti number of a manifold \(M\), where \(\widetilde M\) is a finite cover of \(M\). \textit{I. Agol} [Doc. Math., J. DMV 18, 1045--1087 (2013; Zbl 1286.57019)], showed that if \(Y\) is a closed irreducible \(3\)-manifold, then (i) \(vb_1(Y)=0\) if \(Y\) is a spherical manifold, (ii) \(vb_1(Y)\) is equal to either \(1\), or \(2\), or \(3\), depending on whether the monodromy of the \(T^2\)-bundle is Anosov, or reducible, or periodic if \(Y\) is finitely covered by a \(T^2\)-bundle over \(S^1\), (iii) \(vb_1(Y)=\infty\) in all other situations. In this paper, the authors compute the virtual first Betti numbers of 4-manifolds fibering over \(S^1\) with prime fiber. They show that if \(X\) is a closed \(4\)-manifold which fibers over the circle with prime fiber \(Y\), then (i) \(vb_1(X)=1\) if \(Y\) is a spherical manifold, (ii) \(vb_1(X)\leq 4\) if \(Y\) is \(S^1\times S^2\) or finitely covered by a \(T^2\)-bundle over \(S^1\), (iii) \(vb_1(X)=\infty\) in all other cases. Also, they show that if \(X=Y\rtimes S^1\) is a symplectic \(4\)-manifold with prime \(Y\), then (i) \(Y=S^2\times S^1\) and \(X=S^2\times T^2\) when the Kodaira dimension \(\kappa(X)=-\infty\), and \(Y\) is a \(T^2\)-bundle over \(S^1\) and \(X\) is a \(T^2\)-bundle over \(T^2\) when \(\kappa(X)=0\). Furthermore, they prove that if \(Y\) is a closed \(3\)-manifold finitely covered by \(F\rtimes S^1\) and \(X=Y\rtimes S^1\), then \(X\) is virtually symplectic unless its virtual first Betti number is \(1\).