On L-spaces and left-orderable fundamental groups (Q2392796)

An L-space is a rational homology \(3\)-sphere \(Y\) such that the rank of its (hat version of) Heegaard Floer homology \(\widehat{HF}(Y)\) agrees with the order of its 1st integral homology group \(H_{1}(Y;\mathbb{Z})\). A group \(G\) is left-orderable if \(G\) admits a total ordering which is invariant under the left action of \(G\). The authors formalize a conjecture which has been circulated a while: An irreducible 3-manifold is an L-space if and only if its fundamental group is not left-orderable. They provide some supporting evidence and various techniques to investigate the conjecture. In particular they prove the conjecture for non-hyperbolic geometric 3-manifolds. The most difficult and technical part is a proof for Sol 3-manifolds, the assertion that a torus semi-bundle \(Y\) whose fundamental group is not left-orderable is an L-space. As the authors write, to prove that such manifolds are L-spaces, simple approaches that avoid calculation of Heegaard Floer homology, like expressing \(Y\) as a double branched covering along a quasi-alternating link or to use surgery exact sequences, fail since such methods do not cover all torus semi-bundles. Their proof uses and computes bordered Heegaard Floer homology, an extension for Heegaard Floer homology for manifolds with connected boundary. They also prove the fundamental group of a double branched covering of an alternating link, which is the most familar construction of an L-space, is not left-orderable. In a different direction, they give several examples and arguments for Dehn surgeries along a knot to yield a manifold with left-orderable fundamental group by using taut foliations or character varieties.