Rigidity and symmetry of cylindrical handlebody-knots (Q6046550)

The basic objects of the paper are handlebody-knots of genus two, i.e. genus-two handlebodies embedded in \(S^3\) (generalizing the genus-one case of classical knot theory). General handlebody-knots can be classified into four classes: reducible; irreducible toroidal; irreducible atoroidal cylindrical; hyperbolic (the exterior admits a hyperbolic metric with totally geodesic boundary). \textit{K. Funayoshi} and \textit{Y. Koda} showed [Q. J. Math. 71, No. 1, 175--196 (2020; Zbl 1437.57028)] that the symmetry group (the group of isotopy classes of homeomorphisms of \(S^3\) preserving the handlebody) of a genus-two handlebody-knot is finite if and only if it is either hyperbolic, or irreducible, atoroidal and cylindrical (the exterior contains an essential annulus); not much is known about the structure of these finite symmetry groups (in contrast to the symmetry groups of knots which are cyclic or dihedral). Based on a theorem of \textit{Y. Koda} et al. [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 367, No. 4, 2875--2904 (2015; Zbl 1310.57015)], essential annuli in a genus-two handlebody knot exterior can be classified into seven types, of which only four can occur in an irreducible, atoroidal handlebody-knot exterior. ``We show that under mild conditions most genus-two cylindrical handlebody-knot exteriors contain no essential disks or tori, and when a Type 3.3 annulus exists, it is often unique up to isotopy; a classification result for symmetry groups of such cylindrical handlebody-knots is also obtained'' (proving that they are subgroups of \(\mathbb{Z}_2 \times \mathbb{Z}_2\)). As an application, the author obtains the symmetry groups of two handlebody-knots in the list of handlebody-knots up to six crossings due to \textit{A. Ishii} et al. [J. Knot Theory Ramifications 21, No. 4, 1250035, 9 p. (2012; Zbl 1236.57015)] (but for most elements of the list the symmetry group remains unknown).