Hyperbolicity of links in thickened surfaces (Q1731360)

The main result of this paper is that if $S$ is a closed orientable surface, then a prime, fully alternating link $L$ in the thickened surface $S\times I$ is hyperbolic, that is, the complement $S\times I \backslash L$ supports a hyperbolic metric. By definition $L$ is prime in $S\times I$ if there does not exist an essential twice-punctured sphere in $S\times I \backslash L$ such that both punctures are created by $L$, and it is fully alternating if its projection onto $S$ is alternating on $S$ and the interior of the closure of every complementary region is an open disk. \par The proof of the main result builds on techniques in [\textit{W. Menasco}, Topology 23, 37--44 (1984; Zbl 0525.57003)]. As in Menasco's paper, the authors also provide an easy way to check whether a link is prime. \par In addition they extend their main result to prime fully alternating links $L$ in a neighborhood of an essential closed surface $S$ in an orientable, hyperbolic 3-manifold $M$. Some related recent papers are [\textit{A. Champanerkar} et al., J. Lond. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 99, No. 3, 807--830 (2019; Zbl 1456.57004)] and [\textit{J. A. Howie} and \textit{J. S. Purcell}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 373, No. 4, 2349--2397 (2020; Zbl 1441.57007)].