Boundary reducible handle additions on simple 3-manifolds (Q1034247)

Let \(M\) be a simple 3-manifold and \(F\) a component of \(\partial M\) of genus two. It is shown in this paper that there is at most one separating slope \(\gamma\) on \(F\) such that \(M(\gamma)\), the 2-handle addition to \(M\) along \(\gamma\), is \(\partial\)-reducible. The proof uses the graphical method of Litherland-Gordon-Luecke, by showing that if there are two separating slopes \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) on \(F\) such that \(M(\alpha)\) and \(M(\beta)\) are \(\partial\)-reducible, then one arrives at a contradiction by analyzing the graphs on boundary-reducing disks of \(M(\alpha)\) and \(M(\beta)\) obtained from the intersection of these disks lying in \(M\). Using the same method, it is proved that in the case \(F\) is a component of \(\partial M\) of genus at least 2, and \(M(\alpha)\) and \(M(\beta)\) are two separating slopes on \(F\), if the union of components of \(\partial M\) other than \(F\) is compressible in \(M(\alpha)\) and in \(M(\beta)\), and if the new components of \(\partial M(\alpha)\) (and \(\partial M(\beta)\)) arising from the handle addition are incompressible in \(M(\alpha)\) (and \(M(\beta)\) respectively), then the minimum geometric intersection number of \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) is less than or equal to 2.