Nœuds Fox-résiduellement nilpotents et rigidité virtuelle des variétés hyperboliques de dimension 3. (Fox-residually nilpotent knots and virtual rigidity of hyperbolic 3-manifolds) (Q1266226)

Given a knot \(k\) in a 3-manifold \(M\), such that \(k\) represents a nontrivial element of \(\pi_1 (M)\), which is not a power \((k\) is primitive), the author defines the ``Fox group'' of \(k\). The Fox group of \(k\), \(\text{Fox} (M,k)\) is \(\pi_1 (\widetilde M-\text{int} \widetilde {N(k)})\), where the \(\widetilde{\;}\) means universal covering and \(N(k)\) is a regular neighborhood of \(k\). \(\text{Fox}(M,k)\) is the kernel of the map induced by inclusion of \(\pi_1 (M-N(k))\) in \(\pi_1 (M)\). If \(\text{Fox} (M,k)\) is residually nilpotent (the intersection of the lower central series is 1) then \(k\) is said to be Fox-residually nilpotent. The author gives a new proof of Gabai's theorem: If \(M,N\) are homotopy equivalent orientable, irreducible closed 3-manifolds and \(M\) is hyperbolic, then there are coverings of \(M\) and \(N\) of the same degree so that the lift of the homotopy equivalence to these coverings is homotopic to a homeomorphism. A more general theorem is proved; namely if \(f:M\to N\) is a homotopy equivalence between orientable, closed 3-manifolds with infinite fundamental group and there exists in \(N\) a primitive nontrivial knot \(k\) such that \(f^{-1} (k)=k'\) is a satellite knot of a knot which is Fox-residually nilpotent, then \(f\) is homotopic to a homeomorphism. The proof uses standard techniques of algebra and topology in dimension 3. That Gabai's theorem follows from the author's depends on a result of T. Sakai.