A surgery formula for the \(\overline{\mu}\)-invariant (Q1578889)

The \(\overline{\mu}\)-invariant is an integral valued invariant for graph homology \(3\)-spheres, and is defined by \textit{W. D. Neumann} [Lect. Notes Math. 788, 125-144 (1980; Zbl 0436.57002)] and \textit{L. Siebenmann} [ibid., 172-222 (1980; Zbl 0444.57003)]. Let \(\Sigma\) be an integral homology \(3\)-sphere, \(k\) a graph knot in \(\Sigma\), \(\Sigma'\) the graph homology sphere obtained by a \((\pm 1)\)-surgery of \(\Sigma\) along \(k\), and \(\overline{K}\) the graph homology \(S^1 \times S^2\) obtained by \(0\)-surgery along \(k\). Theorem 1 gives the formula \(\overline{\mu}(\Sigma') = \overline{\mu}(\Sigma) \pm \overline{\mu}' (\overline{K})\), where the \(\overline{\mu}'\)-invariant is introduced in this paper as below. The modulo 2 reduction of \(\overline{\mu}'(\overline{K})\) equals the Arf-invariant of the knot \(k \subset \Sigma\). We recall some definitions: A graph knot is obtained by glueing Seifert fibered 3-manifolds and solid tori, one of them contains the knot as a core. We sketch the definition of \(\overline{\mu}'(M)\). A graph \(3\)-manifold \(M\) bounds a \(4\)-manifold \(P\) obtained by plumbing disc bundles over \(2\)-spheres. Consider the equation \(v \cdot x = x \cdot x\) mod \(2\), for all \(x \in H_2 (P; {\mathbb{Z}})\). It has exactly two solutions \(v_1, v_2\) in \(H_2 (P; {\mathbb{Z}}/2)\) when \(M\) is an integral homology \(S^1 \times S^2\). Their certain lifts \(w_0, w_1 \in H_2 (P ; {\mathbb{Z}})\) are called integral homology Wu classes. Then \(\overline{\mu}'(M)\) is defined to be \(\frac 18(w_0 \cdot w_0 w_1 \cdot w_1)\) up to a sign. In the course of the proof, we see that the \(\overline\mu\)-invariant can be extended to an invariant of a spin structure of a graph manifold, that an integral homology \(S^1 \times S^2\) has exactly two spin structures \(\gamma_0\), \(\gamma_1\), and that \(\overline{\mu}'(\overline{K}) = \overline\mu(\overline K,\gamma_1)-\overline{\mu}(\overline{K}, \gamma_0)\). (An integral homology \(3\)-sphere admits a unique spin-structure.) A graph 3-manifold \(M\) is a double branched cover of the \(3\)-sphere with the branch set a (generalized) Montesinos link \(L\). Spin structures on \(M\) are in one-to-one correspondence with quasi-orientations of \(L\), where an orientation and the reversed one give the same quasi-orientation. Theorem 5 shows that \(\overline{\mu}(M, \gamma)=\frac 18 \text{sign}(L)\), where sign\((L)\) is the signature of the quasi-oriented link \(L\), with the quasi-orientation corresponding to \(\gamma\). For a fiber \(k\) in a Seifert fibered homology sphere, Theorem 2 shows that \(2 \overline{\mu}'(\overline{K}) = \pm (-b_0-b_1+b_2+b_3)\) where \(b_n\) is the \(n\)th Betti number of the Floer homology \(I_n(\overline{K})\). We can regard \(\overline{K}\) as a double branched cover of \(S^3\) with the branch set a \(2\)-components Montesinos link \(\ell_1 \cup \ell_2\). Corollary 3 shows lk\((\ell_1, \ell_2)=\pm 4(-b_0-b_1+b_2+b_3)\), where \(\text{lk}(\ell_1,\ell_2)\) is the linking number.