\(3\)-manifold invariants and periodicity of homology spheres (Q1851218)

Let \(G\) be a finite group and \(M\) an oriented 3-manifold. One of the most intriguing questions in low dimensional topology is whether the group \(G\) acts nontrivially on \(M\). Some progress in solving this problem has been made using classical algebraic and geometric tools. The paper under review suggests a new approach for studying this problem. Let \(p\) be a prime; a 3-manifold is said to be \(p\)-periodic if it admits a semi-free action of the cyclic group \(\mathbb Z/p\mathbb Z\) with a circle as the fixed point set. The main result obtained in the paper is a criterion for periodicity of homology spheres. More precisely, it is shown that the Reshetikhin-Turaev-Witten invariants of a \(p\)-periodic homology sphere satisfy some congruence modulo \(p\), if \(p\) is an odd prime. As an application, it is shown that the Brieskorn manifold of type \((2,|n|,|2n-1|)\) is not \(p\)-periodic for some values of \(p\).