Hyperbolic spatial graphs arising from strongly invertible knots (Q1877613)

In the present paper, the spatial graph associated to the so called \(n/2\)-fold cyclic branched covering of a strongly invertible knot is taken into account, and the question of its hyperbolicity (i.e., whether it admits a complete hyperbolic structure with each toric end being a cusp neighbourhood and each non-toric one being a totally geodesic boundary) is investigated for \(n \geq 3\). Note that, for example, \textit{S. Suzuki's} Brunnian graph \(\theta_n\) (see [Kobe J. Math. 1, 19--22 (1984; Zbl 0565.57008)]) is the \(n/2\)-fold cyclic branched covering of the trefoil knot \(\theta_2\); it is already known that \(\theta_n\) is hyperbolic for any \(n \geq 3\) (see [\textit{L. Paoluzzi} and \textit{B. Zimmermann}, Geom. Dedicata 60, No. 2, 113--123 (1996; Zbl 0857.57009)]). The author proves that the n/2-fold cyclic branched covering of a non-trivial strongly invertible knot \(K\) in \(S^3\) is a hyperbolic spatial graph for any \(n \geq 3\) if and only if there is no essential torus, nor a pair of tori in the exterior of \(K \cup a\) (where \(a\) is the axis of the involution) being equivalent to the action of the involution. As a consequence, it is also proved that for any torus link and for any \(n \geq 3\), the \(n/2\)-fold cyclic branched covering is not a hyperbolic spatial graph. This result improves a previous one, by the same author, dealing only with torus knots, see [the author, RIMS Kokyuroku 1223, 119--126 (2001; Zbl 0991.57501)].