Virtual homological torsion of closed hyperbolic 3-manifolds (Q2354905)

It is known by work of Agol and Lück, respectively, that the first Betti numbers of finite covers \(M_n\) of a fixed hyperbolic \(3\)-manifold \(M\) can go to infinity, but do so with less than linear growth: \(\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{b_1(M_n)}{\left[\pi_1M:\pi_1M_n\right]}=0\). On the other hand, it is conjectured that the order of the torsion subgroup of \(H_1(M_n;{\mathbb Z})\) grows exponentially in \(\left[\pi_1M:\pi_1M_n\right]\). The paper under review contributes to the understanding of the homology torsion by proving that for a fixed hyperbolic \(3\)-manifold \(M\) and any finitely generated abelian group \(A\), one will find a finite cover \(N\) such that \(A\) is a direct summand of \(H_1(N;{\mathbb Z})\). The proof of this result reduces to the case \(A={\mathbb Z}/p{\mathbb Z}\) and for this case the author gives two different arguments. One of them (which only proves the slightly weaker statement that \(A\) embeds into \(H_1(N;{\mathbb Z})\)) uses the LERF property of \(3\)-manifold groups, the other argument uses the virtual retract property. Both arguments use the approach of \textit{J. Kahn} and \textit{V. Markovic} [Ann. Math. (2) 175, No. 3, 1127--1190 (2012; Zbl 1254.57014)], which the author modifies to prove the existence of an immersed, \(\pi_1\)-injective \(2\)-complex \(f: X_p\to M\) such that \(\mathrm{Tor}(H_1(X_p,{\mathbb Z}))={\mathbb Z}/p{\mathbb Z}\). For the first argument, the LERF property is then used to construct an intermediate cover into which the compact core of the cover corresponding to \(f_*(\pi_1X_p)\) embeds. The second argument uses that \(3\)-manifold groups are virtually special, thus \(\pi_1M\) can be assumed to be the fundamental group of a special cube complex. Since quasi-convex subgroups of special groups are virtual retracts by \textit{F. Haglund} and \textit{D. T. Wise} [Geom. Funct. Anal. 17, No. 5, 1551--1620 (2008; Zbl 1155.53025)], one has a finite cover \(N\) with an inclusion \(i:\pi_1X_p\to \pi_1N\) and a homomorphism \(r:\pi_1N\to\pi_1X_p\) such that \(r\circ i=id\), which gives the wanted result.