On representation varieties of 3-manifold groups (Q2356956)

In this paper the authors prove so-called ``Murphy's laws'' for the representation varieties of 3-manifold groups, showing that the local geometry of the \(PO(3)\)- and \(SL_2(\mathbb C)\)-representation varieties are essentially unrestricted. More precisely, for any rational point \(x\) on any affine scheme \(X\) over \(\mathbb Q\), there is an open subscheme \(X'\) and a scheme isomorphism from a \(PO(3)\)-invariant subscheme \(R'\) of the representation scheme which respects the \(PO(3)\)-action taking \(R'\) to \(X' \times (PO(3))^{k+1}\) for some integer \(k\) and realizing \(x\) as a real point in \(R'\). For \(SL_2(\mathbb C)\) the authors obtain a regular étale covering of schemes rather than a scheme isomorphism. In both cases, the local geometry descends to the character schemes, so in particular if \(X\) is nonreduced at \(x\) then the representation varieties and the character varieties are nonreduced at the corresponding 3-manifold representations. These results join a growing body of such universality theorems regarding moduli spaces of geometric objects, including results of \textit{N. E. Mnev} in [Lect. Notes Math. 1346, 527--543 (1988; Zbl 0667.52006)]; of \textit{J. Richter-Gebert} in [Realization spaces of polytopes. Berlin: Springer (1997; Zbl 0866.52009)]; of the authors of the paper reviewed here in [Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 88, 5--95 (1998; Zbl 0982.20023), Prog. Math. 172, 237--270 (1999; Zbl 0936.14010), and Topology 41, No. 6, 1051--1107 (2002; Zbl 1056.14077)]; of \textit{R. Vakil} in [Invent. Math. 164, No. 3, 569--590 (2006; Zbl 1095.14006)]; of \textit{S. Payne} in [Compos. Math. 144, No. 5, 1199--1213 (2008; Zbl 1159.14021)]; and of \textit{I. A. Rapinchuk} in [Math. Res. Lett. 22, No. 2, 579--604 (2015; Zbl 1330.20071)].