Reducing the number of fixed points of some homeomorphisms on nonprime \(3\)-manifolds (Q2491522)

A finite polyhedron \(X\) has the Wecken property if every selfmap of \(X\) is homotopic to a map with exactly the Nielsen number \(N(f)\) fixed points. The space has the Wecken property for homeomorphisms if every selfhomeomorphism \(f\) of \(X\) is isotopic to a homeomorphism with \(N(f)\) fixed points. Among closed manifolds of dimension \(n\), the Wecken property for homeomorphisms obviously holds if \(n = 1\), it was established for \(n = 2\) by \textit{B. Jiang} and \textit{J. Guo} [Pac. J. Math. 160, 67--89 (1993; Zbl 0829.55001)] and for \(n \geq 5\) by \textit{M. R. Kelly} [Topology Appl. 62, 127--143 (1995; Zbl 0839.55002)]. \textit{B. Jiang, S. Wang} and \textit{Y.-Q. Wu} [Commun. Anal. Geom. 9, 825--877 (2001; Zbl 1015.55002)] proved that if \(X\) is an oriented 3-manifold that is either geometric or Haken and \(f\) is an orientation-preserving homeomorphism of \(X\), then \(f\) is isotopic to a homeomorphism with \(N(f)\) fixed points. In the present paper, \(X\) is an oriented 3-manifold that is nonprime, that is, it is a connected sum of two or more irreducible manifolds and/or copies of \(S^2 \times S^1\). By a theorem of \textit{D. McCullough} [Banach Center Publ. 18, 61--76 (1986; Zbl 0637.57009)], the selfhomeomorphisms of \(X\) are compositions of homeomorphisms of four types. This paper is concerned with those homeomorphisms that are compositions of one of those types, called ``slide homeomorphisms''. A slide homeomorphism is the identity outside a certain stratified open neighborhood of a torus called its ``sliding set''. Earlier work of the author [Topology Appl. 136, 169--188 (2004; Zbl 1042.55002)] focused on homeomorphisms that are the composition of two slide homeomorphisms, whereas the present paper allows any number to be composed. Delicate geometric constructions of isotopies permit the author to reduce the size of the fixed point set of a composition of slide homeomorphisms. The number of fixed points remaining is, in general, greater than \(N(f)\) and depends on the self-intersection structure of the sliding sets. The number of fixed points obtained in this way furnishes an upper bound estimate of the value of \(N(f)\) for such a homeomorphism \(f\).