Triple products and cohomological invariants for closed 3-manifolds (Q2518788)

Let \(Y\) be a closed oriented 3-manifold, \(H=H^1(Y;\mathbb{Z})\) and \(H^*=\text{Hom} (H,\mathbb{Z})\), and let \(\mu_Y\in\wedge^3H^*\) be the 3-form defined by \(\mu_Y(a,b,c)=\langle{a}\cup{b}\cup{c},[Y]\rangle\), for \(a,b,c\in{H}\). This ``triple product'' is used to define a differential on the graded group \(\wedge^*H\otimes\mathbb{Z}[U,U^{-1}]\) (in which the unit \(U\) has degree \(-2\)). The resulting ``cup homology'' \(HC^\infty_*(Y)\) is conjecturally the \(E^\infty\) term of a spectral sequence converging to the version of Heegaard-Floer homology \(HF^\infty(Y,\mathfrak{s})\), for any torsion \(\text{Spin}^c\) structure \(\mathfrak{s}\) on \(Y\). If \(b=\beta_1(Y)>0\) then \(h(Y)=\text{rank} HC^\infty_q(Y)\) is independent of \(q\). (If \(b=0\) set \(h(Y)=\frac12\).) The main results are estimates for \(h(Y)\) in terms of \(b\), the equation \(h(Y_1\# Y_2)=2h(Y_1)h(Y_2)\) for connected sums (which implies that if \(h(Y)\) is odd then \(Y\) is rationally irreducible) and an elaboration of the conjectural relationship with Heegard-Floer homology.