Degree one maps between small 3-manifolds and Heegaard genus (Q2571390)

It was observed by Kneser, Haken and Waldhausen that a degree one map \(M \to N\) between two closed, orientable 3-manifolds is homotopic to a map which is a homeomorphism outside a handlebody corresponding to one side of a Heegaard splitting of \(N\). This fact is known as ``any degree one map between 3-manifolds is homotopic to a pinch''. A main result of the paper is the following rigidity theorem. Let \(M\) and \(N\) be two closed, small 3-manifolds. If there is a degree one map \(f : M \to N\) which is a homeomorphism outside an irreducible submanifold \(H \subset N\), then either: (1) There is a component \(U\) of \(H\) which carries \(\pi_1 N\) and such that Heegaard genuses satisfy the inequality \(g(U) \geq g(N)\), or (2) \(M\) and \(N\) are homeomorphic. Many interesting applications of this result are provided.