Geometric filtrations of string links and homology cylinders (Q260210)

A major difficulty in classifying links with more than one component is that there is no useful algebraic structure on the set of concordance classes. This problem does not arise for string links (or disc links in higher dimensions), for stacking defines a monoid structure on the set of isotopy classes, which in turn induces a group structure on the set \(\mathbb{SL}(\mu)\) of concordance classes of \(\mu\)-component string links. Closure defines a natural surjection from string links to links. The induced map on concordance classes is constant on conjugacy classes in the domain. This paper extends ideas used in studying geometric filtrations of the classical knot concordance group to corresponding results for string links. The results are further extended to the group of homology cobordism classes of 3-dimensional homology cylinders. The untwisted and twisted Whitney filtrations define descending central series in the group \(\mathbb{SL}(\mu)\). The kernel of the nilpotent Artin representation of the quotient of \(\mathbb{SL}(\mu)\) by ``order \(n\) twisted Whitney concordance'' in \(Aut(F(\mu)/F(\mu)_{[n+2]})\) is a finite 2-group. (The image is known.) Several different sets of representatives for generators of the kernel are given. The Goussarev-Habiro filtration, defined by concordance and surgeries on claspers with \(n\) nodes, refines the untwisted Whitney filtration. These ideas extend to homology cobordism classes of 3-dimensional homology cylinders. An idea due to Habegger is used to construct a geometric map from string links to homology cylinders which induces group isomorphisms on the successive subquotients of the Goussarev-Habiro filtrations of the concordance and cobordism groups. Related results confer (or refine) conjectures of Levine when \(n\) is even (respectively, odd). This enables an almost complete computation of the target groups for higher Whitney tower intersection invariants.