Involutions of nonirreducible 3-manifolds (Q2640196)

The author studies involutions of a finite connected sum of closed compact 3-manifolds where each summand has infinite first homology. Let M denote such a manifold, and f and g involutions of M inducing the same outer automorphism on \(\pi_ 1(M)\). Part of the main theorem asserts the existence of a set U and a (slide) homeomorphism k on M so that \(k^{- 1}gk=f\) on M-U. The set U is a union of f-invariant regular neighborhoods of a set of f-invariant noncontractible 2-spheres no subcollection of which bounds a punctured ball and on which f preserves the sides. Additional conditions including the existence of a fixed point set of dimension \(\leq 1\) are given which assure \(k^{-1}gk=f\) on all of M. Another theorem is proved asserting \(k^{-1}gk=f\) under the same hypotheses given above along with different additional conditions including the existence of a fixed point set for f of dimension 2. These results are said to extend those of \textit{J. L. Tollefson} in ``Involutions of sufficiently large 3-manifolds'' [Topology 20, 323-352 (1981; Zbl 0469.57031)].