Surface subgroups of Kleinian groups with torsion (Q2655171)

A version of the surface subgroup conjecture in 3-manifold topology states that the fundamental group of any closed hyperbolic 3-manifold contains a surface subgroup (the fundamental group of a closed orientable surface of positive genus). Gromov asked the more general question: does every infinite, word-hyperbolic group which is not virtually free contain a surface subgroup? In this context, the main result of the present paper states that any finitely generated Kleinian group \(\Gamma\) (discrete subgroup of PSL(2,\(\mathbb C\))) that contains a finite, non-cyclic subgroup either is finite or virtually free or contains a surface subgroup (the hypothesis implies that the singular set of the orbifold \({\mathcal O} = \mathbb H^3/\Gamma\) contains a vertex). Since this is well-known for non-compact orbifolds, the main case to be proved is that of a closed hyperbolic 3-orbifold. By a result of the present author, \textit{D. D. Long} and \textit{A. W. Reid} [Int. Math. Res. Not. 2008, Article ID rnn036, 38 p. (2008; Zbl 1155.57022)] any arithmetic Kleinian group is commensurable with one that contains \(\mathbb Z_2 \times \mathbb Z_2\), so the main result of the paper implies that every arithmetic Kleinian group contains a surface group. The proof of the main result, though purely a statement about hyperbolic 3-orbifolds, uses the recent solution of the geometrization conjecture for 3-manifolds by Perelman in an essential way, and specifically its consequence that a closed orientable 3-manifold with infinite fundamental group is either hyperbolic or has a finite cover with positive first Betti number (and in the second case the existence of a surface subgroup is well-known). This is applied to the underlying 3-manifold, with infinite fundamental group, of a suitable finite orbifold cover of \({\mathcal O} = \mathbb H^3/\Gamma\). Now it is known that any closed hyperbolic 3-manifold has a sequence of infinite covers whose Cheeger constants converge to zero (again by a result of the present author, \textit{D. D. Long} and \textit{A. W. Reid} [Geom. Topol. 12, No.~4, 2047--2056 (2008; Zbl 1157.57009)]), and from this the existence of a surface subgroup is deduced.