Almost normal surfaces with boundary (Q2867791)

A surface \(S\) inside a triangulated \(3\)-manifold \(M\) that intersects each \(3\)-simplex such that each component of the intersection is a triangle or a quadrilateral is called a normal surface. The concept is due to Hellmuth Kneser, and it has been used to prove the prime decomposition theorem for \(3\)-manifolds. In 1992, Hyam Rubinstein introduced the notion of almost normal surface, which has been a major breakthrough in the theory of topological algorithms. An almost normal surface intersects each \(3\)-simplex in \(M\) in a collection of triangles or quadrilaterals, with one exception.NEWLINENEWLINEThe first author of the present paper showed that every non-peripheral, strongly irreducible surface can be \(\partial\)-compressed (possibly zero times) to a surface that is either also \(\partial\)-strongly irreducible or is essential, and hence normal. The paper under review studies the non-normal case and addresses that it is almost normal.NEWLINENEWLINE{Theorem 1.1.} Let \(H\) be a strongly irreducible and \(\partial\)-strongly irreducible surface in a \(3\)-manifold \(M\) with triangulation \(\mathcal{T}\). Then \(H\) is isotopic to a surface that is almost normal with respect to \(\mathcal{T}\).NEWLINENEWLINESome partial and related results were due to different authors, Stocking and Rubinstein (when \(M\) is closed), Bachman, Coward, Rieck-Sedgwick, Wilson, and Johnson (when \(M\) has boundary).NEWLINENEWLINEThe main result in the present paper has both fewer hypotheses and a stronger conclusion than previous results, and is useful for attacking various questions such as Dehn surgery related problems.NEWLINENEWLINEFor the entire collection see [Zbl 1272.57002].