Dehn filling and the geometry of unknotting tunnels (Q357729)

The theme of the paper under review is the geometric study of unknotting tunnels in hyperbolic \(3\)-manifolds. Let \(X\) be a compact orientable \(3\)-manifold whose boundary consists of one or two tori, and whose interior is hyperbolic. An unknotting tunnel for \(X\) is a properly embedded arc whose exterior is a genus two handlebody. This paper deals with three problems about unknotting tunnels raised by \textit{C. Adams} [Math. Ann. 302, No. 1, 177--195 (1995; Zbl 0830.57009)], \textit{M. Sakuma} and \textit{J. Weeks} [Jap. J. Math., New Ser. 21, No. 2, 393--439 (1995; Zbl 0858.57021)]. Adams showed that every unknotting tunnel of a two-cusped hyperbolic manifold is isotopic to a geodesic. The first theorem says that if \(X\) has two cusps and \(X(\mu)\) is obtained by a generic Dehn filling on one cusp of \(X\), then the unknotting tunnel of \(X(\mu)\) associated to an unknotting tunnel of \(X\) is isotopic to a geodesic in the hyperbolic metric on \(X(\mu)\). The Dehn filling along slope \(\mu\) is said to be generic if the slope \(\mu\) and another shortest slope \(\lambda\) meeting \(\mu\) once are sufficiently long. Also, Adams gave a universal upper bound for the length of unknotting tunnels of two-cusped hyperbolic manifolds. However, this does not hold for one-cusped hyperbolic manifolds by \textit{D. Cooper, M. Lackenby} and \textit{J. Purcell} [Algebr. Geom. Topol. 10, No. 2, 637--661 (2010; Zbl 1194.57021)]. The second theorem gives an estimate of the length of unknotting tunnels for \(X(\mu)\). For all but finitely many slopes, the unknotting tunnel \(\tau\) of \(X(\mu)\) associated to an unknotting tunnel of a two-cusped hyperbolic manifold \(X\) has length \(\ell(\tau)\) satisfying the inequality \(2\ln \ell(\lambda)-6<\ell(\tau)<2\ln \ell(\lambda)+5\). A concrete sequence of hyperbolic knots in the \(3\)-sphere is also given in the final part of the paper, for which the length of an unknotting tunnel approaches infinity. Finally, the paper studies if an unknotting tunnel is isotopic to an edge of the canonical polyhedral decomposition. The third theorem claims that for a generic Dehn filling \(X(\mu)\) of \(X\) with a unique shortest geodesic arc between two cusps, the unknotting tunnel of \(X(\mu)\) associated to an unknotting tunnel \(\sigma\) of \(X\) is isotopic to an edge of the canonical decomposition if and only if \(\sigma\) is the shortest geodesic between two cusps of \(X\).