Normal tori in \(\sharp_n(S^2\times S^1)\) (Q390815)

Let \(M=\sharp_n (S^2\times S^1)\), this is a compact orientable 3-manifold whose fundamental group is the free group \(F_n\). A 2-sphere in \(M\) is essential if it does not bound a 3-ball. Let \(\Sigma\) be a maximal sphere system for \(M\), that is, \(\Sigma\) is a collection of disjointly embedded essential spheres in \(M\) such that every complementary component \(P\) of \(\Sigma\) in \(M\) is a 3-punctured 3-sphere. Let \(T\) be a torus embedded in \(M\); it is essential if the image of \(\pi_1(T)\) in \(\pi_1(M)\) is nontrivial. It is said that \(T\) is in normal form with respect to \(\Sigma\), if their intersection is transverse and for each \(P\), the intersection of \(T\) with \(P\) consists of essential disks in \(P\), cylinders joining two different components of \(\partial P\), or pants joining the 3 components of \(\partial P\). The main result of the paper shows that if \(T\) is an essential torus in \(M\), then it is homotopic to a torus in normal form, and the homotopy process does not increase the number of curves of intersection with any sphere of \(\Sigma\). It is also shown that if \(T\) and \(T'\) are two homotopic normal tori, then they are normally homotopic, that is, there is a homotopy between them that does not increase the number of intersections with any sphere of \(\Sigma\). It follows that if \(T\) is in normal form with respect to \(\Sigma\), then the intersection number of \(T\) with any sphere \(S\) in \(\Sigma\) is minimal among the representatives of the homotopy class of \(T\) in each \(P\). These results generalize previous results of \textit{A. E. Hatcher} [Comment. Math. Helv. 70, No. 1, 39--62 (1995; Zbl 0836.57003)] for normal forms of spheres. These results have potential applications in the study of Out(\(F_n\)), for it is known that there is a \(1-1\) correspondence between the homotopy classes of essential imbedded tori in \(M\) and the equivalence classes of \(\mathbb{Z}\)-splittings of \(F_n\), namely, if the torus is separating it corresponds to an amalgamated free product, and if the torus is non-separating it corresponds to an HNN extension of \(F_n\) [\textit{M. Clay, F. Gültepe} and \textit{K. Rafi}, ``Essential tori and the Dehn twists of the free group'', in preparation].