Simply connected open 3-manifolds with rigid genus one ends (Q395152)

Two Cantor sets \(X,Y\) in \(S^3\) are equivalent if there is a self homeomorphism of \(S^3\) taking \(X\) to \(Y\), in the contrary case they are inequivalent. A Cantor set \(C\) is rigidly embedded in \(S^3\) if the only self homeomorphism of \(C\) that extends to a homeomorphism of \(S^3\) is the identity. Let us describe a standard construction of Bing-Whitehead (BW) compacta, see [\textit{D. G. Wright}, Fundam. Math. 132, No. 2, 105--116 (1989; Zbl 0685.57008)]. Let \(M_0\) be an unknotted torus in \(S^3\), and \(M_1\) be obtained from \(M_0\) by placing a Bing link in \(M_0\). Inductively obtain \(M_k\) from \(M_{k-1}\) either by placing a Bing link in each component of \(M_{k-1}\) or by placing a Whitehead link in each component of \(M_{k-1}\). Let \(m_1\) denote the number of consecutive Whitehead links placed in \(M_1\) before the second Bing link occurs, and \(m_k\) denote the number of consecutive Whitehead links that occur between the \(k\)-th and \((k+1)\)st Bing links. So the standard Bing-Whitehead compactum associated with this construction is defined to be \(X = \cap_{i=0}^\infty M_i\) and is denoted \(X= BW(m_1, m_2, ...... )\). \(M_i\) can also be defined for \(i<0\), in such a way that \(M_i\) is a Whitehead link in \(M_{i-1}\) and let \(X^{\infty}_M\) be \(\cap_i (S^3 - M_i)\). The set \(X^{\infty}_M\) is called the compactum at infinity associated with \(X\) corresponding to the defining sequence \(M=(M_i)\). Note that in this standard BW construction it is required that all tori in \(M_k\) are obtained by the same (Bing or Whitehead) construction from the respective tori in \(M_{k-1}\), and it is also assumed that infinitely many of the \(M_i, i>0\), arise from Bing constructions and that infinitely many of them arise from Whitehead constructions. In the paper under review the authors give a new construction, called the generalized BW compactum. In this generalized construction they use the standard construction but now they require that all tori in \(M_k\) are either obtained by Bing or Whitehead constructions from the respective tori in \(M_{k-1}\), but not necessarily all of the same kind. The main result concerns how to obtain uncountably many simply connected open \(3\)-manifolds with genus one ends homeomorphic to the Cantor set, where each constructed manifold has the property that any self homeomorphism of the manifold fixes the ends pointwise. These manifolds are complements of rigid generalized Bing-Whitehead (BW) Cantor sets.