No label defined (Q4337523)

Let \(M_n(K)\) be the hyperbolic 3-manifold which is the \(n\)-fold cyclic branched covering of a hyperbolic knot \(K\) in the 3-sphere. Its volume is \(n\) times the volume of the hyperbolic 3-orbifold \(S^3(K,2\pi/n)\) which belongs to the continuous family of ``cone manifolds'' \(S^3(K,\alpha)\) whose underlying space is the 3-sphere and whose singular set, with an angle of \(\alpha\) around it, is the knot \(K\). The Schläfli formula for the volume gives the differential of the volume in terms of the differential of the angle \(\alpha\) and thus can be used to compute the volume of the orbifolds \(S^3(K,2\pi/n)\) and the manifolds \(M_n(K)\), in terms of the volume of the complement of \(K\) (the case \(\alpha=0\)). In the present paper, a similar approach is used for the computation of the Chern-Simons invariant of the manifolds \(M_n(K)\). For this a real number is associated to a geometric cone manifold \(S^3(K,\alpha)\) (or more generally to a nullhomologous knot \(K\) in a 3-manifold \(M\)) which reduces to the Chern-Simons invariant if the cone manifold is a manifold and which behaves multiplicatively with respect to cyclic coverings between cone manifolds. The main result of the paper is a Schläfli type formula for the variation of this number as a function of the angle which is used then to deduce a formula for the Chern-Simons invariants of the manifolds \(M_n(K)\). Detailed computations of volumes and Chern-Simons invariants for the case of cyclic branched coverings of rational (or 2-bridge) knots can be found in another paper of the authors.