No label defined (Q4939264)

The present paper collects into an organic whole some results on non-zero degree maps between closed 3-manifolds obtained by the author in [Non-zero degree maps to hyperbolic 3-manifolds, J. Differ. Geom. 49, No. 3, 517-546 (1998)] and in [Sequences of degree-one maps between geometric 3-manifolds, to appear]. They are entirely devoted to face the following problem by \textit{Y. Rong} (which appears as Problem 3.100 in [Problems in low-dimensional topology, AMS/IP Stud. Adv. Math. 2(pt. 2), 35-473 (1997; Zbl 0888.57014)]): Let \(M\) be a closed, connected, orientable 3-manifold. (A) Are there only finitely many irreducible 3-manifolds \(N\) with a degree-one map \(M\to N\)? (B) Does there exist an integer \(n(M)\) depending only on \(M\) such that if \(M\to M_1\to M_2\to \cdots\to M_n\) is a sequence of degree-one maps with \(n>n(M)\) and each \(M_i\) \((i=1, \dots,n)\) is irreducible, then the sequence must contain a homotopy equivalence? The paper discusses the cases of hyperbolic, Seifert fibered and Haken manifolds, by making use of different arguments: as a consequence, a (positive) complete answer to problem (B) above is obtained, ``up to the Geometrization Conjecture'' by \textit{W. P. Thurston} [Bull. Am. Math. Soc., New Ser. 6, 357-379 (1982; Zbl 0496.57005)]. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0927.00035].