The support of global graph links (Q5903110)

A manifold M is a graph manifold if there is a family of disjointly embedded tori with the following property in M: each connected component of a manifold obtained by cutting M along these tori is the total space of an \(S^ 1\)-bundle over a surface. A link is called a graph link if its exterior is a graph manifold. The author indicates the concept of ''elementary'' graph link, and establishes the characterization of global links: Every graph link is obtained from elementary ones by a finite number of operations of disjoint union, adding a cable, replacing by a cable, link connected sum and selflink connected sum. This is an extended version of known results for graph knots in \(S^ 3\). For a link L in an orientable 3-manifold, he sets the concept of the support and the homotopy support of L. Consider the prime decomposition of the exterior E(L) and take prime factors of E(L) which contain some component of the boundary \(\partial N(L)\) of the tubular neighborhood N(L) of L. Then the support of L is the connected sum of these factors with N(L) glued back at \(\partial N(L)\). Let M be a 3-manifold such that its prime decomposition does not contain \(S^ 1\times S^ 2\) as its factor, and \(M_ 1\#...\#M_ k\) a prime decomposition of M. The homotopy support of \(L=\cup k_ i\) is the connected sum of \(M_ j's\) such that there is a \(k_ i\) with \(p_ j(\phi_*([k_ i]))\neq 1\) in \(\pi_ 1(M_ j)\), where \(\phi_*: \pi_ 1(M)\to \pi_ 1(M_ 1)^*...^*\pi_ 1(M_ k)\) is an isomorphism and \(p_ j: \pi_ 1(M_ 1)^*...^*\pi_ 1(M_ k)\to \pi_ 1(M_ j)\) is a homomorphism given by adding relations \(\pi_ 1(M_ i)=1\) for \(i\neq j\). He studies the supports of graph links. For example, he shows the following: The support of a graph link in a 3-manifold, such that its prime decomposition does not contain \(S^ 1\times S^ 2\) as its factor, is a connected sum of its homotopy support and graph manifolds with finite fundamental groups.