Invariants of \(\mathbb{Z}/p\)-homology 3-spheres from the abelianization of the level-\(p\) mapping class group (Q6123814)

Summary: We study the relation between the set of oriented \(\mathbb{Z}/d\)-homology \(3\)-spheres and the level-\(d\) mapping class groups, the kernels of the canonical maps from the mapping class group of an oriented surface to the symplectic group with coefficients in \(\mathbb{Z}/d\mathbb{Z}\). We formulate a criterion to decide whenever a \(\mathbb{Z}/d\)-homology \(3\)-sphere can be constructed from a Heegaard splitting with gluing map an element of the level-\(d\) mapping class group. Then, we give a tool to construct invariants of \(\mathbb{Z}/d\)-homology \(3\)-spheres from families of trivial \(2\)-cocycles on the level-\(d\) mapping class groups. We apply this tool to find all the invariants of \(\mathbb{Z}/p\)-homology \(3\)-spheres constructed from families of \(2\)-cocycles on the abelianization of the level-\(p\) mapping class group with \(p\) prime and to disprove the conjectured extension of the Casson invariant modulo a prime \(p\) to rational homology \(3\)-spheres due to B. Perron.