An infinite family of links with critical bridge spheres (Q679781)

Let \(\Sigma\) be a compact, orientable surface properly embedded in a compact, orientable 3-manifold \(M\). \(\Sigma\) is a splitting surface if \(M-\Sigma\) has two components. The disk complex associated to \(\Sigma\) and \(M\) is defined as follows: vertices are isotopy classes of compression disks for \(\Sigma\), and a set of \(m+1\) vertices determines an \(m\)-simplex if the corresponding isotopy classes of compression disks have pairwise disjoint representatives. In [Geom. Topol. 14, No. 1, 585-609 (2010; Zbl 1206.57020)], \textit{D. Bachman} defined the concept of a topologically minimal surface. An orientable splitting surface in an orientable 3-manifold \(M\) is a topological minimal surface of index \(n\) if its associated disk complex is \((n-2)\)-connected but not \((n-1)\)-connected. Incompressible, strongly irreducible and critical surfaces are in fact topologically minimal surfaces of indices \(0\), \(1\) and \(2\), respectively. (Any space is \((-2)\)-connected and a space is \((-1)\)-connected if and only if it is non-empty). Bachman also gave an alternative combinatorial definition of a critical surface and showed that the two definitions are equivalent. A critical surface is a splitting surface \(\Sigma \subset M\) whose isotopy classes of compression disks can be partitioned into \(\mathcal{C}_1\sqcup \mathcal{C}_2\) such that (a) whenever \([C]\in \mathcal{C}_1\) and \([D]\in \mathcal{C}_2\), for \(C\) and \(D\) on opposite sides of \(\Sigma\), \(\partial C\cap \partial D\) must be nonempty. (b) For \(i=1,2\), there exist a pair of disjoint compression disks, one on either side of \(\Sigma\), where each disk belongs to an isotopy class in \(\mathcal{C}_i\). Let \(L\) be a link in \(S^3\) in bridge position, that is, all of its maxima lie above all of its minima with respect to the standard height function on \(S^3\). Let \(F\) be a level sphere in \(S^3\) which separates the maxima from the minima of \(L\). The surface \(F'=F-\eta(L)\subset M=S^3-\eta(L)\), where \(\eta(L)\) is an open neighborhood of \(L\), is called a bridge sphere for \(L\). In this paper the first known examples of critical bridge spheres for nontrivial links are given. In fact, it is shown that there is an infinite family of nontrivial links with critical bridge spheres. The links are explicitly given, it is a certain family of 4-bridge links of at least two components in a plat position with 3 rows of twisted regions, and it is shown that there is a bridge sphere satisfying the combinatorial definition of a critical surface.