Growth Rate of Essential Surfaces via Measured Laminations

Abstract

We show that in any Haken 3-manifold $M$, the dimensions of $\mathcal{ML}(M)$ and $\mathcal{ML}_0(M)$ can be calculated using normal surfaces. As a corollary, we prove the number of closed orientable essential surfaces of Euler characteristic at least $-2n$ in a closed orientable hyperbolic 3-manifold with $H_2(M,\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}) = 0$ is asymptotic to $n^{\dim \mathcal{ML}_0(M)}$.