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Sangbum Cho

Publications and source records attributed to Sangbum Cho.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

A note on reducing spheres for the genus-4 Heegaard surface in the 3-sphere

For the genus-$4$ Heegaard surface in the $3$-sphere, we present a sufficient condition for a non-separating weak reducing pair to be separated by a reducing sphere for the surface. As a consequence, we reduce the connectivity problem in the reducing sphere complex for the surface to the problem of showing that any two vertices, whose representative reducing spheres are disjoint from a fixed non-separating compressing disk for the surface, are connected in the complex.

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arXiv2024

On the Invalidity of Lemma 2.5 in our previous work on the Powell Conjecture

In our previous version entitled ``The reducing sphere complexes for the 3-sphere are connected: a proof of the Powell Conjecture", we claimed to prove the Powell Conjecture, which states that the Goeritz group of the genus-$g$ Heegaard splitting of the 3-sphere is finitely generated for any non-negative integer $g$. However, we have found a critical error in the proof of Lemma 2.5 in that version. In this note, we prove that the statement of Lemma 2.5 does not hold in general. This invalidates a key step in our argument and leaves the proof of the Powell Conjecture incomplete. Consequently, the Powell Conjecture remains an open problem in the case of $g \geq 4$.

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arXiv2024

The Powell Conjecture for the genus-three Heegaard splitting of the $3$-sphere

The Powell Conjecture states that the Goeritz group of the Heegaard splitting of the $3$-sphere is finitely generated; furthermore, four specific elements suffice to generate the group. Zupan demonstrated that the conjecture holds if and only if the reducing sphere complexes are all connected. In this work, we establish the connectivity of the reducing sphere complex for the genus-$3$ case, thereby confirming the Powell Conjecture in genus $3$. Additionally, we propose a potential framework for extending this approach to Heegaard splittings of higher genera.

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arXiv2024

The primitive curve complex for a handlebody

A simple closed curve in the boundary surface of a handlebody is called primitive if there exists an essential disk in the handlebody whose boundary circle intersects the curve transversely in a single point. The primitive curve complex is then defined to be the full subcomplex of the curve complex for the boundary surface, spanned by the vertices of primitive curves. Given any two primitive curves, we construct a sequence of primitive curves from one to the other one satisfying a certain property. As a consequence, we prove that the primitive curve complex for the handlebody is connected.

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arXiv2022

Note on primitive disk complexes

Given a Heegaard splitting of the $3$-sphere, the primitive disk complex is defined to be the full subcomplex of the disk complex for one of the handlebodies of the splitting. It is an open question whether the primitive disk complex is connected or not when the genus of the splitting is greater than three. In this note, we prove that a quotient of the primitive disk complex, called the homotopy primitive disk complex, is connected.

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arXiv2018

Braid group and leveling of a knot

Any knot $K$ in genus-$1$ $1$-bridge position can be moved by isotopy to lie in a union of $n$ parallel tori tubed by $n-1$ tubes so that $K$ intersects each tube in two spanning arcs, which we call a leveling of the position. The minimal $n$ for which this is possible is an invariant of the position, called the level number. In this work, we describe the leveling by the braid group on two points in the torus, which yields a numerical invariant of the position, called the $(1, 1)$-length. We show that the $(1, 1)$-length equals the level number. We then find braid descriptions for $(1,1)$-positions of all $2$-bridge knots providing upper bounds for their level numbers, and also show that the $(-2, 3, 7)$-pretzel knot has level number two.

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arXiv2018

Disk surgery and the primitive disk complexes of the $3$-sphere

Given a genus-$g$ Heegaard splitting of the $3$-sphere with $g \ge 3$, we show that the primitive disk complex for the splitting is not weakly closed under disk surgery operation. That is, there exist two primitive disks in one of the handlebodies of the splitting such that any disk surgery on one along the other one yields no primitive disks.

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arXiv2017

The disk complex and 2-bridge knots

We give an alternative proof of a result of Kobayashi and Saeki that every genus one $1$-bridge position of a non-trivial $2$-bridge knot is a stabilization.

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arXiv2017

The mapping class groups of reducible Heegaard splittings of genus two

The manifold which admits a genus-$2$ reducible Heegaard splitting is one of the $3$-sphere, $\mathbb{S}^2 \times \mathbb{S}^1$, lens spaces and their connected sums. For each of those manifolds except most lens spaces, the mapping class group of the genus-$2$ splitting was shown to be finitely presented. In this work, we study the remaining generic lens spaces, and show that the mapping class group of the genus-$2$ Heegaard splitting is finitely presented for any lens space by giving its explicit presentation. As an application, we show that the fundamental groups of the spaces of the genus-$2$ Heegaard splittings of lens spaces are all finitely presented.

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arXiv2015

Haken spheres for genus two Heegaard splittings

A manifold which admits a reducible genus-$2$ Heegaard splitting is one of the $3$-sphere, $S^2 \times S^1$, lens spaces or their connected sums. For each of those splittings, the complex of Haken spheres is defined. When the manifold is the $3$-sphere, $S^2 \times S^1$ or the connected sum whose summands are lens spaces or $S^2 \times S^1$, the combinatorial structure of the complex has been studied by several authors. In particular, it was shown that those complexes are all contractible. In this work, we study the remaining cases, that is, when the manifolds are lens spaces. We give a precise description of each of the complexes for the genus-$2$ Heegaard splittings of lens spaces. A remarkable fact is that the complexes for most lens spaces are not contractible and even not connected.

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arXiv2015

Connected primitive disk complexes and genus two Goeritz groups of lens spaces

Given a stabilized Heegaard splitting of a $3$-manifold, the primitive disk complex for the splitting is the subcomplex of the disk complex for a handlebody in the splitting spanned by the vertices of the primitive disks. In this work, we study the structure of the primitive disk complex for the genus two Heegaard splitting of each lens space. In particular, we show that the complex for the genus two splitting for the lens space $L(p, q)$ with $1\leq q \leq p/2$ is connected if and only if $p \equiv \pm 1 \pmod q$, and describe the combinatorial structure of each of those complexes. As an application, we obtain a finite presentation of the genus two Goeritz group of each of those lens spaces, the group of isotopy classes of orientation preserving homeomorphisms of the lens space that preserve the genus two Heegaard splitting of it.

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arXiv2015

Arc complexes, sphere complexes and Goeritz groups

We show that if a Heegaard splitting is obtained by gluing a splitting of Hempel distance at least 4 and the genus-1 splitting of $S^2 \times S^1$, then the Goeritz group of the splitting is finitely generated. To show this, we first provide a sufficient condition for a full subcomplex of the arc complex for a compact orientable surface to be contractible, which generalizes the result by Hatcher that the arc complexes are contractible. We then construct infinitely many Heegaard splittings, including the above-mentioned Heegaard splitting, for which suitably defined complexes of Haken spheres are contractible.

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arXiv2014

Disk complexes and genus two Heegaard splittings for non-prime 3-manifolds

Given a genus two Heegaard splitting for a non-prime 3-manifold, we define a special subcomplex of the disk complex for one of the handlebodies of the splitting, and then show that it is contractible. As applications, first we show that the complex of Haken spheres for the splitting is contractible, which refines the results of Lei and Lei-Zhang. Secondly, we classify all the genus two Heegaard splittings for non-prime 3-manifolds, which is a generalization of the result of Montesinos-Safont. Finally, we show that the mapping class group of the splitting, called the Goeritz group, is finitely presented by giving its explicit presentation.

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arXiv2014

The genus two Goeritz group of $S^2 \times S^1$

The genus-g Goeritz group is the group of isotopy classes of orientation-preserving homeomorphisms of a closed orientable 3-manifold that preserve a given genus-g Heegaard splitting of the manifold. In this work, we show that the genus-2 Goeritz group of $S^2 \times S^1$ is finitely presented, and give its explicit presentation.

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arXiv2012

Primitive disk complexes for lens spaces

For a genus two Heegaard splitting of a lens space, the primitive disk complex is defined to be the full subcomplex of the disk complex for one of the handlebodies of the splitting spanned by all vertices of primitive disks. In this work, we describe the complete combinatorial structure of the primitive disk complex for the genus two Heegaard splitting of each lens space. In particular, we find all lens spaces whose primitive disk complexes are contractible.

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arXiv2012

Genus two Goeritz groups of lens spaces

Given a genus-$g$ Heegaard splitting of a 3-manifold, the Goeritz group is defined to be the group of isotopy classes of orientation-preserving homeomorphisms of the manifold that preserve the splitting. In this work, we show that the Goeritz groups of genus-2 Heegaard splittings for lens spaces $L(p, 1)$ are finitely presented, and give explicit presentations of them.

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