We give a short proof of Scharlemanns Strong Haken Theorem for closed $3$-manifolds (and manifolds with spherical boundary). As an application, we also show that given a decomposing sphere $R$ for a $3$-manifold $M$ that splits off an $S^2 times S^1$ summand, any Heegaard splitting of $M$ restricts to the standard Heegaard splitting on the summand.
Given a 3-manifold M containing an incompressible surface Q, we obtain an inequality relating the Heegaard genus of M and the Heegaard genera of the components of M - Q. Here the sum of the genera of the components of M - Q is bounded above by a linear expression in terms of the genus of M, the Euler characteristic of Q and the number of parallelism classes of essential annuli for which representatives can be simultaneously imbedded in the components of M - Q.
We use Heegaard splittings to give a criterion for a tunnel number one knot manifold to be non-fibered and to have large cyclic covers. We also show that such a knot manifold (satisfying the criterion) admits infinitely many virtually Haken Dehn fillings. Using a computer, we apply this criterion to the 2 generator, non-fibered knot manifolds in the cusped Snappea census. For each such manifold M, we compute a number c(M), such that, for any n>c(M), the n-fold cyclic cover of M is large.
For a closed 3-manifold $M$ in a certain class, we give a presentation of the cellular chain complex of the universal cover of $M$. The class includes all surface bundles, some surgeries of knots in $S^3$, some cyclic branched cover of $S^3$, and some Seifert manifolds. In application, we establish a formula for calculating the linking form of a cyclic branched cover of $S^3$, and develop procedures of computing some Dijkgraaf-Witten invariants.
The Hurwitz problem asks which ramification data are realizable, that is appear as the ramification type of a covering. We use dessins denfant to show that families of genus 1 regular ramification data with small changes are realizable with the exception of four families which were recently shown to be nonrealizable. A similar description holds in the case of genus 0 ramification data.
We introduce an algebraic system which can be used as a model for spaces with geodesic paths between any two of their points. This new algebraic structure is based on the notion of mobility algebra which has recently been introduced as a model for the unit interval of real numbers. We show that there is a strong connection between modules over a ring and affine mobility spaces over a mobility algebra. However, geodesics in general fail to be affine thus giving rise to the new algebraic structure of mobility space. We show that the so called formula for spherical linear interpolation, which gives geodesics on the n-sphere, is an example of a mobility space over the unit interval mobility algebra.