Structures of Three-Manifilds

In this expository paper, we present a survey about the history of the geometrization conjecture and the background material on the classification of Thurston's eight geometries. We also discuss recent techniques for immersive visualization of relevant three-dimensional manifolds in the context of the Geometrization Conjecture.

Geometrization theorem, fibered case: Every three-manifold that fibers over the circle admits a geometric decomposition. Double limit theorem: for any sequence of quasi-Fuchsian groups whose controlling pair of conformal structures tends toward a pair of projectively measured laminations that bind the surface, there is a convergent subsequence. This preprint also analyzes the quasi-isometric geometry of quasi-Fuchsian 3-manifolds. This eprint is based on a 1986 preprint, whic...

The seven non euclidean geometries of the Thurston's geometrization program are proved to originate naturally from singularization morphisms and versal deformations on euclidean 3-manifolds generated in the frame of the Langlands global program. The Poincare conjecture for a 3-manifold appears as a particular case of this new approach of the Thurston'program.

This paper gives an algebraic conjecture which is shown to be equivalent to Thurston's Geometrization Conjecture for closed, orientable 3-manifolds. It generalizes the Stallings-Jaco theorem which established a similar result for the Poincare Conjecture. The paper also gives two other algebraic conjectures; one is equivalent to the finite fundamental group case of the Geometrization Conjecture, and the other is equivalent to the union of the Geometrization Conjecture and Thur...

We give a brief summary of some of our work and our joint work with Stephan Tillmann on solving Thurston's equation and Haken equation on triangulated 3-manifolds in this paper. Several conjectures on the existence of solutions to Thurston's equation and Haken equation are made. Resolutions of these conjecture will lead to a new proof of the Poincar\'e conjecture without using the Ricci flow. We approach these conjectures by a finite dimensional variational principle so that ...

Poincar\'e's Polyhedron Theorem is a widely known valuable tool in constructing manifolds endowed with a prescribed geometric structure. It is one of the few criteria providing discreteness of groups of isometries. This work contains a version of Poincar\'e's Polyhedron Theorem that is applicable to constructing fibre bundles over surfaces and also suits geometries of nonconstant curvature. Most conditions of the theorem, being as local as possible, are easy to verify in prac...

Starting from the (apparently) elementary problem of deciding how many different topological spaces can be obtained by gluing together in pairs the faces of an octahedron, we will describe the central role played by hyperbolic geometry within three-dimensional topology. We will also point out the striking difference with the two-dimensional case, and we will review some of the results of the combinatorial and computational approach to three-manifolds developed by different ma...

A mostly expository account of old questions about the relationship between polyhedra and topological manifolds. Topics are old topological results, new gauge theory results (with speculations about next directions), and history of the questions.

A list of problems prepared for the proceedings of the Workshop on Exotic Homology Manifolds, Oberwolfach June 29-July 5 2003.

This is the first in a series of papers showing that Haken manifolds have hyperbolic structures; this first was published, the second two have existed only in preprint form, and later preprints were never completed. This eprint is only an approximation to the published version, which is the definitive form for part I, and is provided for convenience only. All references and quotations should be taken from the published version, since the theorem numbering is different and not...