Let $f$ be the gluing map of a Heegaard splitting of a 3-manifold $W$. The goal of this paper is to determine the information about $W$ contained in the image of $f$ under the symplectic representation of the mapping class group. We prove three main results. First, we show that the first homology group of the three manifold together with Seifert's linking form provides a complete set of stable invariants. Second, we give a complete, computable set of invariants for these linking forms. Third, we show that a slight augmentation of Birman's determinantal invariant for a Heegaard splitting gives a complete set of unstable invariants.
There have been a number of constructions of Lagrangian Floer homology invariants for $3$-manifolds defined in terms of symplectic character varieties arising from Heegaard splittings. With the aim of establishing an Atiyah-Floer counterpart of Kronheimer and Mrowka's singular instanton homology, we generalize one of these, due to H. Horton, to produce a Lagrangian Floer invariant of a knot or link $K \subset Y$ in a closed, oriented $3$-manifold, which we call symplectic instanton knot homology ($\mathrm{SIK}$). We use a multi-pointed Heegaard diagram to parametrize the gluing together of a p…
Motivated by various possible generalizations of Taubes's \(SW=Gr\) theorem [T] to Floer-theoretic setting, we prove certain variants of Taubes's convergence theorem in \cite{T} (the first part of his proof of \(SW=Gr\)). In place of the closed symplectic 4-manifold considered in [T], this article considers non-compact manifolds with cylindrical ends, equipped with a self-dual harmonic 2-form with non-degenerate zeroes. This extends and simplifies some central technical ingredients of the author's prior work in [LT] and [KLT5]. Other expected applications include: extending the \(HM=PFH\) theo…
Suppose Y is an integer homology 3-sphere, Taubes proved that the number of irreducible critical orbits of the perturbed Chern-Simons functional on Y, counted with signs, is equal to the algebraic intersection number of two character varieties associated with Heegaard splittings when the structure group is SU(2). Taubes' result established a relationship between gauge theory and the Casson invariant. This article proves an analogous identification result for SU(n) generalized Casson invariants. As a special case, we show that the SU(3) Casson invariant of Boden-Herald can be equivalently calcu…
Inspired by Kronheimer and Mrowka's approach to monopole Floer homology, we develop a model for $\mathbb{Z}/2$-equivariant symplectic Floer theory using equivariant almost complex structures, which admits a localization map to a twisted version of Floer cohomology in the invariant set. We then present applications to Steenrod operations on Lagrangian Floer cohomology, and to the Heegaard Floer homology of double covers of three-manifolds.
In arXiv:1611.09927, we constructed a well-defined Lagrangian Floer invariant for any closed, oriented $3$-manifold $Y$ via the symplectic geometry of so-called traceless $\mathrm{SU}(2)$-character varieties. This invariant, $\mathrm{SI}(Y)$, which we refer to as the symplectic instanton homology of $Y$, was also shown to satisfy an exact triangle for Dehn surgeries on knots which is typical of Floer-theoretic invariants of $3$-manifolds. In this article, we demonstrate further structural properties of this symplectic instanton homology. For example, Floer theories are expected to roughly sati…
