Mathematics Problem Archive

Is there an effective algorithmic procedure to produce and recognize a hyperbolic knot of depth $n$ for any given $n$? What about $\ge n$?...

Given a collection $\mathscr{C}$ of topological or geometric types of surface, what $3$–manifolds admit a taut foliation $\mathscr{F}$ whose leaves ar...

Let $X$ be a vector field on a $3$–manifold. When is there a foliation $\mathscr{F}$ of $M$ transverse to $X$?...

Generalize the Teichmüller polynomial from the fibered faces of the Thurston norm ball to the other faces (of some possibly generalized polyhedron, pe...

Given a collection of taut foliations $\mathscr{F}_i$ of $M$, what are the obstructions to finding a metric on $M$ for which the $\mathscr{F}_i$ (afte...

How many Reeb components must a foliation of an open $3$–manifold contain?...

What generalizations of the notion of taut foliation make sense on an open $3$–manifold?...

Characterize those essential laminations which contain genuine sublaminations....

Suppose $\Lambda$ is a full genuine lamination; i.e. it has some complementary region which is an ideal polygon bundle over a circle. Suppose $M$ is h...

Suppose $\Lambda$ is a genuine lamination. When can $\Lambda$ be ``filled in'' to a very full lamination $\Lambda'$? Does it help for $M$ to be hyperb...

Are loosesse laminations good for anything? Are leaves of the universal cover of a loosesse lamination properly embedded? If $M$ contains a loosesse l...

Give an example of a lamination in an atoroidal manifold –- perhaps loosesse –- which can never be realized by minimal surfaces for any metric, but wh...

Characterize branched surfaces embedded in $3$–manifolds which can be non–trivially split to a homeomorphic copy of themselves....

Develop a theory of hierarchies for branched surfaces....

When does a Haken sum operation make sense for a pair of laminations in normal form with respect to a fixed triangulation?...

Let $M$ be a $3$–manifold, and $\Lambda$ an essential lamination. Let $C$ be a cycle representing the fundamental class of $M$. Is there a cycle $C'$ ...

Suppose $\mathscr{B}$ is a branched surface in $M$ which is dual to a taut local orientation. Is there a finite cover of $M$ in which the pullback of ...

Give a useful definition of thin position for an embedded graph $\Gamma \subset M$ with respect to a taut foliation $\mathscr{F}$. If $\Gamma$ is the ...

Suppose $\mathscr{F}$ is an $\mathbb{R}$–covered foliation of an atoroidal $3$–manifold $M$. Is the holonomy representation $\rho_H$ of $\pi_1(M)$ on ...

For a fixed manifold $M$, describe the structure of the set of all essential laminations with a transverse $\widetilde{SL(2,\mathbb{R})}$ structure....

Suppose $M$ admits a minimal taut foliation. What is the best analytic (transverse) quality of a taut foliation it admits? Can we find a minimal folia...

Is there a universal constant $c$ such that a hyperbolic $3$–manifold $M$ whose fundamental group $\pi_1(M)$ can be ordered out to radius $c$ can be l...

Let $\mathsf{T}$ be some class of abstract computers; e.g. finite state automata, Turing machines, Turing machines relative to some oracle $O$, etc. A...

Let $\Lambda^\pm$ be a pair of laminations of $S^1$ which are transverse to each other and have finite area complementary domains. Suppose $\Gamma$ is...

What is the best analytic quality for the action of $\pi_1(M)$ on a universal circle $S^1_\mathrm{univ}$?...

Is there a universal transverse surgery description of tautly foliated manifolds, in the sense that there is a fixed $M$ such that for every tautly fo...

Give a collection of fundamental operations on foliations and an explicit family of base foliations such that every tautly foliated manifold $M,\maths...

Suppose $K$ is a non–torus alternating knot. Then essential laminations can be constructed which realize every (nontrivial) boundary slope. Can essent...

It is known that if a $3$–manifold $M$ contains an essential surface of genus $g$, the distance of any Heegaard splitting of $M$ has distance at most ...

Suppose $\mathscr{F}$ is a taut foliation of a hyperbolic $3$–manifold $M$ with two–sided branching. Must there be a leaf $\lambda$ of $\widetilde{\ma...

Suppose $\mathscr{F}$ is a finite depth foliation of a hyperbolic $3$–manifold. What is the relationship (if any) between the Hausdorff dimension of t...

What do short geodesics look like with respect to taut foliations? Is there a universal $\epsilon$ such that for every hyperbolic manifold $M$, every ...

Is there a uniform bound on the Godbillon–Vey invariants of the taut foliations of a hyperbolic manifold in terms of its volume?...

Suppose $\mathscr{F}$ is a taut foliation of a hyperbolic $3$–manifold $M$. Let $$\pi:\widetilde{M} \to L$$ be the projection to the leaf space of $\w...

Suppose $\Lambda$ is an essential lamination of a hyperbolic manifold $M$. Is $\Lambda$ isotopic to a lamination whose curvature is bounded below ever...

What kind of nontrivial ``mapping class elements'' are possible for taut foliations?...

A foliation is taut iff it admits a volume–preserving transverse flow. Pseudo–Anosov flows are good candidates for ``best'' such transverse flows, whe...

Suppose $M$ is atoroidal and $\mathscr{F}$ arises from a slithering over $S^1$. Let $X$ be pseudo–Anosov transverse to $\mathscr{F}$, such that the ti...

If $\mathscr{F}$ is a taut foliation, one can let $\gamma_i$ be a collection of transverse circles to $\mathscr{F}$ intersecting every leaf and study ...

Suppose $\rho:\pi_1(M) \to \mathbb{R}$ is a $1$–cochain with bounded coboundary; i.e. there is a uniform $C$ so that $$|\rho(\alpha) + \rho(\beta) - \...

Does every hyperbolic $3$–manifold admit a taut cone field? That is, a cone field $C$ which is recurrent and supports only homotopically essential loo...

What deformations of a foliation or lamination should be thought of as ``inessential''? For instance –- monotone equivalence, cut–and–shear along a su...

Suppose $\mathscr{F}$ is a minimal taut $C^2$ foliation of an atoroidal $3$–manifold $M$ with $$\mathfrak{gv}(\mathscr{F})[M] \ne 0$$ Is there a choic...

For $\mathscr{F}$ as in the previous question, suppose there is a choice of $\alpha$ for which $\omega$ is a contact form. Is the contact structure de...

Calculate the norm of the fundamental class of a hyperbolic $3$–manifold for some taut foliation $\mathscr{F}$ with two–sided branching....

Let $\mathscr{F},\mathscr{G}$ be taut foliations on a hyperbolic manifold $M$. Are there examples where there is a finite cover of $M$ such that a seq...

Suppose $\mathscr{F}$ is a foliation (possibly $\mathbb{R}$–covered) of a hyperbolic $3$–manifold. Define a foliated Gromov norm using cubical chains....

What kinds of local order structure are there on a family of deformations of a (taut) foliation? Can one use such structures to define co–ordinates on...

What $3$–manifolds admit total taut foliations?...

Are there any interesting examples of total genuine laminations?...