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

Abstract

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 $g\ge 4$.

5 pages, 2 figures