Heegaard Floer homology and splicing homology spheres

Abstract

We prove a basic inequality for the d-invariants of a splice of knots in homology spheres. As a result, we are able to prove a new relation on the rank of reduced Floer homology under maps between Seifert fibered homology spheres, improving results of the first and second authors. As a corollary, a degree one map between two aspherical Seifert homology spheres is homotopic to a homeomorphism if and only if the Heegaard Floer homologies are isomorphic.