On finite derived quotients of 3-manifold groups

This paper studies the set of finite groups appearing as $\pi_1(M)/\pi_1(M)^{(n)}$, where $M$ is a closed, orientable 3-manifold and $\pi_1(M)^{(n)}$ denotes the $n$-th term of the derived series of $\pi_1(M)$. Our main result is that if $M$ is a closed, orientable 3-manifold, $n\ge 2$, and $G\cong \pi_1(M)/\pi_1(M)^{(n)}$ is finite, then the cup product pairing $H^2(G)\otimes H^2(G)\to H^4(G)$ has cyclic image $C$, and the pairing $H^2(G)\otimes H^2(G)\stackrel{\smile}{\longrightarrow} C$ is isomorphic to the linking pairing $H_1(M)_{\textrm{Tors}}\otimes H_1(M)_{\textrm{Tors}}\to \mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z}$.