Related papers: A note on closed 3-braids
We consider braids on $m+n$ strands, such that the first $m$ strands are trivially fixed. We denote the set of all such braids by $B_{m,n}$. Via concatenation $B_{m,n}$ acquires a group structure. The objective of this paper is to find a…
Let $\phi : S^1\times D^2\to S^1$ be the natural projection. An oriented knot $K\hookrightarrow V = S^1\times D^2$ is called an almost closed braid if the restriction of $\phi$ to K has exactly two (non-degenerate) critical points (and K is…
The paper gives topological as well as rigid isotopy classification of smooth irreducible algebraic curves in the real projective 3-space for the case when the degree of the curve is at most six and its genus is at most one.
We introduce the notion of slice depth of a 2-knot K, which is the minimal integer n such that K is n-slice. We give an upper bound for the slice depth of the n-twist spin of a classical knot which belongs to several specific classes,…
In this paper we show that all 3-manifolds of a family introduced by M. J. Dunwoody are cyclic coverings of lens spaces (eventually $\bf S^3$), branched over genus one 1-bridge knots. As a consequence, we give a positive answer to the…
We determine the locally flat cobordism distance between torus knots with small and large braid index, up to high precision. Here small means 2, 3, 4, or 6. As an application, we derive a surprising fact about torus knots that appear as…
We introduce a monoid corresponding to knotted surfaces in four space, from its hyperbolic splitting represented by marked diagram in braid like form. It has four types of generators: two standard braid generators and two of singular type.…
In this paper we study the theory of {\it pseudo knots}, which are knots with some missing crossing information, and we introduce and study the theory of {\it pseudo tied links} and the theory of {\it pseudo knotoids}. In particular, we…
Unknotting numbers for torus knots and links are well known. In this paper, we present a method for determining the position of unknotting number crossing changes in a toric braid B(p, q) such that the closure of the resultant braid is…
We explain the notion of a grope cobordism between two knots in a 3-manifold. Each grope cobordism has a type that can be described by a rooted unitrivalent tree. By filtering these trees in different ways, we show how the Goussarov-Habiro…
Motivated by an observation of Dehornoy, we study the roots of Alexander polynomials of knots and links that are closures of positive 3-strand braids. We give experimental data on random such braids and find that the roots exhibit marked…
We use technology from sutured manifold theory and the theory of Heegaard splittings to relate genus reducing crossing changes on knots in S^3 to twists on surfaces arising in circular Heegaard splittings for knot complements. In a separate…
Link homology theories (such as knot Floer homology and Khovanov homology) have become indispensable tools for studying knots and links, including powerful 4-dimensional obstructions. These notes, based on lectures given at the 2024 Georgia…
We determine which integral surgeries on a large class of circular chain links bound rational homology balls. Our key tool is the lattice-theoretic cubiquity obstruction recently developed by Greene and Owens. We discuss a practical method…
In this paper we present a sequence of link invariants, defined from twisted Alexander polynomials, and discuss their effectiveness in distinguish knots. In particular, we recast and extend by geometric means a recent result of Silver and…
We introduce a new combinatorial method to encode knots and links with applications to knot invariants. Clasp diagrams defined in this paper are combinatorial blueprints for building knot diagrams out of full twists on two strings rather…
In this manuscript we introduce a method to measure entanglement of curves in 3-space that extends the notion of knot and link polynomials to open curves. We define the bracket polynomial of curves in 3-space and show that it has real…
This paper is an introduction to the subject of virtual knot theory, combined with a discussion of some specific new theorems about virtual knots. The new results are as follows: We prove, using a 3-dimensional topology approach that if a…
A knot in the 3-sphere in genus-1 1-bridge position (called a (1,1)-position) can be described by an element of the braid group of two points in the torus. Our main results tell how to translate between a braid group element and the…
We establish a novel connection between algebraic number theory and knot theory. We show that the number of equivalence classes of integral binary quadratic forms of discriminant $t^2 - 4$ (for $t\neq \pm 2$) is equal to the number of…