Related papers: Comparing 2-handle additions to a genus 2 boundary…
We show that the knots $K\in\{4_1,5_1\}$ can be paired with a corresponding knot $K^\prime$ such that $u(K\#K^\prime)<u(K)+u(K^\prime)$. As a consequence unknotting number fails to be additive for these knots. We also provide a candidate…
We study cosmetic crossings in knots of genus one and obtain obstructions to such crossings in terms of knot invariants determined by Seifert matrices. In particular, we prove that for genus one knots the Alexander polynomial and the…
We use the construction of unfolded Seiberg-Witten Floer spectra of general 3-manifolds defined in our previous paper to extend the notion of relative Bauer-Furuta invariants to general 4-manifolds with boundary. One of the main purposes of…
We prove a version of the finiteness conjecture for Kauffman bracket skein modules of $3$-manifolds with boundary, which was introduced by the second author in \cite{Det21}. In particular our methods, which are constructive, give an…
Knots and links which are closed 3-braids are a very special class. Like 2-bridge knots and links, they are simple enough to admit a complete classification. At the same time they are rich enough to serve as a source of examples on which,…
We apply results from both contact topology and exceptional surgery theory to study when Legendrian surgery on a knot yields a reducible manifold. As an application, we show that a reducible surgery on a non-cabled positive knot of genus g…
It is known that the fundamental group homomorphism $\pi_1(T^2) \to \pi_1(S^3\setminus K)$ induced by the inclusion of the boundary torus into the complement of a knot $K$ in $S^3$ is a complete knot invariant. Many classical invariants of…
We introduce a new technique for showing classical knots and links are not slice. As one application we resolve a long-standing question as to whether certain natural families of knots contain topologically slice knots. We also present a…
We consider homologically essential simple closed curves on Seifert surfaces of genus one knots in $S^3$, and in particular those that are unknotted or slice in $S^3$. We completely characterize all such curves for most twist knots: they…
We show that there are contact 3-manifolds of support genus one which admit infinitely many Stein fillings, but do not admit arbitrarily large ones. These Stein fillings arise from genus-1 allowable Lefschetz fibrations with distinct…
We provide a positive answer to an old problem of Jonathan K. Simon: if $K$ and $K'$ are two knots such that there is an epimorphism from the knot group of $K$ to the knot group of $K'$, then the genus of $K$ is greater than or equal to the…
Recent advances in Quantum Topology assign $q$-series to knots in at least three different ways. The $q$-series are given by generalized Nahm sums (i.e., special $q$-hypergeometric sums) and have unknown modular and asymptotic properties.…
Let $u(K)$ and $g(K)$ denote the unknotting number and the genus of a knot $K$, respectively. For a 3-braid knot $K$, we show that $u(K)\le g(K)$ holds, and that if $u(K)=g(K)$ then $K$ is either a 2-braid knot, a connected sum of two…
We consider knots and links in handlebodies that have hyperbolic complements and operations akin to composition. Cutting the complements of two such open along separating twice-punctured disks such that each of the four resulting…
We generalize the Guth--Katz joints theorem from lines to varieties. A special case says that $N$ planes (2-flats) in 6 dimensions (over any field) have $O(N^{3/2})$ joints, where a joint is a point contained in a triple of these planes not…
We define a knot to be half ribbon if it is the cross-section of a ribbon 2-knot, and observe that ribbon implies half ribbon implies slice. We introduce the half ribbon genus of a knot K, the minimum genus of a ribbon knotted surface of…
We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a simple closed curve on the boundary of a genus two handlebody to decompose the handlebody into (torus with one boundary component times [0,1]. We use this condition to decide whether a…
We study certain linear representations of the knot group that induce augmentations of knot contact homology. This perspective on augmentations enhances our understanding of the relationship between the augmentation polynomial and the…
We explain a direct topological proof for the multiplicativity of Duflo isomorphism for arbitrary finite dimensional Lie algebras, and derive the explicit formula for the Duflo map. The proof follows a series of implications, starting with…
In a previous paper we have constructed an invariant of four-dimensional manifolds with boundary in the form of an element in the stable homotopy group of the Seiberg-Witten Floer spectrum of the boundary. Here we prove that when one glues…