Related papers: The Unknotting Problem and Normal Surface Q-Theory
We introduce the notion of $n$-dimensional topological quantum field theory (TQFT) with defects as a symmetric monoidal functor on decorated stratified bordisms of dimension $n$. The familiar closed or open-closed TQFTs are special cases of…
We consider the number \bar N(q) of points in the projective complement of graph hypersurfaces over \F_q and show that the smallest graphs with non-polynomial \bar N(q) have 14 edges. We give six examples which fall into two classes. One…
Suppose M is a closed irreducible orientable 3-manifold, K is a knot in M, P and Q are bridge surfaces for K and K is not removable with respect to Q. We show that either Q is equivalent to P or $d(K,P) \leq 2-\chi(Q-K)$. If K is not a two…
A marginally trapped surface in the four-dimensional Minkowski space is a spacelike surface whose mean curvature vector is lightlike at each point. We associate a geometrically determined moving frame field to such a surface and using the…
We show that the problem of tiling the Euclidean plane with a finite set of polygons (up to translation) boils down to prove the existence of zeros of a non-negative convex function defined on a finite-dimensional simplex. This function is…
A theory of transversely oriented spun-normal immersed surfaces in ideally triangulated 3--manifolds is developed in this paper, including linear functionals determining the boundary curves, Euler characteristic and homology class of these…
In 1960s, Almgren initiated a program to find minimal hypersurfaces in compact manifolds using min-max method. This program was largely advanced by Pitts and Schoen-Simon in 1980s when the manifold has no boundary. In this paper, we finish…
We interpret a normal surface in a (singular) three-manifold in terms of the homology of a chain complex. This allows us to study the relation between normal surfaces and their quadrilateral co-ordinates. Specifically, we give a proof of an…
Recent discoveries in differential topology are reviewed in light of their possible implications for spacetime models and related subjects in theoretical physics. Although not often noted, a particular smoothness (differentiability)…
We study systems of $2$-tangle equations which play an important role in the analysis of enzyme actions on DNA strands. We show that every system of framed tangle equations has at most one framed rational solution. Furthermore, we show that…
Finite-order invariants of knots in arbitrary 3-manifolds (including non-orientable ones) are constructed and studied by methods of the topology of discriminant sets. Obstructions to the integrability of admissible weight systems to…
We generalize the analysis by Moore and Witten in [arXiv:hep-th/9709193], and consider integration over the u-plane in Donaldson theory with surface operators on a smooth four-manifold X. Several novel aspects will be developed in the…
The aim of the work is to prove the following main theorem. Theorem. Let M3 be a three-dimensional, connected, simple-connected, closed, compact, smooth manifold. Tnen the manifold M3 is diffeomorphic to the three-dimensional sphere.
Let M be a closed oriented 3-manifold with first Betti number one. Its equivariant linking pairing may be seen as a two-dimensional cohomology class in an appropriate infinite cyclic covering of the space of ordered pairs of distinct points…
The solution of quantum Yang-Mills theory on arbitrary compact two-manifolds is well known. We bring this solution into a TQFT-like form and extend it to include corners. Our formulation is based on an axiomatic system that we hope is…
We investigate the manifold $\cal{M}$ of (real) quadratic forms in n > 1 variables having a multiple eigenvalue. In addition to known facts, we prove that 1) $\cal{M}$ is irreducible, 2) in the case of n = 3, scalar matrices and only them…
When a Dehn filled link manifold contains a geometrically incompressible one-sided surface, it is shown there is a unique boundary incompressible position that the surface can take in the link space. The proof uses a version of the…
The Reshetikhin - Turaeve approach to topological invariants of three - manifolds is generalized to quantum supergroups. A general method for constructing three - manifold invariants is developed, which requires only the study of the…
We study linear systems of surfaces in $\mathbb{P}^3$ singular along general lines. Our purpose is to identify and classify special systems of such surfaces, i.e., those nonempty systems where the conditions imposed by the multiple lines…
We provide two new proofs of a theorem of Cooper, Long and Reid which asserts that, apart from an explicit finite list of exceptional manifolds, any compact orientable irreducible 3-manifold with non-empty boundary has large fundamental…