Related papers: Knottedness is in NP, modulo GRH

Geometric complexity theory (GCT) is an approach to the $P$ vs. $NP$ and related problems. A high level overview of this research plan and the results obtained so far was presented in a series of three lectures in the Institute of Advanced…

The presence of slipknots in configurations of proteins and DNA has been shown to affect their functionality, or alter it entirely. Historically, polymers are modeled as polygonal chains in space. As an alternative to space curves, we…

We prove that the problem of deciding whether a 2- or 3-dimensional simplicial complex embeds into $\mathbb{R}^3$ is NP-hard. Our construction also shows that deciding whether a 3-manifold with boundary tori admits an $\mathbb{S}^{3}$…

For a positive integer $k$, a graph is $k$-knitted if for each $k$-subset $S$ of vertices, and every partition of $S$ into disjoint parts $S_1, \ldots, S_t$ for some $t\ge 1$, one can find disjoint connected subgraphs $C_1, \ldots, C_t$…

We prove the existence of families of distinct isotopy classes of physical unknots through the key concept of parametrised thickness. These unknots have prescribed length, tube thickness, a uniform bound on curvature, and cannot be…

Let k be a natural number. Let G be a graph and let N_1,...,N_k be k independent sets in G. The graph G is k-probe distance hereditary if G can be embedded into a DH-graph by adding edges between vertices that are contained in the same…

The A-polynomial of a knot is defined in terms of SL(2,C) representations of the knot group, and encodes information about essential surfaces in the knot complement. In 2005, Dunfield-Garoufalidis and Boyer-Zhang proved that it detects the…

For a graph G embedded in an orientable surface \Sigma, we consider associated links L(G) in the thickened surface \Sigma \times I. We relate the HOMFLY polynomial of L(G) to the recently defined Bollobas-Riordan polynomial of a ribbon…

The topological underpinnings are presented for a new algorithm which answers the question: `Is a given knot the unknot?' The algorithm uses the braid foliation technology of Bennequin and of Birman and Menasco. The approach is to consider…

Testing whether there is an induced path in a graph spanning k given vertices is already NP-complete in general graphs when k=3. We show how to solve this problem in polynomial time on claw-free graphs, when k is not part of the input but…

Neuwirth asked if any non-trivial knot in the 3-sphere can be embedded in a closed surface so that the complement of the surface is a connected essential surface for the knot complement. In this paper, we examine some variations on this…

Deciding whether a diagram of a knot can be untangled with a given number of moves (as a part of the input) is known to be NP-complete. In this paper we determine the parameterized complexity of this problem with respect to a natural…

In various occasions the conjugacy problem in finitely generated amalgamated products and HNN extensions can be decided efficiently for elements which cannot be conjugated into the base groups. This observation asks for a bound on how many…

Let $\mathcal {M}$ be the space of all, including singular, long knots in 3-space and for which a fixed projection into the plane is an immersion. Let $cl(\Sigma^{(1)}_{iness})$ be the closure of the union of all singular knots in $\mathcal…

Graph embedding, especially as a subgraph of a grid, is an old topic in VLSI design and graph drawing. In this paper, we investigate related questions concerning the complexity of embedding a graph $G$ in a host graph that is the strong…

We prove that a knot is the unknot if and only if its reduced Khovanov cohomology has rank 1. The proof has two steps. We show first that there is a spectral sequence beginning with the reduced Khovanov cohomology and abutting to a knot…

We consider knot theories possessing a {\em parity}: each crossing is decreed {\em odd} or {\em even} according to some universal rule. If this rule satisfies some simple axioms concerning the behaviour under Reidemeister moves, this leads…

A knot K is called n-adjacent to the unknot, if K admits a projection containing n generalized crossings such that changing any m (no larger than n) of them yields a projection of the unknot. We show that a non-trivial satellite knot K is…

Let K be a knot in the 3-sphere. A slope p/q is said to be characterising for K if whenever p/q surgery on K is homeomorphic, via an orientation-preserving homeomorphism, to p/q surgery on another knot K' in the 3-sphere, then K and K' are…

For a polygonal knot K, it is shown that a tube of radius R(K), the polygonal thickness radius, is an embedded torus. Given a thick configuration K, perturbations of size r<R(K) define satellite structures, or local knotting. We explore…