Related papers: When is region crossing change an unknotting opera…

We give a simple example showing that a knot or link diagram that lies in the ${\mathbb{Z}}^2$ lattice is not necessarily the projection of a lattice stick knot or link in the ${\mathbb{Z}}^3$ lattice, and we give a necessary and sufficient…

We work with a generalization of knot theory, in which one diagram is reachable from another via a finite sequence of moves if a fixed condition, regarding the existence of certain morphisms in an associated category, is satisfied for every…

The forbidden moves can be combined with Gauss diagram Reidemeister moves to obtain move sequences with which we may change any Gauss diagram (and hence any virtual knot) into any other, including in particular the unknotted diagram

We use Heegaard Floer homology to give obstructions to unknotting a knot with a single crossing change. These restrictions are particularly useful in the case where the knot in question is alternating. As an example, we use them to classify…

The untwisting number of a knot K is the minimum number of null-homologous twists required to convert K to the unknot. Such a twist can be viewed as a generalization of a crossing change, since a classical crossing change can be effected by…

We introduce a local deformation called the virtualized $\Delta$-move for virtual knots and links. We prove that the virtualized $\Delta$-move is an unknotting operation for virtual knots. Furthermore we give a necessary and sufficient…

The (ordinary) unknotting-number of 1-dimensional knots, which is defined by using the crossing-change, is a very basic and important invariant. It is very natural to consider the `unknotting-number' associated with other local-moves on…

In this paper we introduce a new invariant of virtual knots and links that is non-trivial for infinitely many virtuals, but is trivial on classical knots and links. The invariant is initially be expressed in terms of a relative of the…

We present a sequence of diagrams of the unknot for which the minimum number of Reidemeister moves required to pass to the trivial diagram is quadratic with respect to the number of crossings. These bounds apply both in $S^2$ and in $\R^2$.

Chord diagrams and related enlacement graphs of alternating knots are enhanced to obtain complete invariant graphs including chirality detection. Moreover, the equivalence by common enlacement graph is specified and the neighborhood graph…

We show that for any nontrivial knot $K$ and any natural number $n$ there is a diagram $D$ of $K$ such that the unknotting number of $D$ is greater than or equal to $n$. It is well known that twice the unknotting number of $K$ is less than…

We show that one can interweave an unknot into any non-alternating connected projection of a link so that the resulting augmented projection is alternating.

Knots are commonly represented and manipulated via diagrams, which are decorated planar graphs. When such a knot diagram has low treewidth, parameterized graph algorithms can be leveraged to ensure the fast computation of many invariants…

For a knot diagram we introduce an operation which does not increase the genus of the diagram and does not change its representing knot type. We also describe a condition for this operation to certainly decrease the genus. The proof…

We introduce a notion of intrinsic linking and knotting for virtual spatial graphs. Our theory gives two filtrations of the set of all graphs, allowing us to measure, in a sense, how intrinsically linked or knotted a graph is; we show that…

A plane graph $H$ is a {\em plane minor} of a plane graph $G$ if there is a sequence of vertex and edge deletions, and edge contractions performed on the plane, that takes $G$ to $H$. Motivated by knot theory problems, it has been asked if…

The purpose of this article is to give a preliminary clarification on the relation between crossing number and crossing change. With a main focus on the span of X polynomial, we prove that, as our theorem claims, the crossing number of the…

We call a Delta Diagram any diagram of a knot or link whose regions (including the unbounded one) have 3, 4, or 5 sides. We prove that any knot or link admits a delta diagram. We define and estimate combinatorial link invariants stemming…

This paper studies rotational virtual knot theory and its relationship with quantum link invariants. Every quantum link invariant for classical knots and links extends to an invariant of rotational virtual knots and links. The paper sets up…

We consider surface links in the 4-space which are presented by the form of simple branched coverings over the standard torus, which we call torus-covering links. In this paper, we study unknotting numbers of torus-covering links. In some…