Related papers: Prime component-preservingly amphicheiral link wit…

We prove that a prime knot K is not determined by its p-fold cyclic branched cover for at most two odd primes p. Moreover, we show that for a given odd prime p, the p-fold cyclic branched cover of a prime knot K is the p-fold cyclic…

A (weak chord) index is a function on the crossings of knot diagrams such that: 1) the index of a crossing does not change under Reidemeister moves; 2) crossings which can be paired by a second Reidemeister move have the same index. We show…

It is known that the unknotting number $u(L)$ of a link $L$ is less than or equal to half the crossing number $c(L)$ of $L$. We show that there are a planar graph $G$ and its spatial embedding $f$ such that the unknotting number $u(f)$ of…

In this paper, we define some polynomial invariants for virtual knots and links. In the first part we use Manturov's parity axioms to obtain a new polynomial invariant of virtual knots. This invariant can be regarded as a generalization of…

We show that (as conjectured by Lin and Wang) when a Vassiliev invariant of type $m$ is evaluated on a knot projection having $n$ crossings, the result is bounded by a constant times $n^m$. Thus the well known analogy between Vassiliev…

The Alexander biquandle of a virtual knot or link is a module over a 2-variable Laurent polynomial ring which is an invariant of virtual knots and links. The elementary ideals of this module are then invariants of virtual isotopy which…

A long standing open conjecture states that if a link $\mathcal{K}$ is alternating, then its ropelength $L(\mathcal{K})$ is at least of the order $O(Cr(\mathcal{K}))$. A recent result shows that the maximum braid index of a link bounds the…

It is known that the polyomino ideal of simple polyominoes is prime. In this paper, we focus on multiply connected polyominoes, namely polyominoes with holes, and observe that the non-existence of a certain sequence of inner intervals of…

Given a diagram $D$ of a knot $K$, we consider the number $c(D)$ of crossings and the number $b(D)$ of overpasses of $D$. We show that, if $D$ is a diagram of a nontrivial knot $K$ whose number $c(D)$ of crossings is minimal, then…

In this paper we present a systematic method to generate prime knot and prime link minimal triple-point projections, and then classify all classical prime knots and prime links with triple-crossing number at most four. We also extend the…

Let $f: \CN \rightarrow \C $ be a reduced polynomial map, with $D=f^{-1}(0)$, $\U=\CN \setminus D$ and boundary manifold $M=\partial \U$. Assume that $f$ is transversal at infinity and $D$ has only isolated singularities. Then the only…

We study the minimal crossing number $c(K_{1}\# K_{2})$ of composite knots $K_{1}\# K_{2}$, where $K_1$ and $K_2$ are prime, by relating it to the minimal crossing number of spatial graphs, in particular the $2n$-theta curve…

A partial order on prime knots can be defined by declaring $J\ge K$ if there exists an epimorphism from the knot group of $J$ onto the knot group of $K$. Suppose that $J$ is a 2-bridge knot that is strictly greater than $m$ distinct,…

Let $K$ be a tame knot embedded in $\mathbf{S}^3$. We address the problem of finding the minimal degree non-cyclic cover $p:X \rightarrow \mathbf{S}^3 \smallsetminus K$. When $K$ has non-trivial Alexander polynomial we construct finite…

The unknotting number of a knot is the minimum number of crossings one must change to turn that knot into the unknot. We work with a generalization of unknotting number due to Mathieu-Domergue, which we call the untwisting number. The…

We show that if the connected sum of two knots with coprime Alexander polynomials has vanishing von Neumann rho-invariants associated with certain metabelian representations then so do both knots. As an application, we give a new example of…

By a recent result of Livingston, it is known that if a knot has a prime power branched cyclic cover that is not a homology sphere, then there is an infinite family of non-concordant knots having the same Seifert form as the knot. In this…

The braid indices of most links remain unknown as there is no known universal method that can be used to determine the braid index of an arbitrary knot. This is also the case for alternating knots. In this paper, we show that if $K$ is an…

In the early 1980's Mike Freedman showed that all knots with trivial Alexander polynomial are topologically slice (with fundamental group Z). This paper contains the first new examples of topologically slice knots. In fact, we give a…

Let $\epsilon\in \{-1,1\}$. A sequence of prime numbers $p_1, p_2, p_3, ...$, such that $p_i=2p_{i-1}+\epsilon$ for all $i$, is called a {\it Cunningham chain} of the first or second kind, depending on whether $\epsilon =1$ or -1…