Related papers: Some families of minimal elements for the partial …
A partial order on the set of prime knots can be defined by the existence of an epimorphism between knot groups. We prove that all the prime knots with up to $6$ crossings are minimal. We also show that each fibered knot with the…
In this paper, we show the trivializing number of all minimal diagrams of positive 2-bridge knots and study the relation between the trivializing number and the unknotting number for a part of these knots.
Roberts proved that a family of alternating, arborescent, prime knots each have at least $2^{2n-1}$ distinct minimal genus Seifert surfaces, where $n$ is the genus of the knot in question. We give a subfamily of these knots that have…
In this paper, we give the trivializing number of all minimal diagrams of positive 2-bridge knots, and study the relation between the trivializing number and the unknotting number for a part of these knots.
The warping degree of an oriented knot diagram is the minimal number of crossing changes which are required to obtain a monotone knot diagram from the diagram. The minimal warping degree of a knot is the minimal value of the warping degree…
We give a survey of some recent papers by the authors and Masaaki Wada relating the twisted Alexander polynomial with a partial order on the set of prime knots. We also give examples and pose open problems.
We publish a table of primitive finite-type invariants of order less than or equal to six, for knots of ten or fewer crossings. We note certain mod-2 congruences, one of which leads to a chirality criterion in the Alexander polynomial. We…
For some families of two-bridge knots, including double-twist knots with genus at least four, we determine precisely the set of integers $n>1$ such that the fundamental group of the $n$-fold cyclic branched cover of the 3-sphere along these…
A conjecture of Shumakovitch states that every nontrivial knot has 2-torsion in its Khovanov homology. We show that if a knot $K$ has no 2-torsion in its Khovanov homology, then the rank of its reduced Khovanov homology is minimal among all…
In this paper we use continued fractions to study a partial order on the set of 2-bridge knots derived from the work of Ohtsuki, Riley, and Sakuma. We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for any set of 2-bridge knots to have an…
We classify all knot diagrams of genus two and three, and give applications to positive, alternating and homogeneous knots, including a classification of achiral genus 2 alternating knots, slice or achiral 2-almost positive knots, a proof…
In a previous paper by the authors, we found some patterns in link diagrams that give rise to torsion elements of order two in their Khovanov homology. In this paper we extend these results by providing new torsion patterns. Many of the…
We show that every two-bridge knot $K$ of crossing number $N$ admits a polynomial parametrization $x=T_3(t), y = T_b(t), z =C(t)$ where $T_k(t)$ are the Chebyshev polynomials and $b+\deg C = 3N$. If $C (t)= T_c(t)$ is a Chebyshev…
Agol proved that ribbon concordance forms a partial ordering on the set of knots in the $3$-sphere. In this paper, we prove that all tight fibered knots are minimal in this partially ordered set. We also give the table of prime minimal…
If a knot has the Alexander polynomial not equal to 1, then it is linear $n$-colorable. By means of such a coloring, such a knot is given an upper bound for the minimal quandle order, i.e., the minimal order of a quandle with which the knot…
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 $K$ be a prime knot in $S^3$ and $G(K)=\pi_1(S^3-K)$ the knot group. We write $K_1 \geq K_2$ if there exists a surjective homomorphism from $G(K_1)$ onto $G(K_2)$. In this paper, we determine this partial order on the set of prime knots…
It is known that the minimal degree of the Jones polynomial of a positive knot is equal to its genus, and the minimal coefficient is 1. We extend this result to almost positive links and partly identify the 3 following coefficients for…
In our previous work, we introduced the notion of the twisted Alexander vanishing order of knots, defined as the order of the smallest finite group for which the corresponding twisted Alexander polynomial vanishes. In this paper, we explore…
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,…