Related papers: SU(2)-Cyclic Surgeries on Knots
We study knots in $S^3$ with infinitely many $SU(2)$-cyclic surgeries, which are Dehn surgeries such that every representation of the resulting fundamental group into $SU(2)$ has cyclic image. We show that for every such nontrivial knot…
Let K be a non-trivial knot in the 3-sphere and let Y(r) be the 3-manifold obtained by surgery on K with surgery-coefficient a rational number r. We show that there is a homomorphism from the fundamental group of Y(r) to SU(2) with…
We provide infinitely many rational homology 3-spheres with weight-one fundamental groups which do not arise from Dehn surgery on knots in $S^3$. In contrast with previously known examples, our proofs do not require any gauge theory or…
For a knot $K$ in a homology $3$-sphere $\Sigma$, let $M$ be the result of $2/q$-surgery on $K$, and let $X$ be the universal abelian covering of $M$. Our first theorem is that if the first homology of $X$ is finite cyclic and $M$ is a…
New methods for computing a variety of gauge theoretic invariants for homology 3-spheres are developed. These invariants include the Chern-Simons invariants, the spectral flow of the odd signature operator, and the rho invariants of…
We construct two homology 3-spheres for which the (unperturbed) $SU(2)$ Chern-Simons function is not Morse-Bott. In one case, there is a degenerate isolated critical point. In the other, a path component of the critical set is not…
We give some remarks on two closely related issues as stated in the title. In particular we show that a Montesinos knot is SU(2)-simple if and only if it is a 2-bridge knot, extending a result of Zentner for 3-tangle summand pretzel knots.…
We prove that the fundamental group of 3-surgery on a nontrivial knot in the 3-sphere always admits an irreducible SU(2)-representation. This answers a question of Kronheimer and Mrowka dating from their work on the Property P conjecture.…
The trace of $n$-framed surgery on a knot in $S^3$ is a 4-manifold homotopy equivalent to the 2-sphere. We characterise when a generator of the second homotopy group of such a manifold can be realised by a locally flat embedded 2-sphere…
We study cosmetic surgeries on a knot in a homology sphere. Several constraints on knots and surgery slopes to admit such surgeries are given. Our main ingredient is the rational surgery formula of the Casson--Walker invariant for…
Three dimensional SU(2) Chern-Simons theory has been studied as a topological field theory to provide a field theoretic description of knots and links in three dimensions. A systematic method has been developed to obtain the link-invariants…
We introduce a unified framework for counting representations of knot groups into $SU(2)$ and $SL(2, \mathbb{R})$. For a knot $K$ in the 3-sphere, Lin and others showed that a Casson-style count of $SU(2)$ representations with fixed…
For a knot $K$ with $\Delta_K(t)\doteq t^2-3t+1$ in a homology $3$-sphere, let $M$ be the result of $2/q$-surgery on $K$. We show that an appropriate assumption on the Reidemeister torsion of the universal abelian covering of $M$ implies…
Band surgery is an operation relating pairs of knots or links in the three-sphere. We prove that if two quasi-alternating knots $K$ and $K'$ of the same square-free determinant are related by a band surgery, then the absolute value of the…
We prove that for any non-trivial knot K, infinitely many r-surgeries K(r) along K have a unique surgery description along a knot. Moreover, we show that for any hyperbolic L-space knot K and infinitely many integer slopes n, the manifold…
It is shown that any closed three-manifold M obtained by integral surgery on a knot in the three-sphere can always be constructed from integral surgeries on a 3-component link L with each component being an unknot in the three-sphere. It is…
Let K be a non-trivial knot in the 3-sphere and let Y be the 3-manifold obtained by surgery on K with surgery-coefficient 1. Using tools from gauge theory and symplectic topology, it is shown that the fundamental group of Y admits a…
We study the existence of irreducible $SU(2)$-representations for cyclic branched covers of knots in $S^3$. Our main result establishes that if $K$ is a non-trivial prime knot and $d$ is an integer such that $d \geq 2$ and $\Sigma_d(K)$ is…
We classify $SU(2)$-cyclic and $SU(2)$-abelian 3-manifolds, for which every representation of the fundamental group into $SU(2)$ has cyclic or abelian image respectively, among geometric 3-manifolds which are not hyperbolic. As an…
We use the combinatorial techniques of graphs of intersection to study reducible Dehn surgeries on knots in the three-sphere. In particular, in the event that a reducible surgery on a knot K in the three-sphere of slope r produces a…