Related papers: Splittings of knot groups
A split-by-edges tree of a graph G on n vertices is a binary tree T where the root = V(G), every leaf is an independent set in G, and for every other node N in T with children L and R there is a pair of vertices {u, v} in N such that L = N…
Given a manifold M, it is natural to ask in how many ways it fibers (we mean fibering in a general way, where the base might be an orbifold -- this could be described as Seifert fibering)There are group-theoretic obstructions to the…
For all n > 0 there is a homomorphism from the smooth concordance group of knots in dimension 2n + 1 to an algebraically defined group called the rational algebraic concordance group. This algebraic concordance group splits as a direct sum…
The slicing number of a knot, $u_s(K)$, is the minimum number of crossing changes required to convert $K$ to a slice knot. This invariant is bounded above by the unknotting number and below by the slice genus $g_s(K)$. We show that for many…
Suppose the knot group G(K) of a knot K has a non-abelian representation \rho on A_4 \subset GL(4,Z). We conjecture that the twisted Alexander polynomial of K associated to \rho is of the form: \Delta_K(t)/(1-t) \phi(t^3), where \Delta_K…
While the problem of computing the genus of a knot is now fairly well understood, no algorithm is known for its four-dimensional variants, both in the smooth and in the topological locally flat category. In this article, we investigate a…
We investigate several conjectures in geometric topology by assembling computer data obtained by studying weaving knots, a doubly infinite family $W(p,n)$ of examples of hyperbolic knots. In particular, we compute some important polynomial…
If F is a free group of finite rank at least two then any group of the form F by Z is large. In this short note we show how this statement follows by combining a very recent theorem of Hagen and Wise (using work of Agol and of Wise) with…
The concordance genus of a knot K is the minimum three-genus among all knots concordant to K. For prime knots of 10 or fewer crossings there have been three knots for which the concordance genus was unknown. Those three cases are now…
For some $k \in \mathbb{Z}_{\geq 0}\cup \infty$, we call a linear forest $k$-bounded if each of its components has at most $k$ edges. We will say a $(k,\ell)$-bounded linear forest decomposition of a graph $G$ is a partition of $E(G)$ into…
We consider the problem of an inextensible but flexible fiber advected by a steady chaotic flow, and ask the simple question whether the fiber can spontaneously knot itself. Using a 1D Cosserat model, a simple local viscous drag model and…
The authors conjectured previously that a knot is nonfibered if and only if its infinite cyclic cover has uncountably many finite covers. We prove the conjecture for a class of knots that includes all knots of genus 1, using techniques from…
For a finite group $G$, let $\sigma(G)$ be the number of subgroups of $G$ and $\sigma_\iota(G)$ the number of isomorphism types of subgroups of $G$. Let $L=L_r(p^e)$ denote a simple group of Lie type, rank $r$, over a field of order $p^e$…
Let $X$ be an elliptic K3 surface endowed with two distinct Jacobian elliptic fibrations $\pi_i$, $i=1,2$, defined over a number field $k$. We prove that there is an elliptic curve $C\subset X$ such that the generic rank over $k$ of $X$…
The extension of the knot group $\pi_1(S^3\setminus K)$ to the category of tangles is introduced via a new category-theoretic construction. Through this presentation, a new avenue of proof for results about knot groups is opened.
In [V.O. Manturov, Non-reidemeister knot theory and its applications in dynamical systems, geometry, and topology, arxiv:1501.05208] the first named author gave the definition of $k$-free braid groups $G_n^k$. Here we establish connections…
Given a tame knot K presented in the form of a knot diagram, we show that the problem of determining whether K is knotted is in the complexity class NP, assuming the generalized Riemann hypothesis (GRH). In other words, there exists a…
If $X$ is an orientable, strongly minimal $PD_4$-complex and $\pi_1(X)$ has one end then it has no nontrivial locally-finite normal subgroup. Hence if $\pi$ is a 2-knot group then (a) if $\pi$ is virtually solvable then either $\pi$ has two…
The cut-rank of a set $X$ in a graph $G$ is the rank of the $X\times (V(G)-X)$ submatrix of the adjacency matrix over the binary field. A split is a partition of the vertex set into two sets $(X,Y)$ such that the cut-rank of $X$ is less…
We discuss an obstruction to a knot being smoothly slice that comes from minimum-genus bounds on smoothly embedded surfaces in definite 4-manifolds. As an example, we provide an alternate proof of the fact that the (2,1)-cable of the figure…