Related papers: Optical knots and contact geometry I. From Arnol'd…
Atom optics demonstrates optical phenomena with coherent matter waves, providing a foundational connection between light and matter. Significant advances in optics have followed the realisation of structured light fields hosting complex…
We propose an unexpected twist to description of the geometry and topology of configurations of n straight lines considered as a whole 3D entity (because the lines are inseparably linked pairwise while having linking numbers 1/2 or -1/2)…
Topological quantum field theories can be used as a powerful tool to probe geometry and topology in low dimensions. Chern-Simons theories, which are examples of such field theories, provide a field theoretic framework for the study of knots…
Kauffman and Lomonaco explored the idea of understanding quantum entanglement (the non-local correlation of certain properties of particles) topologically by viewing unitary entangling operators as braiding operators. In the work of G.…
The space of n-sided polygons embedded in three-space consists of a smooth manifold in which points correspond to piecewise linear or ``geometric'' knots, while paths correspond to isotopies which preserve the geometric structure of these…
Relative self-linking and linking "numbers" for pairs of knots in oriented 3-manifolds are defined in terms of intersection invariants of immersed surfaces in 4-manifolds. The resulting concordance invariants generalize the usual…
We give an introduction to the physics and mathematics involved in the recently observed relation between topological string theory and knot contact homology and then discuss this relation. The note is based on two lectures given at the…
Finite-order invariants of knots in arbitrary 3-manifolds (including non-orientable ones) are constructed and studied by methods of the topology of discriminant sets. Obstructions to the integrability of admissible weight systems to…
This is a survey of the impact of Thurston's work on knot theory, laying emphasis on the two characteristic features, rigidity and flexibility, of 3-dimensional hyperbolic structures. We also lay emphasis on the role of the classical…
This paper revisits the geometric foundations of electromagnetic theory, by studying Faraday's concept of field lines. We introduce "covariant electromagnetic field lines," a novel construct that extends traditional field line concepts to a…
A polynomial knot in $\mathbb{R}^n$ is a smooth embedding of $\mathbb{R}$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$ such that the component functions are real polynomials. In the earlier paper with Mishra, we have studied the space $\mathcal{P}$ of polynomial…
We perform a compare-and-contrast investigation between the equilibrium shapes of physical and ideal trefoil knots, both in closed and open configurations. Ideal knots are purely geometric abstractions for the tightest configuration tied in…
We present a topological interpretation of knot and braid contact homology in degree zero, in terms of cords and skein relations. This interpretation allows us to extend the knot invariant to embedded graphs and higher-dimensional knots. We…
A complete geometric unification of gravity and electromagnetism is proposed by considering two aspects of torsion: its relation to spin established in Einstein--Cartan theory and the possible interpretation of the torsion trace as the…
We investigate the geometry of hyperbolic knots and links whose diagrams have a high amount of twisting of multiple strands. We find information on volume and certain isotopy classes of geodesics for the complements of these links, based…
We classify Legendrian torus knots and figure eight knots in the tight contact structure on the 3-sphere up to Legendrian isotopy. As a corollary to this we also obtain the classification of transversal torus knots and figure eight knots up…
This book is an introduction to hyperbolic geometry in dimension three, and its applications to knot theory and to geometric problems arising in knot theory. It has three parts. The first part covers basic tools in hyperbolic geometry and…
Knots are familiar entities that appear at a captivating nexus of art, technology, mathematics, and science. As topologically stable objects within field theories, they have been speculatively proposed as explanations for diverse persistent…
(This is a report for the Proceedings of ``Journees Relativistes 1993'' written in September 1993. Containes a short description of the results published elsewhere in the joint paper with A. Ashtekar) Integral calculus on the space of gauge…
The goal of this book is to characterize algebraically the closed 4-manifolds that fibre nontrivially or admit geometries in the sense of Thurston, or which are obtained by surgery on 2-knots, and to provide a reference for the topology of…