Related papers: The minimum crossing number of essential tangles
We show that computing the minimum rank of a sign pattern matrix is NP hard. Our proof is based on a simple but useful connection between minimum ranks of sign pattern matrices and the stretchability problem for pseudolines arrangements. In…
It is shown that the diameter of the boundary slope set is bounded from above by the twice of the minimal crossing number for a Montesinos knot.
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…
Multipartite entanglement is a valuable resource for quantum technologies. However, detecting this resource can be challenging: for genuine multipartite entanglement, the detection may require global measurements that are hard to implement…
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…
We describe a way of encoding a Kauffman state as a set of tuples, similar to a Gauss code. Then we describe a procedure for using these state codes to determine the unoriented genus and crosscap number of any prime alternating knot or…
We examine the open problem of finding the shortest string that contains each of the n! permutations of n symbols as contiguous substrings (i.e., the shortest superpermutation on n symbols). It has been conjectured that the shortest…
Periodic tangles are 1-dimensional submanifolds in the 3-space with translational symmetry. In this paper, we define the linking numbers for singly, doubly, and triply periodic tangles using appropriate motifs and show that they are…
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,…
Coloring numbers are one of the simplest combinatorial invariants of knots and links to describe. And with Joyce's introduction of quandles, we can understand them more algebraically. But can we extend these invariants to tangles -- knots…
Consider a connected graph $G$ and let $T$ be a spanning tree of $G$. Every edge $e \in G-T$ induces a cycle in $T \cup \{e\}$. The intersection of two distinct such cycles is the set of edges of $T$ that belong to both cycles. We consider…
Traditionally, knot theorists have considered projections of knots where there are two strands meeting at every crossing. A triple crossing is a crossing where three strands meet at a single point, such that each strand bisects the…
We improve the upper bounds (in terms of $n$) in [9] and [13] on the minimal number of elements required to generate a minimally transitive permutation group of degree $n$.
Motivated by a problem asked by Richter and by the long standing Harary-Hill conjecture, we study the relation between the crossing number of a graph $G$ and the crossing number of its cone $CG$, the graph obtained from $G$ by adding a new…
We consider the minimal number of points on a regular grid on the plane that generates $n$ line segments of points of exactly length $k$. We illustrate how this is related to the $n$-queens problem on the toroidal chessboard and show that…
This paper proves the minimum size of a supersequence over a set of eight elements is 52. This disproves a conjecture that the lower bound of the supersequence is the partial sum of the geometric Connell sequence. By studying the internal…
The ropelength of a knot is the quotient of its length and its thickness, the radius of the largest embedded normal tube around the knot. We prove existence and regularity for ropelength minimizers in any knot or link type; these are…
The aim of this survey article is to highlight several notoriously intractable problems about knots and links, as well as to provide a brief discussion of what is known about them.
To quantify the entanglement of bipartite systems in terms of some entanglement measure is a challenging problem in general, and it is much worse when the information about the system is less. In this manuscript, based on two classes of…
In the first part of the paper, we present an (1+\mu)-approximation algorithm to the minimum-spanning tree of points in a planar arrangement of lines, where the metric is the number of crossings between the spanning tree and the lines. The…