Related papers: The untwisting number of a knot
Knotoid theory is a generalization of knot theory introduced by Turaev in 2012. In recent years, various invariants of knotoids have been studied. In this paper, we mainly discuss unknotting moves and unknotting numbers of plus-welded…
The surgery unknotting number of a Legendrian link is defined as the minimal number of particular oriented surgeries that are required to convert the link into a Legendrian unknot. Lower bounds for the surgery unknotting number are given in…
Based on a vanishing theorem for non-fibered knots due to Friedl and Vidussi, we define the twisted Alexander vanishing order of a knot to be the order of the smallest finite group such that the corresponding twisted Alexander polynomial is…
We enumerate and show tables of minimal diagrams for all prime knots up to the triple-crossing number equal to five. We derive a minimal generating set of oriented moves connecting triple-crossing diagrams of the same oriented knot. We also…
We study a local twist move on welded knots that is an analog of the virtualization move on virtual knots. Since this move is an unknotting operation we define an invariant, unknotting twist number, for welded knots. We relate the…
A knot in the 3-sphere is said to have zero negative unknotting number if it can be transformed into the unknot by performing only positive crossing changes. In this paper, we provide an obstruction for a knot to having zero negative…
The transient number of a knot K, denoted tr(K), is the minimal number of simple arcs that have to be attached to K, in order that K can be homotoped to a trivial knot in a regular neighborhood of the union of K and the arcs. We give a…
Unknotting numbers for torus knots and links are well known. In this paper, we present a method for determining the position of unknotting number crossing changes in a toric braid B(p, q) such that the closure of the resultant braid is…
We prove that if an alternating knot has unknotting number one, then there exists an unknotting crossing in any alternating diagram. This is done by showing that the obstruction to unknotting number one developed by Greene in his work on…
The unknotting number of a positive braid with n strands and k intersections is known to be equal to (k-n+1)/2. We consider Lorenz knots (which are positive braids) and, using a different method, find their unknotting numbers in terms of…
We use Heegaard Floer homology to give obstructions to unknotting a knot with a single crossing change. These restrictions are particularly useful in the case where the knot in question is alternating. As an example, we use them to classify…
This paper, to be regularly updated, lists those prime knots with the fewest possible number of crossings for which values of basic knot invariants, such as the unknotting number or the smooth 4-genus, are unknown. This list is being…
The splitting number of a link is the minimal number of crossing changes between different components required, on any diagram, to convert it to a split link. We introduce new techniques to compute the splitting number, involving covering…
By twisting a given link $L$ along an unknotted circle $c$, we obtain an infinite family of links $\{ L_n \}$. We introduce the ``stable unknotting number'' which describes the asymptotic behavior of unknotting numbers of links in the twist…
For any knot with genus one and unknotting number one, other than the figure-eight knot, we prove that there is exactly one way to unknot it by means of a crossing change. In the case of the figure-eight knot, we prove that there are…
We use the rational Witt class of a knot in the 3-sphere as a tool for addressing questions about its unknotting number. We apply these tools to several low crossing knots (151 knots with 11 crossing and 100 knots with 12 crossings) and to…
We introduce a new numerical invariant of knots and links from the descending diagrams. It is considered to live between the unknotting number and the bridge number.
The twisting number of a ribbon knot $K$ is the minimal number of tangle replacements on the symmetry axis of $J \# -J$ for any knot $J$ that is required to produce a symmetric union diagram of $K$. We prove that the twisting number is…
We study symmetric crossing change operations for strongly invertible knots. Our main theorem is that the most natural notion of equivariant unknotting number is not additive under connected sum, in contrast with the longstanding conjecture…
We show that for any nontrivial knot $K$ and any natural number $n$ there is a diagram $D$ of $K$ such that the unknotting number of $D$ is greater than or equal to $n$. It is well known that twice the unknotting number of $K$ is less than…