Related papers: Knot mosaic tabulation
The topological underpinnings are presented for a new algorithm which answers the question: `Is a given knot the unknot?' The algorithm uses the braid foliation technology of Bennequin and of Birman and Menasco. The approach is to consider…
A knot is a closed loop in space without self-intersection. Two knots are equivalent if there is a self homeomorphism of space bringing one onto the other. An arc presentation is an embedding of a knot in the union of finitely many half…
The classical knot recognition problem is the problem of determining whether the virtual knot represented by a given diagram is classical. We prove that this problem is in NP, and we give an exponential time algorithm for the problem.
We discuss an "extrinsic" property of knots in a 3-subspace of the 3-sphere $S^3$ to characterize how the subspace is embedded in $S^3$. Specifically, we show that every knot in a subspace of the 3-sphere is transient if and only if the…
We introduce a framework to analyze knots and links in an unmarked solid torus. We discuss invariants that detect when such links are equivalent under an ambient homeomorphism, and show that the multivariable Alexander polynomial is such in…
We present a systematic classification of uncolored bonded knots with singularity number at most seven. Bonded knots provide a topological model for closed protein chains with intramolecular bridges, such as disulfide bonds. Following the…
We introduce an invariant of a hyperbolic knot which is a map $\alpha\mapsto \boldsymbol{\Phi}_\alpha(h)$ from $\mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z}$ to matrices with entries in $\overline{\mathbb{Q}}[[h]]$ and with rows and columns indexed by the…
Three new knot invariants are defined using cocycles of the generalized quandle homology theory that was proposed by Andruskiewitsch and Gra\~na. We specialize that theory to the case when there is a group action on the coefficients. First,…
We introduce two numerical invariants, the waist and the trunk of knots. The waist of a closed incompressible surface in the complement of a knot is defined as the minimal intersection number of all compressing disks for the surface in the…
In this paper we show how to place Michael Berry's discovery of knotted zeros in the quantum states of hydrogen in the context of general knot theory and in the context of our formulations for quantum knots. Berry gave a time independent…
In this article we take up the calculation of the minimum number of colors needed to produce a non-trivial coloring of a knot. This is a knot invariant and we use the torus knots of type (2, n) as our case study. We calculate the minima in…
We introduce an unknotting-type number of knot projections that gives an upper bound of the crosscap number of knots. We determine the set of knot projections with the unknotting-type number at most two, and this result implies classical…
This paper is a memory of the work and influence of Vaughan Jones. It is an exposition of the remarkable breakthroughs in knot theory and low dimensional topology that were catalyzed by his work. The paper recalls the inception of the Jones…
For a knot $K$ the cube number is a knot invariant defined to be the smallest $n$ for which there is a cube diagram of size $n$ for $K$. There is also a Legendrian version of this invariant called the \emph{Legendrian cube number}. We will…
A powerful way to study groups is via their actions on suitable spaces. Classifying spaces for families of subgroups are a type of these spaces, obtained by imposing some strict conditions on the fixed-point sets. We show how in the…
A knot theoretic algorithm is proposed to model `fragile topology' of quantum physics.
We give a number theoretic proof of the integrality of certain BPS invariants of knots. The formulas for these numbers are sums involving binomial coefficients and the M\"obius function. We also prove a conjecture about further divisibility…
We define and study a bigraded knot invariant whose Euler characteristic is the Alexander polynomial, closely connected to knot Floer homology. The invariant is the homology of a chain complex whose generators correspond to Kauffman states…
The unknotting number is the classical invariant of a knot. However, its determination is difficult in general. To obtain the unknotting number from definition one has to investigate all possible diagrams of the knot. We tried to show the…
In this sequel to my previous paper, "Is String Theory in Knots?" I explore ways of constructing symmetries through an algebraic stepping process using knotted graphs. The hope is that this may lead to an algebraic formulation of string…