Related papers: Slicing knots in definite 4-manifolds
We consider manifolds $M^{2n}$ which admit smooth maps into a connected sum of $S^1\times S^n$ with only finitely many critical points, for $n\in\{2,4,8\}$, and compute the minimal number of critical points.
We study knots in $S^3$ with infinitely many $SU(2)$-cyclic surgeries, which are Dehn surgeries such that every representation of the resulting fundamental group into $SU(2)$ has cyclic image. We show that for every such nontrivial knot…
The fundamental quandle is an invariant for distinguishing surface knots, yet computable presentations have traditionally been limited to surfaces embedded in the $4$-sphere. Building on the framework of banded unlink diagrams introduced by…
In this paper we investigate the question of when different surgeries on a knot can produce identical manifolds. We show that given a knot in a homology sphere, unless the knot is quite special, there is a bound on the number of slopes that…
Two new invariants that are closely related to Milnor's curvature-torsion invariant are introduced. The first, the spiral index of a knot, captures the minimum number of maxima among all knot projections that are free of inflection points.…
We introduce a new numerical knot invariant, termed the \textit{segment number}, which is derived from partitioned knot diagrams subject to specific over/under-crossing constraints. We prove that a knot is non-trivial if and only if its…
Using spinning we analyze in a geometric way Haefliger's smoothly knotted (4k-1)-spheres in the 6k-sphere. Consider the 2-torus standardly embedded in the 3-sphere, which is further standardly embedded in the 6-sphere. At each point of the…
We consider the problem of cutting a set of edges on a polyhedral manifold surface, possibly with boundary, to obtain a single topological disk, minimizing either the total number of cut edges or their total length. We show that this…
We study surface knots in 4-space by using generic planar projections. These projections have fold points and cusps as their singularities and the image of the singular point set divides the plane into several regions. The width (or the…
We describe a procedure for creating infinite families of hyperbolic knots having unique minimal genus Seifert surface. A large subset of these knots have the further property that the surface cannot be the sole compact leaf of a depth one…
We show that the difference between the topological 4-genus of a knot and the minimal genus of a surface bounded by that knot that can be decomposed into a smooth concordance followed by an algebraically simple locally flat surface can be…
We look at complete minimal surfaces of finite total curvature in $\mathbb{R}^4$. Similarly to the case of complex curves in $\mathbb{C}^2$ we introduce their {\it link at infinity}; we derive the {\it writhe number at infinity} which gives…
A well-known algorithm for unknotting knots involves traversing a knot diagram and changing each crossing that is first encountered from below. The minimal number of crossings changed in this way across all diagrams for a knot is called the…
The 3-dimensional clasp number $cl(K)$ of a knot $K$ is the minimum number of clasp singularities of clasp disk, a singular immersed disk bounding $K$ whose singular set consists of only clasp singularities. We give a classification of…
A smooth five-dimensional s-cobordism becomes a smooth product if stabilized by a finite number n of $S^2xS^2x[0,1]$'s. We show that for amenable fundamental groups, the minimal n is subextensive in covers, i.e., n(cover)/index(cover) has…
In this paper we introduce the notion of a spherical knot mosaic where a knot is represented by tiling the surface of a topological 2-sphere with 11 canonical knot mosaic tiles and show this gives rise to several novel knot (and link)…
We compute the minimum number of critical points of a small codimension smooth map between two manifolds. We give as well some partial results for the case of higher codimension when the manifolds are spheres.
We introduce an alternative stratification of knots: by the size of lattice on which a knot can be first met. Using this classification, we find ratio of unknots and knots with more than 10 minimal crossings inside different lattices and…
In this paper we show how to realize all knot (and link) types as C^{2} smooth curves of constant curvature. Our proof is constructive: we build the knots with copies of a fixed finite number of "building blocks" that are particular…
A $\textit{knot}$ is a possibly wild simple closed curve in $S^3$. A knot $J$ is $\textit{semi-isotopic}$ to a knot $K$ if there is an annulus $A$ in $S^3\times[0,1]$ such that $A\cap(S^3\times\{0,1\})=\partial…