Related papers: On two-bridge ribbon knots
In general, the bridge index of a knot is less than or equal to its braid index. A natural question is when these two values coincide. Motivated by a conjecture of Krishna and Morton, we prove that the bridge index and the braid index…
We construct an integer polynomial whose coefficients enumerate the Kauffman states of the two-bridge knot with Conway's notation C(n,r).
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…
We prove that a crossing change along a double point circle on a 2-knot is realized by ribbon-moves for a knotted torus obtained from the 2-knot by attaching a 1-handle. It follows that any 2-knots for which the crossing change is an…
In this paper we prove that if $M_K$ is the complement of a non-fibered twist knot $K$ in $\mathbb S^3$, then $M_K$ is not commensurable to a fibered knot complement in a $\mathbb Z/ 2 \mathbb Z$-homology sphere. To prove this result we…
The Meridional Rank Conjecture asks whether the bridge number of a knot in $S^3$ is equal to the minimal number of meridians needed to generate the fundamental group of its complement. In this paper we investigate the analogous conjecture…
Residual torsion-free nilpotence has proven to be an important property for knot groups with applications to bi-orderability and ribbon concordance. Mayland proposed a strategy to show that a two-bridge knot group has a commutator subgroup…
We confirm the AJ conjecture [Ga04] that relates the A-polynomial and the colored Jones polynomial for those hyperbolic knots satisfying certain conditions. In particular, we show that the conjecture holds true for some classes of…
A closer look at an example introduced by Livingston & Melvin and later studied by Miyazaki shows that a plumbing of two fibered ribbon knots (along their fiber surfaces) may be algebraically slice yet not ribbon.
We investigate the question of when distinct branched surfaces in the complement of a 2-bridge knot support essential surfaces with identical boundary slopes. We determine all instances in which this occurs and identify an infinite family…
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…
A marked strongly invertible knot is a triple $(K,h,\delta)$ of a knot $K$ in $S^3$, a strong inversion $h$ of $K$, and a subarc $\delta \subset \operatorname{Fix}(h)\cong S^1$ bounded by $\operatorname{Fix}(h)\cap K\cong S^0$. An invariant…
We calculate the bridge distance for $m$-bridge knots/links in the $3$-sphere with sufficiently complicated $2m$-plat projections. In particular we show that if the underlying braid of the plat has $n - 1$ rows of twists and all its…
Let $T$ be a satellite knot, link, or spatial graph in a 3-manifold $M$ that is either $S^3$ or a lens space. Let $\mathfrak{b}_0$ and $\mathfrak{b}_1$ denote genus 0 and genus 1 bridge number, respectively. Suppose that $T$ has a companion…
We show that for the pretzel knots $K_k=P(3,-3,-2k-1)$, the $n$-fold cyclic branched covers are L-spaces for all $n\geq 1$. In addition, we show that the knots $K_k$ with $k\geq 1$ are quasipositive and slice, answering a question of…
An equilateral stick number $s_{=}(K)$ of a knot $K$ is defined to be the minimal number of sticks required to construct a polygonal knot of $K$ which consists of equal length sticks. Rawdon and Scharein [12] found upper bounds for the…
In this paper we give necessary conditions on group presentations, with two generators and one relator, in order to be the group of a virtual knot diagram. Although those conditions are not enough, we use them to determine, completely,…
Motivated by the study of ribbon knots we explore symmetric unions, a beautiful construction introduced by Kinoshita and Terasaka in 1957. For symmetric diagrams we develop a two-variable refinement $W_D(s,t)$ of the Jones polynomial that…
We prove for a large class of knots that the meridional rank coincides with the bridge number. This class contains all knots whose exterior is a graph manifold. This gives a partial answer to a question of S. Cappell and J. Shaneson, see…
We exhibit an algorithm to determine the bridge number of a hyperbolic knot in the 3-sphere. The proof uses adaptations of almost normal surface theory for compact surfaces with boundary in ideally triangulated knot exteriors.