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A slope $p/q$ is a characterizing slope for a knot $K$ in $S^3$ if the oriented homeomorphism type of $p/q$-surgery on $K$ determines $K$ uniquely. We show that for each torus knot its set of characterizing slopes contains all but finitely…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2016-10-12 Duncan McCoy

We exhibit infinitely many ribbon knots, each of which bounds infinitely many pairwise non-isotopic ribbon disks whose exteriors are diffeomorphic. This family provides a positive answer to a stronger version of an old question of Hitt and…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2023-10-27 Jeffrey Meier , Alexander Zupan

We give an infinite family of embeddings of $\mathbb{R} P^2$ to $S^4$ such that they are mutually topologically isotopic however are not smoothly isotopic to each other. Moreover, they are topologically isotopic to the standard $P^2$-knot.…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2023-12-05 Jin Miyazawa

We prove a complete classification theorem for loose Legendrian knots in an oriented 3-manifold, generalizing results of Dymara and Ding-Geiges. Our approach is to classify knots in a $3$-manifold $M$ that are transverse to a nowhere-zero…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2019-07-24 Patricia Cahn , Vladimir Chernov

We show that tori in Engel 4-manifolds behave analogously to knots in contact 3-manifolds: Every torus with trivial normal bundle is isotopic to infinitely many distinct transverse tori, distinguished locally (and globally in the…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2025-06-03 Robert E. Gompf

It is well-known that no knot can be cancelled in a connected sum with another knot, whereas every link can be cancelled up to link homotopy in a (componentwise) connected sum with another link. In this paper we address the question whether…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2007-05-23 Sergey A. Melikhov , Dusan Repovs

Generalizing Milnor's result that an FTC (finite total curvature) knot has an isotopic inscribed polygon, we show that any two nearby knotted FTC graphs are isotopic by a small isotopy. We also show how to obtain sharper constants when the…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2007-10-24 Elizabeth Denne , John M Sullivan

The existence of ring-like and knotted solitons in O(3) non-linear sigma model is analysed. The role of isotopy of knots/links in classifying such solitons is pointed out. Appearance of torus knot solitons is seen.

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2009-10-31 T R Govindarajan

We prove that for three-manifolds satisfying a certain algebraic condition on their fundamental group, null-homotopic knots are determined by their complements. This answers a Kirby Problem posed by Boileau for this special case of…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2025-11-10 Aliakbar Daemi , Tye Lidman

We extend knot contact homology to a theory over the ring $\mathbb{Z}[\lambda^{\pm 1},\mu^{\pm 1}]$, with the invariant given topologically and combinatorially. The improved invariant, which is defined for framed knots in $S^3$ and can be…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2008-06-11 Lenhard Ng

Knots and links in 3-manifolds are studied by applying intersection invariants to singular concordances. The resulting link invariants generalize the Arf invariant, the mod 2 Sato-Levine invariants, and Milnor's triple linking numbers.…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2016-01-20 Rob Schneiderman

We prove that any link in $S^3$ whose Khovanov homology is the same as that of a Hopf link must be isotopic to that Hopf link. This holds for both reduced and unreduced Khovanov homology, and with coefficients in either $\mathbb{Z}$ or…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2019-12-02 John A. Baldwin , Steven Sivek , Yi Xie

We say that a given knot $J\subset S^3$ is detected by its knot Floer homology and $A$-polynomial if whenever a knot $K\subset S^3$ has the same knot Floer homology and the same $A$-polynomial as $J$, then $K=J$. In this paper we show that…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2017-02-08 Yi Ni , Xingru Zhang

We show that every non-trivial strongly quasipositive link is smoothly concordant to infinitely many pairwise non-isotopic strongly quasipositive links. In contrast to our result, Baker conjectured that smoothly concordant strongly…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2026-04-30 Paula Truöl

We construct an infinite family of smoothly slice knots that we prove are topologically doubly slice. Using the correction terms coming from Heegaard Floer homology, we show that none of these knots is smoothly doubly slice. We use these…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2017-05-17 Jeffrey Meier

We study the natural inclusion of the space of Legendrian embeddings in $(\mathbb{S}^3,\xi_{\operatorname{std}})$ into the space of smooth embeddings from a homotopical viewpoint. T. K\'alm\'an posed in [Kal] the open question of whether…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2024-06-07 Javier Martínez-Aguinaga

In this paper we show that there exist simply connected symplectic 4-manifolds which contain infinitely many knotted lagrangian tori, i.e. lagrangian embeddings of tori that are homotopic but not isotopic. Moreover, the homology class they…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2007-05-23 Stefano Vidussi

Suppose that a hyperbolic knot in $S^3$ admits a finite surgery, Boyer and Zhang proved that the surgery slope must be either integral or half-integral, and they conjectured that the latter case does not happen. Using the correction terms…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2013-10-07 Eileen Li , Yi Ni

Let K be a knot in S^3 of genus g and let n>0. We show that if rk HFK(K,g) < 2^{n+1} (where HFK denotes knot Floer homology), in particular if K is an alternating knot such that the leading coefficient a_g of its Alexander polynomial…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2014-10-01 Andras Juhasz

Relative self-linking and linking "numbers" for pairs of knots in oriented 3-manifolds are defined in terms of intersection invariants of immersed surfaces in 4-manifolds. The resulting concordance invariants generalize the usual…

Geometric Topology · Mathematics 2014-10-01 Rob Schneiderman