Related papers: New Upper Bounds for Stick Numbers
We define and compare several natural ways to compute the bridge number of a knot diagram. We study bridge numbers of crossing number minimizing diagrams, as well as the behavior of diagrammatic bridge numbers under the connected sum…
We study the degree of polynomial representations of knots. We give the lexicographic degree of all two-bridge knots with 11 or fewer crossings. First, we estimate the total degree of a lexicographic parametrisation of such a knot. This…
There are 352.2 million prime knots in the 3-sphere with at most 19 crossings. We study which of these knots are slice, in both the smooth and topological categories. While no algorithm is known for deciding whether a given knot is slice in…
We construct ribbon surfaces of Euler characteristic one for several infinite families of alternating 3-braid closures. We also use a twisted Alexander polynomial obstruction to conclude the classification of smoothly slice knots which are…
We show that all knots up to $6$ crossings can be represented by polynomial knots of degree at most $7$, among which except for $5_2, 5_2^*, 6_1, 6_1^*, 6_2, 6_2^*$ and $6_3$ all are in their minimal degree representation. We provide…
We use Heegaard Floer homology to obtain bounds on unknotting numbers. This is a generalisation of Ozsvath and Szabo's obstruction to unknotting number one. We determine the unknotting numbers of 9_10, 9_13, 9_35, 9_38, 10_53, 10_101 and…
We study algebraic tangles as fundamental components in knot theory, developing a systematic approach to classify and tabulate prime tangles using a novel canonical representation. The canonical representation enables us to distinguish…
For a knot K, the concordance crosscap number, c(K), is the minimum crosscap number among all knots concordant to K. Building on work of G. Zhang, which studied the determinants of knots with c(K) < 2, we apply the Alexander polynomial to…
We use matchings on Lyndon words to classify flat knots up to 8 crossings. Using flat knots invariants such as the based matrix, the $\phi$-invariant, the flat arrow polynomial, and the flat Jones-Krushkal polynomial, we distinguish all…
We derive new obstructions to periodicity of classical knots by employing the Heegaard Floer correction terms of the finite cyclic branched covers of the knots. Applying our results to two fold covers, we demonstrate through numerous…
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.
A quadruple crossing is a crossing in a projection of a knot or link that has four strands of the knot passing straight through it. A quadruple crossing projection is a projection such that all of the crossings are quadruple crossings. In a…
We introduce a new polynomial invariant of virtual knots and links and use this invariant to compute a lower bound on the virtual crossing number and the minimal surface genus.
The cubic lattice stick index of a knot type is the least number of sticks necessary to construct the knot type in the 3-dimensional cubic lattice. We present the cubic lattice stick index of various knots and links, including all…
Upper bounds on the maximum number of codewords in a binary code of a given length and minimum Hamming distance are considered. New bounds are derived by a combination of linear programming and counting arguments. Some of these bounds…
We study spectral gaps of cellular differentials for finite cyclic coverings of knot complements. Their asymptotics can be expressed in terms of irrationality exponents associated with ratios of logarithms of algebraic numbers determined by…
The aim of the present paper is to prove that the minimal number of virtual crossings for some families of virtual knots grows quadratically with respect to the minimal number of classical crossings. All previously known estimates for…
In this paper, we determine the average genus of all the $2$-bridge knots with a given crossing number. As a consequence, we obtain the oblique asymptote of this value as the crossing number grows.
The crossing number of a graph is the minimum number of crossings in a drawing of the graph in the plane. Our main result is that every graph $G$ that does not contain a fixed graph as a minor has crossing number $O(\Delta n)$, where $G$…
We define the {\it Wirtinger number} of a link, an invariant closely related to the meridional rank. The Wirtinger number is the minimum number of generators of the fundamental group of the link complement over all meridional presentations…