Related papers: Knots with large character varieties

We construct many examples of non-slice knots in 3-space that cannot be distinguished from slice knots by previously known invariants. Using Whitney towers in place of embedded disks, we define a geometric filtration of the 3-dimensional…

The central discovery of $2d$ conformal theory was holomorphic factorization, which expressed correlation functions through bilinear combinations of conformal blocks, which are easily cut and joined without a need to sum over the entire…

The limiting character, introduced by Tillmann, has been studied recently in the context of Culler-Shalen theory. We extend the methods of the author's previous work to show that certain families of essential twice-punctured tori are…

Recently, Kashaev and the first author constructed an $R$-matrix from a Nichols algebra with an automorphism, that leads, via the Reshetikhin--Turaev functor, to a multivariable polynomial invariant of knots. Applying this to a rank 2…

Given any oriented link diagram, two types of new knot invariants are constructed. They satisfy some generalized skein relations. The coefficients of each invariant is from a commutative ring. Homomorphisms and representations of those…

We say that a knot $k_1$ in the $3$-sphere {\it $1$-dominates} another $k_2$ if there is a proper degree 1 map $E(k_1) \to E(k_2)$ between their exteriors, and write $k_1 \ge k_2$. When $k_1 \ge k_2$ but $k_1 \ne k_2$ we write $k_1 > k_2$.…

Khovanov homology for knots has generated a flurry of activity in the topology community. This paper studies the Khovanov type cohomology for graphs with a special attention to torsions. When the underlying algebra is $\mathbb{Z}[x]/(x^2)$,…

We explore algebraic characterizations of 2-knots whose associated knot manifolds fibre over lower-dimensional orbifolds, and consider also some issues related to the groups of higher-dimensional fibred knots.

We give a complete characterization of the topological slice status of odd 3-strand pretzel knots, proving that an odd 3-strand pretzel knot is topologically slice if and only if either it is ribbon or has trivial Alexander polynomial. (By…

We introduce a special class of knots, called global knots, in F^2 x R and we construct new isotopy invariants, called T-invariants, for global knots. Some T-invariants are of finite type but they cannot be extracted from the generalized…

Given a closed, oriented, connected 3-manifold, M, we define higher-order linking forms on the higher-order Alexander modules of M. These higher-order linking forms generalize similar linking forms for knots previously studied by the…

We define homotopy-theoretic invariants of knots in prime 3-manifolds. Fix a knot J in a prime 3-manifold M. Call a knot K in M concordant to J if it cobounds a properly embedded annulus with J in MxI, and call K J-characteristic if there…

We classify Dehn surgeries on (p,q,r) pretzel knots that result in a manifold of finite fundamental group. The only hyperbolic pretzel knots that admit non-trivial finite surgeries are (-2,3,7) and (-2,3,9). Agol and Lackenby's 6-theorem…

This is a survey article about the connections between knot theory and four-dimensional topology. Every four-manifold can be represented in terms of a link, by a Kirby diagram. This point of view has led to progress in computing invariants…

As a new step in the study of rectangularly-colored knot polynomials, we reformulate the prescription of arXiv:1606.06015 for twist knots in the double-column representations $R=[rr]$ in terms of skew Schur polynomials. These, however, are…

The A-polynomial of a knot is defined in terms of SL(2,C) representations of the knot group, and encodes information about essential surfaces in the knot complement. In 2005, Dunfield-Garoufalidis and Boyer-Zhang proved that it detects the…

Classical work of Thurston and Gabai shows that finitely many taut sutured manifold hierarchies determine the Thurston norm of a compact oriented irreducible $3$-manifold with toroidal boundary. We give an explicit procedure to extract this…

These notes are based on the lectures given by the author during Winter Braids IX in Reims in March 2019. We discuss slice knots and why they are interesting, as well as some ways to decide if a given knot is or is not slice. We describe…

Physical knots and links are one-dimensional submanifolds of R^3 with fixed length and thickness. We show that isotopy classes in this category can differ from those of classical knot and link theory. In particular we exhibit a Gordian…

We study certain linear representations of the knot group that induce augmentations of knot contact homology. This perspective on augmentations enhances our understanding of the relationship between the augmentation polynomial and the…