Related papers: Heegaard splittings of exteriors of, two bridge kn…

We introduce a new technique for finding lower bounds on the Heegaard genus of a 3-manifold obtained by gluing a pair of 3-manifolds together along an incompressible torus or annulus. We deduce a number of inequalities, including one which…

The rectangle condition for a genus $g$ Heegaard splitting of a 3-manifold, defined by Casson and Gordon, provides a sufficient criterion for the Heegaard splitting to be strongly irreducible. However it is unknown whether there exists a…

Let $M$ be a compact orientable irreducible 3-manifold and $H$ be an unstabilized genus three Heegaard splitting of $M$. In this article, we will define a simplicial complex of weak reducing pairs for $H$ and find several properties of this…

We show that a two-bridge ribbon knot $K(m^2 , m k \pm 1)$ with $m > k >0$ and $(m,k)=1$ admits a symmetric union presentation with partial knot which is a two-bridge knot $K(m,k)$. Similar descriptions for all the other two-bridge ribbon…

Suppose M is a compact orientable irreducible 3-manifold with Heegaard splitting surfaces P and Q. Then either Q is isotopic to a possibly stabilized copy of P or the Hempel distance of the splitting P is no greater than twice the genus of…

Let c(K;F) denote the surface crossing number of a knot K with respect to a closed connected surface F in S^3. We relate c(K;F) to the tunnel number t(K) and to the Heegaard deficiency delta(F)=g(M_1;F)+g(M_2;F)-g(F), where S^3=M_1 union_F…

We construct infinitely many manifolds admitting both strongly irreducible and weakly reducible minimal genus Heegaard splittings. Both closed manifolds and manifolds with boundary tori are constructed.

Let $h(K)$, $g_H(K)$, $g_1(K)$, $t(K)$ be the $h$-genus, Heegaard genus, bridge-1 genus, tunnel number of a knot $K$ in the $3$-sphere $S^3$, respectively. It is known that $g_H(K)-1=t(K)\leq g_1(K)\leq h(K)\leq g_H(K)$. A natural question…

Let $u(K)$ and $g(K)$ denote the unknotting number and the genus of a knot $K$, respectively. For a 3-braid knot $K$, we show that $u(K)\le g(K)$ holds, and that if $u(K)=g(K)$ then $K$ is either a 2-braid knot, a connected sum of two…

Building off ideas developed by Agol, we construct a family of hyperbolic knots $K_n$ whose complements contain no closed incompressible surfaces and have Heegaard genus exactly $n$. These are the first known examples of small knots having…

Symmetries of knots have been studied extensively, and strongly invertible knots are one of them. Lamm defined the equivariant crossing number $c_t(K)$, the minimum crossing number among all symmetric diagrams for a strongly invertible knot…

We show that sub-surfaces of a Heegaard surface for which the relative Hempel distance of the splitting is sufficiently high have to appear in any Heegaard surface of genus bounded by half that distance.

We give the rectangle condition for strong irreducibility of Heegaard splittings of $3$-manifolds with non-empty boundary. We apply this to a generalized Heegaard splitting of a $2$-fold covering of $S^3$ branched along a link. The…

We adapt Seifert's algorithm for classical knots and links to the setting of tri-plane diagrams for bridge trisected surfaces in the 4-sphere. Our approach allows for the construction of a Seifert solid that is described by a Heegaard…

In this paper, we use Heegaard Floer homology to study reducible surgeries. In particular, suppose K is a non-cable knot in the three-sphere with an L-space surgery. If p-surgery on K is reducible, we show that p equals 2g(K)-1. This…

A Heegaard splitting of an open 3-manifold is the partition of the manifold into two non-compact handlebodies which intersect on their common boundary. This paper proves several non-compact analogues of theorems about compact Heegaard…

We prove a theorem which bounds Heegaard genus from below under special kinds of toroidal amalgamations of $3$-manifolds. As a consequence, we conclude $t(K_1\# K_2)\geq \max\{t(K_1),t(K_2)\}$ for any pair of knots $K_1,K_2\subset S^3$,…

A manifold which admits a reducible genus-$2$ Heegaard splitting is one of the $3$-sphere, $S^2 \times S^1$, lens spaces or their connected sums. For each of those splittings, the complex of Haken spheres is defined. When the manifold is…

It is shown that if the exterior of a link L in the three sphere admits a genus 2 Heegaard splitting, then L has Generalized Property R.

If R is a nonseparating simple closed curve on the boundary of a genus two handlebody H and H[R] has incompressible boundary, then there exists a unique arc omega in bdry(H), meeting R only in its endpoints, such that, omega is isotopic in…