Related papers: Obstructions to trivializing a knot
We present an elementary introduction to one of the most important today knot theory approaches, which gives rise to a representation for a class of knot polynomials in terms of quantum groups. Historically, the approach was at the same…
Covering moves relate colored link diagrams appearing as the branch sets of simple branched coverings of $S^3$ by the same 3-manifold. We provide a complete set of covering moves on plat closures of braids in each fixed degree $d \geq 4$,…
We consider braids on $m+n$ strands, such that the first $m$ strands are trivially fixed. We denote the set of all such braids by $B_{m,n}$. Via concatenation $B_{m,n}$ acquires a group structure. The objective of this paper is to find a…
A knot-theoretic explanation is given for the rationality of the quenched QED beta function. At the link level, the Ward identity entails cancellation of subdivergences generated by one term of the skein relation, which in turn implies…
Our main result is a version of Birman's theorem about equivalence of plats, which does not involve stabilization, for the unlink. We introduce the pocket and flip moves, which modify a plat without changing its link type or bridge index.…
Let $G$ be a nonabelian, simple group with a nontrivial conjugacy class $C \subseteq G$. Let $K$ be a diagram of an oriented knot in $S^3$, thought of as computational input. We show that for each such $G$ and $C$, the problem of counting…
With the idea of an eventual classification of 3-bridge links,\ we define a very nice class of 3-balls (called butterflies) with faces identified by pairs, such that the identification space is $S^{3},$ and the image of a prefered set of…
In this paper we study some aspects of knots and links in lens spaces. Namely, if we consider lens spaces as quotient of the unit ball $B^{3}$ with suitable identification of boundary points, then we can project the links on the equatorial…
Given a knot or link in the handlebody, $H_g$, of genus $g$ we prove that it can always be represented as the plat closure of a braid in $H_g$. We further establish the Hilden braid group for the handlebody, as a subgroup of the mixed braid…
General braided counterparts of classical Clifford algebras are introduced and investigated. Braided Clifford algebras are defined as Chevalley-Kahler deformations of the corresponding braided exterior algebras. Analogs of the spinor…
The Standard Model of particle physics provides very accurate predictions of phenomena occurring at the sub-atomic level, but the reason for the choice of symmetry group and the large number of particles considered elementary, is still…
The knot concordance group can be contextualized as organizing problems about 3- and 4-dimensional spaces and the relationships between them. Every 3-manifold is surgery on some link, not necessarily a knot, and thus it is natural to ask…
This article is an expository account of the theory of twisted commutative algebras, which simply put, can be thought of as a theory for handling commutative algebras with large groups of linear symmetries. Examples include the coordinate…
Virtual braids are a combinatorial generalization of braids. We present abstract braids as equivalence classes of braid diagrams on a surface, joining two distinguished boundary components. They are identified up to isotopy, compatibility,…
In the note, we give a proof, based on the Generalized Thom Conjecture, of Bennequin's Theorem on upper bound for the Euler number of a link which is considered as a closed braid. A lower bound for the Euler number of a link is also given.
Bonded knots arise naturally in topological protein modeling, where intramolecular interactions such as disulfide bridges stabilize folded configurations. These structures extend classical knot theory by incorporating embedded graphs, and…
In [V.O. Manturov, Non-reidemeister knot theory and its applications in dynamical systems, geometry, and topology, arxiv:1501.05208] the first named author gave the definition of $k$-free braid groups $G_n^k$. Here we establish connections…
A new presentation of the $n$-string braid group $B_n$ is studied. Using it, a new solution to the word problem in $B_n$ is obtained which retains most of the desirable features of the Garside-Thurston solution, and at the same time makes…
I show that every rectifiable simple closed curve in the plane can be continuously deformed into a convex curve in a motion which preserves arc length and does not decrease the Euclidean distance between any pair of points on the curve.…
A key invariant of a braided categorical group is its quadratic form, introduced by Joyal and Street. We show that the categorical group is braided equivalent to a simultaneously skeletal and strictly associative one if and only if the…