Related papers: Property P for Knots admitting Certain Gabai Disks

We consider the problem of deciding whether a polygonal knot in 3-dimensional Euclidean space is unknotted, capable of being continuously deformed without self-intersection so that it lies in a plane. We show that this problem, {\sc…

We provide linear lower bounds for the signature of positive braids in terms of the three genus of their braid closure. This yields linear bounds for the topological slice genus of knots that arise as closures of positive braids.

We give a topological characterisation of alternating knot exteriors based on the presence of special spanning surfaces. This shows that alternating is a topological property of the knot exterior and not just a property of diagrams,…

Let M be a 3-manifold (possibly with boundary). We show that, for any positive integer g, there exists an open nonempty set of metrics on M for each of which there are stable compact embedded minimal surfaces of genus g with arbitrarily…

We define the Wirtinger width of a knot. Then we prove the Wirtinger width of a knot equals its Gabai width. The algorithmic nature of the Wirtinger width leads to an efficient technique for establishing upper bounds on Gabai width. As an…

If a knot K in a closed, orientable 3-manifold M has a bridge surface T with distance at least 3 in the curve complex of T - K, then the genus of any essential surface in its exterior with non-empty, non-meridional boundary gives rise to an…

We prove that a simple knot in the lens space $L(p,q)$ fibers if and only if its order in homology does not divide any remainder occurring in the Euclidean algorithm applied to the pair $(p,q)$. One corollary is that if $p=m^2$ is a perfect…

In this article, we propose a new approach for describing and understanding knots and links in a 3-manifold through the use of an embedded non-orientable surface. Specifically, we define a plat-like representation based on this…

A transverse knot is a knot that is transverse to the planes of the standard contact structure on real 3-space. In this paper we prove the Markov Theorem for transverse braids, which states that two transverse closed braids that are…

The authors prove that for a closed surface of genus at least 3, the graph of pants decompositions has only one end.

We describe a normal surface algorithm that decides whether a knot, with known degree of the colored Jones polynomial, satisfies the Strong Slope Conjecture. We also discuss possible simplifications of our algorithm and state related open…

This short note is about three-stranded pretzel knots that have an even number of crossings in one of the strands. We calculate the braid index of such knots and determine which of them are quasipositive. The main tools are the…

We prove that the property of containing a $k$-regular subgraph in the random graph model $G(n,p)$ has a sharp threshold for $k\ge3$. We also show how to use similar methods to obtain an easy prove for the (known fact of) sharpness of…

We give examples of knots with some unusual properties of the crossing number of positive diagrams or strand number of positive braid representations. In particular we show that positive braid knots may not have positive minimal (strand…

We construct an algorithm that lists all closed essential surfaces in the complement of a knot that lies on the fiber of a trefoil or figure eight knot. Such knots are Berge knots and hence admit lens space surgeries. Furthermore they may…

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…

In math.GT/0106017 it was shown that thin position on Heegaard spines can be a useful tool for analyzing the topology of knots in 3-space. The proof there (specifically, of the Goda-Teragaito conjecture) requires masses of technical detail;…

We present a short proof of a theorem of Tanaka that if a composite ribbon knot admits a symmetric union presentation with one twisting region, then it has a non-trivial knot and its mirror image as connected summands.

We give a necessary, and in some cases sufficient, condition for sliceness inside the family of pretzel knots $P (p_1,...,p_n)$ with one $p_i$ even. The three stranded case yields two interesting families of examples: the first consists of…

We prove that for knots, the evaluation of the Jones polynomial at the sixth root of unity, as well as the evaluation of the $Q$-polynomial at the reciprocal of the golden ratio, are uniquely determined by the oriented homeomorphism type of…