Related papers: Knot mutation: 4-genus of knots and algebraic conc…
An open question asks if every knot of 4-genus g_s can be changed into a slice knot by g_s crossing changes. A counterexample is given.
In knot concordance three genera arise naturally, g(K), g_4(K), and g_c(K): these are the classical genus, the 4-ball genus, and the concordance genus, defined to be the minimum genus among all knots concordant to K. Clearly 0 <= g_4(K) <=…
For each $g>0$ we give infinitely many knots that are strongly negative amphichiral, hence rationally slice and representing 2-torsion in the smooth concordance group, yet which do not bound any locally flatly embedded surface in the 4-ball…
We classify all knot diagrams of genus two and three, and give applications to positive, alternating and homogeneous knots, including a classification of achiral genus 2 alternating knots, slice or achiral 2-almost positive knots, a proof…
The concordance genus of a knot K is the minimum three-genus among all knots concordant to K. For prime knots of 10 or fewer crossings there have been three knots for which the concordance genus was unknown. Those three cases are now…
We study the equivariant 4-genus of strongly invertible knots in the $S^3$ boundary of 4-manifolds with involution. We provide techniques for constructing slice disks for knots in various symmetric 4-manifolds via an equivariant version of…
To a Seifert matrix of a knot K one can associate a matrix w(K) with entries in the rational function field, Q(t). The Murasugi, Milnor, and Levine-Tristram knot signatures, all of which provide bounds on the 4-genus of a knot, are…
We introduce and study the notion of equivariant $\mathbb{Q}$-sliceness for strongly invertible knots. On the constructive side, we prove that every Klein amphichiral knot, which is a strongly invertible knot admitting a compatible negative…
We show that the difference between the topological 4-genus of a knot and the minimal genus of a surface bounded by that knot that can be decomposed into a smooth concordance followed by an algebraically simple locally flat surface can be…
The slicing number of a knot, $u_s(K)$, is the minimum number of crossing changes required to convert $K$ to a slice knot. This invariant is bounded above by the unknotting number and below by the slice genus $g_s(K)$. We show that for many…
Let $M_K$ be the 2-fold branched cover of a knot $K in $S^3$. If $H_1(M_K) = {\bf Z}_3 \oplus {\bf Z}_{3^{2i}} \oplus G$ where 3 does not divide the order of $G$ then $K$ is not of order 4 in the concordance group. This obstruction detects…
The motivation for this work was to construct a nontrivial knot with trivial Jones polynomial. Although that open problem has not yielded, the methods are useful for other problems in the theory of knot polynomials. The subject of the…
We provide a framework for studying the interplay between concordance and positive mutation and identify some of the basic structures relating the two. The fundamental result in understanding knot concordance is the structure theorem proved…
The concordance genus of a knot is the least genus of any knot in its concordance class. It is bounded above by the genus of the knot, and bounded below by the slice genus, two well-studied invariants. In this paper we consider the…
In answer to a question of Long, Flapan constructed an example of a prime strongly positive amphicheiral knot that is not slice. Long had proved that all such knots are algebraically slice. Here we show that the concordance group of…
The stable 4-genus of a knot K in 3-space is the limiting value of g_4(nK)/n, where g_4 denotes the 4-genus and n goes to infinity. This induces a seminorm on CQ, the concordance group tensored with the rational numbers. Basic properties of…
Knot theory is actively studied both by physicists and mathematicians as it provides a connecting centerpiece for many physical and mathematical theories. One of the challenging problems in knot theory is distinguishing mutant knots. Mutant…
We give examples of a linear combination of algebraic knots and their mirrors that are algebraically slice, but whose topological and smooth four-genus is two. Our examples generalize an example of non-slice algebraically slice linear…
Let K be a knot in the 3-sphere with 2-fold branched covering space M. If for some prime p congruent to 3 mod 4 the p-torsion in the first homology of M is cyclic with odd exponent, then K is of infinite order in the knot concordance group.…
The concordance genus of a knot K is the minimum Seifert genus of all knots smoothly concordant to K. Concordance genus is bounded below by the 4-ball genus and above by the Seifert genus. We give a lower bound for the concordance genus of…