Related papers: Knot adjacency, genus and essential tori

Suppose F is a compact orientable surface, K is a knot in F x I, and N is the 3-manifold obtained by some non-trivial surgery on K. If F x {0} compresses in N, then there is an annulus in F x I with one end K and the other end an essential…

We present an enhanced prime decomposition theorem for knots that gives the isotopy classes of composite knots that can be constructed from a given list of prime factors (allowing for the mirroring and orientation reversing for each…

Fractional Dehn twists give a measure of the difference between the relative isotopy class of a homeomorphism of a bordered surface and the Thurston representative of its free isotopy class. We show how to estimate and compute these…

We show that the proportion of hyperbolic knots among all of the prime knots of $n$ or fewer crossings does not converge to $1$ as $n$ approaches infinity. Moreover, we show that if $K$ is a nontrivial knot then the proportion of satellites…

We construct an enhanced version of knot contact homology, and show that we can deduce from it the group ring of the knot group together with the peripheral subgroup. In particular, it completely determines a knot up to smooth isotopy. The…

It has been known that any Alexander polynomial of a knot can be realized by a quasipositive knot. As a consequence, the Alexander polynomial cannot detect quasipositivity. In this paper we prove a similar result about Vassiliev invariants:…

It is well-known that a knot in a contact manifold $(M,C)$ transverse to a trivialized contact structure possesses the natural framing given by the first of the trivialization vectors along the knot. If the Euler class $e_C\in H^2(M)$ of…

We consider knot theories possessing a {\em parity}: each crossing is decreed {\em odd} or {\em even} according to some universal rule. If this rule satisfies some simple axioms concerning the behaviour under Reidemeister moves, this leads…

We discuss an infinite class of metabelian Von Neumann rho-invariants. Each one is a homomorphism from the monoid of knots to the real line. In general they are not well defined on the concordance group. Nonetheless, we show that they pass…

We show that for any nontrivial knot $K$ and any natural number $n$ there is a diagram $D$ of $K$ such that the unknotting number of $D$ is greater than or equal to $n$. It is well known that twice the unknotting number of $K$ is less than…

An increasing sequence of integers is said to be universal for knots if every knot has a reduced regular projection on the sphere such that the number of edges of each complementary face of the projection comes from the given sequence.…

It has been conjectured that the geometric invariant of knots in 3-space called the width is nearly additive. That is, letting w(K) in N denote the width of a knot K in S^3, the conjecture is that w(K # K') = w(K) + w(K') - 2. We give an…

The probability of a random polygon (or a ring polymer) having a knot type $K$ should depend on the complexity of the knot $K$. Through computer simulation using knot invariants, we show that the knotting probability decreases exponentially…

We fix a null-homologous, homotopically essential knot $J$ in a 3-manifold with PTFA fundamental group and study concordance of knots that are homotopic to $J$. We construct an infinite family of knots that are characteristic to $J$, and…

The trace of $n$-framed surgery on a knot in $S^3$ is a 4-manifold homotopy equivalent to the 2-sphere. We characterise when a generator of the second homotopy group of such a manifold can be realised by a locally flat embedded 2-sphere…

We find further evidence for the conjecture relating large N Chern-Simons theory on S^3 with topological string on the resolved conifold geometry by showing that the Wilson loop observable of a simple knot on S^3 (for any representation)…

We define relative versions of the classical invariants of Legendrian and transverse knots in contact 3-manifolds for knots that are homologous to a fixed reference knot. We show these invariants are well-defined and give some basic…

We show that, for any prime p, a knot K in the 3-sphere is determined by its p-fold cyclic unbranched covering. We also investigate when the m-fold cyclic unbranched covering of a knot coincides with the n-fold cyclic unbranched covering of…

When approximating a space curve, it is natural to consider whether the knot type of the original curve is preserved in the approximant. This preservation is of strong contemporary interest in computer graphics and visualization. We…

By examining the homology groups of a 4-manifold associated to an integral surgery on a knot $K$ in a rational homology 3-sphere $Y$ yielding a rational homology 3-sphere $Y^*$ with surgery dual knot $K^*$, we show that the subgroups…