Related papers: Braids, knots and contact structures
We study knots in $\mathbb{S}^3$ obtained by the intersection of a minimal surface in $\mathbb{R}^4$ with a small 3-sphere centered at a branch point. We construct examples of new minimal knots. In particular we show the existence of…
In this paper we show how generalized quaternions, including 2X2 matrices, can be used to find solutions of a non-commuting equation intimately connected with braid groups. These solutions can then be used to find polynomial invariants of…
Various properties of a class of braid matrices, presented before, are studied considering $N^2 \times N^2 (N=3,4,...)$ vector representations for two subclasses. For $q=1$ the matrices are nontrivial. Triangularity $(\hat R^2 =I)$…
We report on the geometry and mechanics of knotted stiff strings. We discuss both closed and open knots. Our two main results are: (i) Their equilibrium energy as well as the equilibrium tension for open knots depend on the type of knot as…
We initiate the study of classical knots through the homotopy class of the n-th evaluation map of the knot, which is the induced map on the compactified n-point configuration space. Sending a knot to its n-th evaluation map realizes the…
Recent work suggests that topological features of certain quantum gravity theories can be interpreted as particles, matching the known fermions and bosons of the first generation in the Standard Model. This is achieved by identifying…
Contact structures on 3-manifolds are analyzed by decomposing the manifold along convex surfaces. Background results of Giroux, Eliashberg, Colin, and Honda are discussed with an emphasis on examples. Convex decompositions are then used to…
We consider knots equipped with a representation of their knot groups onto a dihedral group D_{2n} (where n is odd). To each such knot there corresponds a closed 3-manifold, the (irregular) dihedral branched covering space, with the…
Either fibered knots supporting the tight contact structure are unique in their smooth concordance class or there exists a fibered counterexample to the Slice-Ribbon Conjecture.
Knots are fascinating topological structures that have been observed in various contexts, ranging from micro-worlds to macro-systems, and are conjectured to play a fundamental role in their respective fields. In order to characterize their…
Knots and links in 3-manifolds are studied by applying intersection invariants to singular concordances. The resulting link invariants generalize the Arf invariant, the mod 2 Sato-Levine invariants, and Milnor's triple linking numbers.…
This book is an introduction to hyperbolic geometry in dimension three, and its applications to knot theory and to geometric problems arising in knot theory. It has three parts. The first part covers basic tools in hyperbolic geometry and…
In this survey paper we present the $L$--moves between braids and how they can adapt and serve for establishing and proving braid equivalence theorems for various diagrammatic settings, such as for classical knots, for knots in knot…
It has been conjectured by Rovelli that there is a correspondence between the space of link classes of a Riemannian 3-manifold and the space of 3-geometries (on the same manifold). An exact statement of his conjecture will be established…
We determine the relationship between the contact structure induced by a fibered knot, K, in the three-sphere and the contact structures induced by its various cables. Understanding this relationship allows us to classify fibered cable…
In the present paper we give a new method for converting virtual knots and links to virtual braids. Indeed the braiding method given in this paper is quite general, and applies to all the categories in which braiding can be accomplished. We…
We introduce and study knotoids. Knotoids are represented by diagrams in a surface which differ from the usual knot diagrams in that the underlying curve is a segment rather than a circle. Knotoid diagrams are considered up to Reidemeister…
Finite-order invariants of knots in arbitrary 3-manifolds (including non-orientable ones) are constructed and studied by methods of the topology of discriminant sets. Obstructions to the integrability of admissible weight systems to…
Attention is focused on quantum spaces of physical importance, i.e. Manin plane, q-deformed Euclidean space in three or four dimensions as well as q-deformed Minkowski space. There are algebra isomorphisms that allow to identify quantum…
Given a knot $K$ in $S^3$, a question raised by Cappell and Shaneson asks if the meridional rank of $K$ equals the bridge number of $K$. Using augmentations in knot contact homology we consider the persistence of equality between these two…