Related papers: Minimal diagrams of classical knots

A knot is called minimal if its knot group admits epimorphisms onto the knot groups of only the trivial knot and itself. In this paper, we determine which two-bridge knot $\mathfrak{b}(p,q)$ is minimal where $q \leq 6$ or $p \leq 100$.

In the classical knot theory there is a well-known notion of descending diagram. From an arbitrary diagram one can easily obtain, by some crossing changes, a descending diagram which is a diagram of the unknot or unlink. In this paper the…

We show that any two diagrams of the same knot or link are connected by a sequence of Reidemeister moves which are sorted by type.

This paper is about the clock number of a knot. First we define the clock number by using states of a knot defined by Kauffman. Next we show that if K is a prime knot, its clock number is greater than or equal to its crossing number.…

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…

We take a close look at a classical magic trick performed with a string, where a trivial knot is seemingly isotoped into a trefoil, and generalize it to a family of magic tricks for transforming the unknot into other knots. We encode such a…

A knot $K$ is called $(m,n)$-fertile if for every prime knot $K'$ whose crossing number is less than or equal to $m$, there exists an $n$-crossing diagram of $K$ such that one can get $K'$ from the diagram by changing its over-under…

The motivation of this work is to define cohomology classes in the space of knots that are both easy to find and to evaluate, by reducing the problem to simple linear algebra. We achieve this goal by defining a combinatorial graded cochain…

We construct a new order 1 invariant for knot diagrams. We use it to determine the minimal number of Reidemeister moves needed to pass between certain pairs of knot diagrams.

This paper introduces a new systematic algorithm for constructing periodic Euclidean weaving diagrams with combinatorial arguments. It is shown that such a weaving diagram can be considered as a specific type of four-regular periodic planar…

A (weak chord) index is a function on the crossings of knot diagrams such that: 1) the index of a crossing does not change under Reidemeister moves; 2) crossings which can be paired by a second Reidemeister move have the same index. We show…

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…

We prove a Kauffman-Murasugi-Thistlethwaite theorem for alternating links in thickened surfaces. It states that any reduced alternating diagram of a link in a thickened surface has minimal crossing number, and any two reduced alternating…

The combinatorics of the BPHZ subtraction scheme for a class of ladder graphs for the three point vertex in $\phi^3$ theory is transcribed into certain connectivity relations for marked chord diagrams (knots with transversal intersections).…

A conjecture of Shumakovitch states that every nontrivial knot has 2-torsion in its Khovanov homology. We show that if a knot $K$ has no 2-torsion in its Khovanov homology, then the rank of its reduced Khovanov homology is minimal among all…

The non quantum relativistic version of the proof of Feynman for the Maxwell equations is discussed in a framework with a minimum number of hypotheses required. From the present point of view it is clear that the classical equations of…

It is known that each knot has a semimeander diagram (i. e. a diagram composed of two smooth simple arcs), however the number of crossings in such a diagram can only be roughly estimated. In the present paper we provide a new estimate of…

In the present paper, we construct the generalized Kuperberg bracket for two-component links with one component fibred. We consider a new geometrical complexity for such links and establish minimality of diagrams in a strong sense.

We study decomposition into simple arcs (i. e., arcs without self-intersections) for diagrams of knots and spatial graphs. In this paper, it is proved in particular that if no edge of a finite spatial graph $G$ is a knotted loop, then there…

Given a class of objects, a pattern theorem is a powerful result describing their structure. We show that alternating knots exhibit a pattern theorem, and use this result to prove a long-standing conjecture that alternating knots grow rare.…