Related papers: Unlinking Number and Unlinking Gap

We use Heegaard Floer homology to obtain bounds on unknotting numbers. This is a generalisation of Ozsvath and Szabo's obstruction to unknotting number one. We determine the unknotting numbers of 9_10, 9_13, 9_35, 9_38, 10_53, 10_101 and…

This paper, to be regularly updated, lists those prime knots with the fewest possible number of crossings for which values of basic knot invariants, such as the unknotting number or the smooth 4-genus, are unknown. This list is being…

We study symmetric crossing change operations for strongly invertible knots. Our main theorem is that the most natural notion of equivariant unknotting number is not additive under connected sum, in contrast with the longstanding conjecture…

By twisting a given link $L$ along an unknotted circle $c$, we obtain an infinite family of links $\{ L_n \}$. We introduce the ``stable unknotting number'' which describes the asymptotic behavior of unknotting numbers of links in the twist…

We prove that if an alternating 3-braid knot has unknotting number one, then there must exist an unknotting crossing in any alternating diagram of it, and we enumerate such knots. The argument combines the obstruction to unknotting number…

Bankwitz characterized an alternating diagram representing the trivial knot. A non-alternating diagram is called almost alternating if one crossing change makes the diagram alternating. We characterize an almost alternaing diagram…

In this paper, we tabulate the set of alternating pretzel links. Specifically, for any given crossing number $c$, we derive a closed formula that would allow us to compute $\mathcal{P}(c)$, the total number of alternating pretzel links with…

Using Boolean algebra, we discuss the region unknotting number of a knot, and show that the region unknotting number is less than or equal to (c+1)/2 for any knot with crossing number c. This is a progress from (c+2)/2.

Tree decompositions of graphs are of fundamental importance in structural and algorithmic graph theory. Planar decompositions generalise tree decompositions by allowing an arbitrary planar graph to index the decomposition. We prove that…

The linking number of an oriented two-component link is an invariant indicating how intertwined the two components are. Tuler proved that the linking number of a two-component rational $\frac{p}{q}$-link is $$\sum^{\frac{|p|}{2}}_{k=1}…

As a generalization of the linking number, we construct a set of invariant numbers for two-component handlebody-links. These numbers are elementary divisors associated with the natural homomorphism from the first homology group of a…

We calculate Jones polynomials $V_L(t)$ for several families of alternating knots and links by computing the Tutte polynomials $T(G,x,y)$ for the associated graphs $G$ and then obtaining $V_L(t)$ as a special case of the Tutte polynomial.…

We study the band-unknotting number $u_{nb}(K)$ of a knot $K$, and how it behaves with respect to connect sums. We show that this sub-additive function is not additive under connected sums, by finding infinitely many examples of knots $K_1,…

We define the basket number, the flat plumbing number and the flat plumbing basket number of a link. Then we provide some upperbounds for these plumbing numbers by using Seifert's algorithm. We study the relation between these plumbing…

Noting that cycle diagrams of permutations visually resemble grid diagrams used to depict knots and links in topology, we consider the knot (or link) obtained from the cycle diagram of a permutation. We show that the permutations which…

We generalise theorems of Cochran-Lickorish and Owens-Strle to the case of links with more than one component. This enables the use of linking forms on double branched covers, Heegaard Floer correction terms, and Donaldson's diagonalisation…

In this paper we introduce a new invariant of virtual knots and links that is non-trivial for infinitely many virtuals, but is trivial on classical knots and links. The invariant is initially be expressed in terms of a relative of the…

We describe a method for generating minimal hard prime surface-link diagrams. We extend the known examples of minimal hard prime classical unknot and unlink diagrams up to three components and generate figures of all minimal hard prime…

This paper investigates the relationship between the signature and the crossing number of knots and links. We refine existing theorems and provide a comprehensive classification of links with specific properties, particularly those with…

We introduce natural language processing into the study of knot theory, as made natural by the braid word representation of knots. We study the UNKNOT problem of determining whether or not a given knot is the unknot. After describing an…