Related papers: Crosscap numbers of pretzel knots

We study cosmetic contact surgeries along transverse knots in the standard contact 3-sphere, i.e. contact surgeries that yield again the standard contact 3-sphere. The main result is that we can exclude non-trivial cosmetic contact…

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.…

We compute Vassiliev invariants up to order six for arbitrary pretzel knots, which depend on $g+1$ parameters $n_1,\ldots,n_{g+1}$. These invariants are symmetric polynomials in $n_1,\ldots,n_{g+1}$ whose degree coincide with their order.…

In this paper, we introduce \textit{graph-pretzel links}, a generalization of classical pretzel links based on spatial graph projections. As our main result, we investigate a subfamily associated with the complete graph on four vertices to…

The unknotting number of a knot is the minimum number of crossings one must change to turn that knot into the unknot. The algebraic unknotting number is the minimum number of crossing changes needed to transform a knot into an Alexander…

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…

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 construct the first explicit example of a simplicial 3-ball B_{15,66} that is not collapsible. It has only 15 vertices. We exhibit a second 3-ball B_{12,38} with 12 vertices that is collapsible and evasive, but not shellable. Finally, we…

We give some remarks on two closely related issues as stated in the title. In particular we show that a Montesinos knot is SU(2)-simple if and only if it is a 2-bridge knot, extending a result of Zentner for 3-tangle summand pretzel knots.…

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…

A $(1,1)$-knot in the 3-sphere is a knot that admits a 1-bridge presentation with respect to a Heegaard torus in $\mathbb{S}^{3}$. A new parameterization of $(1,1)$-knots distinct from the classical ones is introduced. This parameterization…

We show that for an alternating pretzel knot K the canonical genera of its Whitehead doubles W(K) are equal to the crossing number c(K) of K, verifying a conjecture of Tripp in the case of these knots.

We develop obstructions to a knot K in the 3-sphere bounding a smooth punctured Klein bottle in the 4-ball. The simplest of these is based on the linking form of the 2-fold branched cover of the 3-sphere branched over K. Stronger…

The ribbon number $r(K)$ of a ribbon knot $K \subset S^3$ is the minimal number of ribbon intersections contained in any ribbon disk bounded by $K$. We find new lower bounds for $r(K)$ using $\det(K)$ and $\Delta_K(t)$, and we prove that…

We study the crossing number of links that are formed by edges of a triangulation T of the 3-sphere with n tetrahedra. We show that the crossing number is bounded from above by an exponential function of n^2. In general, this bound can not…

Every link in the 3-sphere has a projection to the plane where the only singularities are pairwise transverse triple points. The associated diagram, with height information at each triple point, is a triple-crossing diagram of the link. We…

We construct knots in S^3 with Heegaard splittings of arbitrarily high distance, in any genus. As an application, for any positive integers t and b we find a tunnel number t knot in the three-sphere which has no (t,b)-decomposition.

A knot k in a closed orientable 3-manifold is called nonsimple if the exterior of k possesses a properly embedded essential surface of nonnegative Euler characteristic. We show that if k is a nonsimple prime tunnel number one knot in a lens…

The Meridional Rank Conjecture asks whether the bridge number of a knot in $S^3$ is equal to the minimal number of meridians needed to generate the fundamental group of its complement. In this paper we investigate the analogous conjecture…

This note gives the first example of a hyperbolic knot in the 3-sphere that lacks a nonorientable essential spanning surface; this disproves the Strong Neuwirth Conjecture formulated by Ozawa and Rubinstein. Moreover, this knot has no even…