Related papers: Billiard knots in a cylinder

We define a knot to be half ribbon if it is the cross-section of a ribbon 2-knot, and observe that ribbon implies half ribbon implies slice. We introduce the half ribbon genus of a knot K, the minimum genus of a ribbon knotted surface of…

The problem of a suspended rope wrapped around a fixed cylinder is studied. If the suspension force is larger than a certain threshold (which is larger than the weight of the rope), the rope would remain tightly wrapped around the cylinder.…

Using Kauffman's model of flat knotted ribbons, we demonstrate how all regular polygons of at least seven sides can be realised by ribbon constructions of torus knots. We calculate length to width ratios for these constructions thereby…

An upper bound of the superbridge index of the connected sum of two knots is given in terms of the braid index of the summands. Using this upper bound and minimal polygonal presentations, we give an upper bound in terms of the superbridge…

We define the concordance crosscap number of a knot as the minimum crosscap number among all the knots concordant to the knot. The four-dimensional crosscap number is the minimum first Betti number of non-orientable surfaces smoothly…

A polynomial is presented that models a topological knot in a unique manner. It distinguishes all types of knots including the orientation and has a group theory interpretation. The topologies may be labeled via a number, which upon a base…

We study the $\mathbb{CP}^2$-slicing number of knots, i.e. the smallest $m\geq 0$ such that a knot $K\subseteq S^3$ bounds a properly embedded, null-homologous disk in a punctured connected sum $(\#^m\mathbb{CP}^2)^{\times}$. We give a…

We characterize the groups of branched twist spins of classical knots in terms of 3-manifold groups, and also give a purely algebraic, conjectural characterization in terms of $PD_3$-groups. We show also that each group is the group of at…

We introduce a relation of cobordism for knots in thickened surfaces and study cobordism invariants of such knots.

Minimizing the bending energy within knot classes leads to the concept of elastic knots which has been initiated in [von der Mosel, Asymptot. Anal. 1998]. Motivated by numerical experiments in arxiv:1804.02206 (doi:10.1090/mcom/3633) we…

The slicing number of a knot, $u_s(K)$, is the minimum number of crossing changes required to convert $K$ to a slice knot. This invariant is bounded above by the unknotting number and below by the slice genus $g_s(K)$. We show that for many…

A knot in $S^3$ is rationally slice if it bounds a disk in a rational homology ball. We give an infinite family of rationally slice knots that are linearly independent in the knot concordance group. In particular, our examples are all…

We establish a relationship between the word complexity and the number of generalized diagonals for a polygonal billiard. We conclude that in the rational case the complexity function has cubic upper and lower bounds. In the tiling case the…

Jablan and Radovi\'c originally defined two invariants called the Meander number and OGC number of knots for certain classes of knots. We generalize these definitions to all knots and name the straight number and contained straight number…

We introduce an unknotting-type number of knot projections that gives an upper bound of the crosscap number of knots. We determine the set of knot projections with the unknotting-type number at most two, and this result implies classical…

The stick number of a knot is the minimum number of segments needed to build a polygonal version of the knot. Despite its elementary definition and relevance to physical knots, the stick number is poorly understood: for most knots we only…

We construct two complete invariants of oriented classical knots in space. The value of each invariant on any knot is a set, infinite for the first invariant and finite for the second. The finite set is computed algorithmically from any…

We discuss the possibility of the existence of finite algorithms that may give distinct knot classes. In particular we present two attempts for such algorithms which seem promising, one based on knot projections on a plane, the other on…

This paper employs various computational techniques to determine the bridge numbers of both classical and virtual knots. For classical knots, there is no ambiguity of what the bridge number means. For virtual knots, there are multiple…

We consider systems of "pinned balls," i.e., balls that have fixed positions and pseudo-velocities. Pseudo-velocities change according to the same rules as those for velocities of totally elastic collisions between moving balls. The times…