Related papers: Gordian Unknots
A knot K is called n-adjacent to the unknot, if K admits a projection containing n generalized crossings such that changing any m (no larger than n) of them yields a projection of the unknot. We show that a non-trivial satellite knot K is…
Let M be $S^3$, $S^1\times S^2$, or a lens space L(p,q), and let k be a (1,1)-knot in M, i.e., a knot which is of 1-bridge with respect to a Heegaard torus. We show that if there is a closed meridionally incompressible surface in the…
For a genus-1 1-bridge knot in the 3-sphere, that is, a (1,1)-knot, a middle tunnel is a tunnel that is not an upper or lower tunnel for some (1,1)-position. Most torus knots have a middle tunnel, and non-torus-knot examples were obtained…
We extend Howie's characterization of alternating knots to give a topological characterization of toroidally alternating knots, which were defined by Adams. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for a knot to be toroidally…
The Gordian distance between two knots measures how many crossing changes are needed to transform one knot into the other. It is known that there are always infinitely many non-equivalent knots `between' a pair of knots of Gordian distance…
With the aid of concrete examples, we consider the question of whether, in the presence of conformal curvature, a conformal geodesic can become trapped in smaller and smaller sets, or phrased informally: are spirals possible? We do not…
Topology is an important determinant of the behavior of a great number of condensed-matter systems, but until recently has played a minor role in elasticity. We develop a theory for the deformations of a class of twisted non-Euclidean…
If a knot has the Alexander polynomial not equal to 1, then it is linear $n$-colorable. By means of such a coloring, such a knot is given an upper bound for the minimal quandle order, i.e., the minimal order of a quandle with which the knot…
We study the gordian graph of all knots in $\R^3$: two knots are adjacent if they differ by a single crossing change. We prove that this graph contains isometrically an infinite countable tree with infinite valency, and that the complement…
Let $S$ be a torus with a hyperbolic metric admitting one puncture or cone singularity. We describe which infinitesimal deformations of $S$ lengthen (or shrink) all closed geodesics. We also study how the answer degenerates when $S$ becomes…
It has been suggested recently that knots might exist as stable soliton solutions in a simple three-dimensional classical field theory, opening up a wide range of possible applications in physics and beyond. We have re-examined and extended…
Global textures are interesting because they are promising candidates for seeds in the structure formation of the universe. The important configurations are those who will be able to collapse. The type of configurations that I will consider…
In 2000, Thomas Fink and Young Mao studied neck ties and, with certain assumptions, found 85 different ways to tie a neck tie. They gave a formal language which describes how a tie is made, giving a sequence of moves for each neck tie. The…
It is known that for every knotted curve in space, there is a line intersecting it in four places, a quadrisecant. Comparing the order of the four points along the line and knot we can distinguish three types of quadrisecants; the…
We prove that if an alternating knot has unknotting number one, then there exists an unknotting crossing in any alternating diagram. This is done by showing that the obstruction to unknotting number one developed by Greene in his work on…
A knot in a thickened surface $K$ is a smooth embedding $K:S^1 \rightarrow \Sigma \times [0,1]$, where $\Sigma$ is a closed, connected, orientable surface. There is a bijective correspondence between knots in $S^2 \times [0,1]$ and knots in…
In this paper we give necessary and sufficient conditions for a knot type to admit non-loose Legendrian and transverse representatives in some overtwisted contact structure, classify all non-loose rational unknots in lens spaces, and…
We show that no torus knot of type $(2,n)$, $n>3$ odd, can be obtained from a polynomial embedding $t \mapsto (f(t), g(t), h(t))$ where $(\deg(f),\deg(g))\leq (3,n+1) $. Eventually, we give explicit examples with minimal lexicographic…
Making use of the equivalence between paraxial wave equation and two-dimensional Schr\"odinger equation, Gaussian beams of monochromatic light, possessing knotted nodal structures are obtained in an analytical way. These beams belong to the…
A knot in $S^3$ is topologically slice if it bounds a locally flat disk in $B^4$. A knot in $S^3$ is rationally slice if it bounds a smooth disk in a rational homology ball. We prove that the smooth concordance group of topologically and…