English

Dehn surgery functions are never injective

Geometric Topology 2025-08-20 v1

Abstract

We prove that, for each fixed rational number p/qQp/q \in \mathbb{Q}, there exists a pair of distinct knots whose p/qp/q-surgeries are orientation-preservingly homeomorphic. This confirms a 1978 conjecture of Gordon.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2508.13369,
  title  = {Dehn surgery functions are never injective},
  author = {Kyle Hayden and Lisa Piccirillo and Laura Wakelin},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.13369},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

25 pages, 20 figures

R2 v1 2026-07-01T04:55:41.950Z