arXiv research

L-space knots lack essential Conway spheres, proven with Floer theory.

The Conway knot can't be smoothly tied to any other knot an infinite number of times.

Lisa Piccirillo solved the mystery of the Conway knot's sliceness.

Study proves nontrivial knots can't undergo cosmetic surgeries.

Families of alternating knots (links) and tangles are studied using as building block the conway defined as the twisting of two strands. The regular representation of knots assumes the projection has the minimal number of overpassings, and the minimal number of conways. The continued fraction associated to rational kno…

Two knot families meet cosmetic surgery conjecture.

We give a counterexample to the Kawauchi conjecture on the Conway polynomial of achiral knots which asserts that the Conway polynomial $C(z)$ of an achiral knot satisfies the splitting property $C(z)=F(z)F(-z)$ for a polynomial $F(z)$ with integer coefficients. We show that the Bonahon-Siebenmann decomposition of an ac…

Paper defines half-Conway polynomial and computes it for knots up to 12 crossings.

New methods use Conway tangles to generate knots and links.

Formula found for a specific knot's A-polynomial.

New theorem shows every integer can be represented by knot summation.

According to work of Hartley and Kawauchi in 1979 and 1980, the Conway Polynomial of all negative amphicheiral knots and strongly positive amphicheiral knots factors as $φ(z)φ(-z)$ for some $φ(z)\in\mathbb Z[z]$. Moreover, a 2012 example due to Ermotti, Hongler and Weber shows that this is not true for general amphiche…

In this paper we compute the reduced HOMFLY-PT homologies of the Conway and the Kinoshita-Terasaka knots and show that they are isomorphic.

We construct an integer polynomial whose coefficients enumerate the Kauffman states of the two-bridge knot with Conway's notation C(n,r).

This paper shows how the Formal Knot Theory state model for the Alexander-Conway polynomial is related to Knot Floer Homology. In particular we prove a parity result about the states in this model that clarifies certain relationships of the model with Knot Floer Homology.

A knot is said to be slice if it bounds a smooth properly embedded disk in the 4-ball. We demonstrate that the Conway knot, 11n34 in the Rolfsen tables, is not slice. This completes the classification of slice knots under 13 crossings, and gives the first example of a non-slice knot which is both topologically slice an…

An explicit formula for the $A$-polynomial of the knot with Conway's notation $C(2n,3)$ is obtained from the explicit Riley-Mednykh polynomial of it.

In 1983, Conway and Gordon proved that for every spatial complete graph on six vertices, the sum of the linking numbers over all of the constituent two-component links is odd, and that for every spatial complete graph on seven vertices, the sum of the Arf invariants over all of the Hamiltonian knots is odd. In 2009, th…

Smooth knots with odd Conway polynomial terms have inscribed trefoils.

Determinant modulo 8 classifies virtual knots based on polynomial coefficients.

We give a Conway-Gordon type formula for invariants of knots and links in a spatial complete four-partite graph $K_{3,3,1,1}$ in terms of the square of the linking number and the second coefficient of the Conway polynomial. As an application, we show that every rectilinear spatial $K_{3,3,1,1}$ contains a nontrivial Ha…

For a knot K in S^3, let T(K) be the characteristic toric sub-orbifold of the orbifold (S^3,K) as defined by Bonahon and Siebenmann. If K has unknotting number one, we show that an unknotting arc for K can always be found which is disjoint from T(K), unless either K is an EM-knot (of Eudave-Munoz) or (S^3,K) contains a…

Knot Floer homology is an invariant for knots in the three-sphere for which the Euler characteristic is the Alexander-Conway polynomial of the knot. The aim of this paper is to study this homology for a class of satellite knots, so as to see how a certain relation between the Alexander-Conway polynomials of the satelli…

New lower bound for knot genus using Links-Gould invariant.

It is an open question whether there are Vassiliev invariants that can distinguish an oriented knot from its inverse, i.e., the knot with the opposite orientation. In this article, an example is given for a first order Vassiliev invariant that takes different values on a virtual knot and its inverse. The Vassiliev inva…

We describe the Polyak-Viro arrow diagram formulas for the coefficients of the Conway polynomial. As a consequence, we obtain the Conway polynomial as a state sum over some subsets of the crossings of the knot diagram. It turns out to be a simplification of a special case of Jaeger's state model for the HOMFLY polynomi…

Genus 2 mutation is the process of cutting a 3-manifold along an embedded closed genus 2 surface, twisting by the hyper-elliptic involution, and gluing back. This paper compares genus 2 mutation with the better-known Conway mutation in the context of knots in the 3-sphere. Despite the fact that any Conway mutation can …

The Conway potential function (CPF) for colored links is a convenient version of the multi-variable Alexander-Conway polynomial. We give a skein characterization of CPF, much simpler than the one by Murakami. In particular, Conway's `smoothing of crossings' is not in the axioms. The proof uses a reduction scheme in a t…

Study revisits Alexander-Conway and Kauffman bracket polynomials for pretzel links.

We show two results about the Conway potential function which is known as the normalized multivariable Alexander polynomial. We first show that the Conway potential function introduced by Kauffman in "Formal Knot Theory" is indeed a link invariant. Next we show that Kauffman's potential function equals Hartley's potent…

Proves cosmetic surgery conjecture for strongly invertible knots.

A polynomial invariant of virtual links, arising from an invariant of links in thickened surfaces introduced by Jaeger, Kauffman, and Saleur, is defined and its properties are investigated. Examples are given that the invariant can detect chirality and even non-invertibility of virtual knots and links. Furthermore, it …

A 1-bridge torus knot in a 3-manifold of genus $\le 1$ is a knot drawn on a Heegaard torus with one bridge. We give two types of normal forms to parameterize the family of 1-bridge torus knots that are similar to the Schubert's normal form and the Conway's normal form for 2-bridge knots. For a given Schubert's normal f…

A string link S can be closed in a canonical way to produce an ordinary closed link L. We also consider a twisted closing which produces a knot K. We give a formula for the Conway polynomial of L as a product of the Conway polynomial of K times a power series whose coefficients are given as explicit functions of the Mi…

Pairs of genus 2 mutant knots can have different Homfly polynomials, for example some 3-string satellites of Conway mutant pairs. We give examples which have different Kauffman 3-variable polynomials, answering a question raised by Dunfield et al in their study of genus 2 mutants. While pairs of genus 2 mutant knots ha…

We give necessary conditions for a polynomial to be the Conway polynomial of a two-bridge link. As a consequence, we obtain simple proofs of the classical theorems of Murasugi and Hartley. We give a modulo 2 congruence for links, which implies the classical modulo 2 Murasugi congruence for knots. We also give sharp bou…

In \cite{PrzytyskiTraczyk} J.H.Przytyski and P.Traczyk introduced an algebraic structure, called {\it a Conway algebra,} and constructed an invariant of oriented links, which is a generalization of the Homflypt polynomial invariant. On the other hand, in \cite{KauffmanLambropoulou} L. H. Kauffman and S. Lambropoulou in…

We show that the Conway polynomials of Fibonacci links are Fibonacci polynomials modulo 2. We deduce that, when $ n \not\equiv 0 \Mod 4$ and $(n,j) \neq (3,3),$ the Fibonacci knot $ \cF_j^{(n)} $ is not a Lissajous knot.

In recent work with J.Mostovoy and T.Stanford,the author found that for every natural number n, a certain polynomial in the coefficients of the Conway polynomial is a primitive integer-valued degree n Vassiliev invariant, but that modulo 2, it becomes degree n-1. The conjecture then naturally suggests itself that these…

We give explicit formulae for the volumes of hyperbolic cone-manifolds of double twist knots, a class of two-bridge knots which includes twist knots and two-bridge knots with Conway notation $C(2n,3)$. We also study the Riley polynomial of a class of one-relator groups which includes two-bridge knot groups.

Given a hyperbolic knot, we prove that the Reidemeister torsion of any lift of the holonomy to SL(2,C) is invariant under mutation along a Conway sphere.

J.P. Levine showed that the Conway polynomial of a link is a product of two factors: one is the Conway polynomial of a knot which is obtained from the link by banding together the components; and the other is determined by the $\barμ$-invariants of a string link with the link as its closure. We give another description…

The paper calculates the Δ-unknotting number for positive pretzel knots.

In 1983, Conway-Gordon showed that for every spatial complete graph on 6 vertices, the sum of the linking numbers over all of the constituent 2-component links is congruent to 1 modulo 2, and for every spatial complete graph on 7 vertices, the sum of the Arf invariants over all of the Hamiltonian knots is also congruen…

Conway-Gordon proved that for every spatial complete graph on 6 vertices, the sum of the linking numbers over all of the constituent 2-component links is congruent to 1 modulo 2, and for every spatial complete graph on 7 vertices, the sum of the Arf invariants over all of the Hamiltonian knots is also congruent to 1 mo…

Proves a mod 4 version of Kawauchi's conjecture for amphicheiral knots.

Details of quantum knot invariant calculations using a specific SU(3)_q-module are given which distinguish the Conway and Kinoshita-Teresaka pair of mutant knots. Features of Kuperberg's skein-theoretic techniques for SU(3)_q invariants in the context of mutant knots are also discussed.

New knot polynomials reveal patterns and mutations.