arXiv research

Study flat GL(1|1) connections using fatgraphs and coordinates.

The mapping class group of a genus $g$ surface $Σ_{g,1}$ with one boundary component is known to have a simple yet infinite presentation with generators given by elementary moves called Whitehead moves on so-called marked bordered fatgraphs. In this paper, we introduce an algorithm called "fatgraph Nielsen reduction" w…

Let S be a surface of genus g with p punctures with negative Euler characteristic. We study the diameter of the $ε$-thick part of moduli space of S equipped with the Teichmüller or Thurston's Lipschitz metric. We show that the asymptotic behaviors in both metrics are of order $\log \frac{g+p}ε$. The same result also ho…

Defines Whitehead torsion for topological spaces via K-theory.

We compute the A-polynomial 2-tuple of twisted Whitehead links. As applications, we determine canonical components of twisted Whitehead links and give a formula for the volume of twisted Whitehead link cone-manifolds.

Study on Whitehead doubles and their sliceness properties.

We suggest a method of computing volume for a simple polytope $P$ in three-dimensional hyperbolic space $\mathbb{H}^3$. This method combines the combinatorial reduction of $P$ as a trivalent graph $Γ$ (the $1$-skeleton of $P$) by $I-H$, or Whitehead, moves (together with shrinking of triangular faces) aligned with its …

Computes A-polynomials of knots from Whitehead sister link fillings.

Character variety of Whitehead link described in detail.

Whitehead doubles have matching meridional rank and bridge number.

We prove the volume conjecture for an infinite family of links called Whitehead chains that generalizes both the Whitehead link and the Borromean rings.

We study the Whitehead torsions of inertial h-cobordisms, and identify various types representing a nested sequence of subsets of the Whitehead group. A number of examples are given to show that these subsets are all different in general.

We provide an example in each rank of an ageometric fully irreducible outer automorphism whose ideal Whitehead graph has a cut vertex. Consequently, we show that there exist examples in each rank of Handel-Mosher axis bundles that are not just a single axis, as well as of "nongeneric" behavior in the sense of the "trai…

Using geodesic currents, we provide a theoretical justification for some of the experimental results regarding the behavior of Whitehead's algorithm on non-minimal inputs, that were obtained by Haralick, Miasnikov and Myasnikov via pattern recognition methods. In particular we prove that the images of "random" elements…

We show that if K is any knot whose Ozsvath-Szabo concordance invariant tau(K) is positive, the all-positive Whitehead double of any iterated Bing double of K is topologically but not smoothly slice. We also show that the all-positive Whitehead double of any iterated Bing double of the Hopf link (e.g., the all-positive…

Paper confirms Whitehead's conjecture for aspherical 2-complexes.

We construct a higher Whitehead torsion map, using algebraic K-theory of spaces, and show that it satisfies the usual properties of the classical Whitehead torsion. This is used to describe a "geometric assembly map" defined on stabilized structure spaces in purely homotopy theoretic terms.

A technique to calculate the colored Jones polynomials of satellite knots, illustrated by the Whitehead doubles of knots, is presented. Then we prove the volume conjecture for Whitehead doubles of a family of torus knots and show some interesting observations.

The operation of (untwisted) Whitehead doubling trivializes the Alexander module of a knot (and consequently, all known abelian invariants), and converts knots to topologically slice ones. In this note we show that Whitehead doubling does not trivialize the rational function that equals to the 2-loop part of the Kontse…

The article calculates asymptotic expansions for quantum invariants from surgeries on Whitehead link components.

We observe that Whitehead's lemma is an immediate consequence of Stallings folds.

New knots are found to be non-simple in Legendrian contact geometry.

In this paper we study the knot Floer homology invariants of the twisted and untwisted Whitehead doubles of an arbitrary knot K. We present a formula for the filtered chain homotopy type of HFK(D(+,K,t)) in terms of the invariants for K, where D(+,K,t) denotes the t-twisted positive-clasped Whitehead double of K. In pa…

New 3-manifold spines with unique Whitehead graphs identified.

Proves a generalized Whitehead cut vertex lemma for tree groups.

Bing-Whitehead Cantor sets were introduced by DeGryse and Osborne in dimension three and greater to produce examples of Cantor sets that were non standard (wild), but still had simply connected complement. In contrast to an earlier example of Kirkor, the construction techniques could be generalized to dimensions bigger…

In this paper we determine topologically the canonical component of the $SL_2(\mathbb{C})$ character variety of the Whitehead link complement.

Classifies tight contact structures on surgeries of the Whitehead link.

The Whitehead link exterior lacks most Euler class taut foliations.

Study multiplicity of non-acyclic SL2-representations and L-functions of Whitehead links.

Jones polynomial bounds and crossing numbers of knots.

We apply a spherical CR Dehn surgery theorem in order to obtain infinitely many Dehn surgeries of the Whitehead link complement that carry spherical CR structures. We consider as starting point the spherical CR uniformization of the Whitehead link complement constructed by Parker and Will, using a Ford domain in the co…

Study links using Soergel bimodules and Serre duality.

Algorithm calculates Hopf invariant for simplicial mappings.

In this paper, we prove that $w(K) =4w(J)$, where $w(.)$ is the width of a knot and $K$ is the Whitehead double of a nontrivial knot $J$.

Whitehead link surgeries are not L-spaces if they support taut foliations.

This paper illustrates a computational approach to Culler-Morgan-Shalen theory using ideal triangulations, spun-normal surfaces and tropical geometry. Certain affine algebraic sets associated to the Whitehead link complement as well as their logarithmic limit sets are computed. The projective solution space of spun-nor…

The study characterizes slopes for hyperbolic knots and Whitehead doubles.

We determine lens surgeries (i.e.\ Dehn surgery yielding a lens space) along the $n$-twisted Whitehead link. To do so, we first give necessary conditions to yield a lens space from the Alexander polynomial of the link as: (1) $n=1$ (i.e. the Whitehead link), and (2) one of surgery coefficients is 1, 2 or 3. Our interes…

We describe a family of representations in SL(3,$\mathbb C$) of the fundamental group $π$ of the Whitehead link complement. These representations are obtained by considering pairs of regular order three elements in SL(3,$\mathbb C$) and can be seen as factorising through a quotient of $π$ defined by a certain exception…

Study satellite operations on knot invariant θ, proving additivity and distinguishing knots.

New examples of manifolds with similar homotopy but different simple homotopy types.

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.

Gabai showed that the Whitehead manifold is the union of two submanifolds each of which is homeomorphic to $\mathbb R^3$ and whose intersection is again homeomorphic to $\mathbb R^3$. Using a family of generalizations of the Whitehead Link, we show that there are uncountably many contractible 3-manifolds with this doub…

We use moduli spaces of instantons and Chern-Simons invariants of flat connections to prove that the Whitehead doubles of (2,2^n-1) torus knots are independent in the smooth knot concordance group; that is, they freely generate a subgroup of infinite rank.

The Slope Conjecture proposed by Garoufalidis asserts that the degree of the colored Jones polynomial determines a boundary slope, and its refinement, the Strong Slope Conjecture proposed by Kalfagianni and Tran asserts that the linear term in the degree determines the topology of an essential surface that satisfies th…

Study shows bounds on knot groups and nonembeddability of certain open manifolds.

The paper describes projective structures with torsion using formal frames and Thomas-Whitehead connections.