arXiv research

Course on knots using branched coverings.

A branched covering surface-knot is a surface-knot in the form of a branched covering over a surface-knot. For a branched covering surface-knot, we have a numerical invariant called the simplifying number. We show that branched covering surface-knots with degree three have the simplifying numbers less than three.

A branched covering surface-knot is a surface-knot in the form of a branched covering over an oriented surface-knot $F$, where we include the case when the covering has no branch points. A branched covering surface-knot is presented by a graph called a chart on a surface diagram of $F$. We can simplify a branched cover…

New examples show transverse knots are determined by their branched covers.

Cyclic covers of knots uniquely determine the original knot.

The paper details folding of branched covers of the 3-sphere over knots.

We provide criteria ensuring that a tunnel number one knot $K$ is not determined by its double branched cover, in the sense that the double branched cover is also the double branched cover of a knot $K'$ not equivalent to $K$.

For any alternating knot, it is known that the double branched cover of the $3$-sphere branched over the knot is an $L$-space. We show that the three-fold cyclic branched cover is also an $L$-space for any genus one alternating knot.

In this paper, we introduce a sequence of invariants of a knot K in S^3: the knot Floer homology groups of the preimage of K in the m-fold cyclic branched cover over K. We exhibit the knot Floer homology in the m-fold branched cover as the categorification of a multiple of the Turaev torsion in the case where the m-fol…

A branched covering surface-knot over an oriented surface-knot $F$ is a surface-knot in the form of a branched covering over $F$. A branched covering surface-knot over $F$ is presented by a graph called a chart on a surface diagram of $F$. For a branched covering surface-knot, an addition of 1-handles equipped with cha…

Study on pretzel knots showing cyclic branched covers are L-spaces.

Study negative definite spin fillings of knot covers.

Study shows certain knots can't be sliced using 2-fold branched covers.

We prove that a prime knot K is not determined by its p-fold cyclic branched cover for at most two odd primes p. Moreover, we show that for a given odd prime p, the p-fold cyclic branched cover of a prime knot K is the p-fold cyclic branched cover of at most one more knot K' non equivalent to K. To prove the main theor…

Techniques for constructing codimension 2 embeddings and immersions of the 2 and 3-fold branched covers of the 3 and 4-dimensional spheres are presented. These covers are in braided form, and it is in this sense that they are folded. More precisely the composition of the embedding (or immersion) and the canonical proje…

We discuss 3-manifolds which are cyclic coverings of the 3-sphere, branched over 2-bridge knots and links. Different descriptions of these manifolds are presented: polyhedral, Heegaard diagram, Dehn surgery and coloured graph constructions. Using these descriptions, we give presentations for their fundamental groups, w…

We study the connections among the mapping class group of the twice punctured torus, the cyclic branched coverings of (1,1)-knots and the cyclic presentations of groups. We give the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the n-fold strongly-cyclic branched coverings of (1,1)-knots, thro…

Study determines left-orderable properties of knot covers.

We are interested in finite groups acting orientation-preservingly on 3-manifolds (arbitrary actions, ie not necessarily free actions). In particular we consider finite groups which contain an involution with nonempty connected fixed point set. This condition is satisfied by the isometry group of any hyperbolic cyclic …

Many three dimensional manifolds are two-fold branched covers of the three dimensional sphere. However, there are some that are not. This paper includes exposition about two-fold branched covers and many examples. It shows that there are three dimensional homology spheres that do not two-fold branched cover any manifol…

In this paper we show that all 3-manifolds of a family introduced by M. J. Dunwoody are cyclic coverings of lens spaces (eventually $\bf S^3$), branched over genus one 1-bridge knots. As a consequence, we give a positive answer to the Dunwoody conjecture that all the elements of a wide subclass are cyclic coverings of …

Study on left orderability of specific knot covers.

Using the relation between Khovanov homology and the Heegaard Floer homology of branched double covers, we show how Khovanov homology can be used to establish tightness of branched double covers of certain transverse knots. We give examples of several infinite families of knots whose branched covers are tight for Khova…

Knots generating infinite subgroup bound rational homology balls.

In this paper we study the connections between cyclic presentations of groups and branched cyclic coverings of (1,1)-knots. In particular, we prove that every n-fold strongly-cyclic branched covering of a (1,1)-knot admits a cyclic presentation for the fundamental group encoded by a Heegaard diagram of genus n.

We study contact manifolds that arise as cyclic branched covers of transverse knots in the standard contact 3-sphere. We discuss properties of these contact manifolds and describe them in terms of open books and contact surgeries. In many cases we show that such branched covers are contactomorphic for smoothly isotopic…

Study proves non-left-orderability of 3-manifolds derived from specific knots.

Using the covering involution on the double branched cover of the three-sphere branched along a knot, and adapting ideas of Hendricks-Manolescu and Hendricks-Hom-Lidman, we define new knot invariants and apply them to deduce novel linear independence results in the smooth concordance group of knots.

In a recent paper Y. Hu has given a sufficient condition for the fundamental group of the r-th cyclic branched covering of S^3 along a prime knot to be left-orderable in terms of representations of the knot group. Applying her criterion to a large class of two-bridge knots, we determine a range of the integer r>1 for w…

Formula for Lefschetz number of knot branched covers.

This work identifies a class of moves on knots which translate to $m$-equivalences of the associated $p$-fold branched cyclic covers, for a fixed $m$ and any $p$ (with respect to the Goussarov-Habiro filtration.) These moves are applied to give a flexible (if specialised) construction of knots for which the Casson-Walk…

Authors prove a contact structure result using branched covers and overtwisted disks.

We show that the 3-fold cyclic branched cover of any genus 2 two-bridge knot $K_{[-2q,2s,-2t,2l]}$ is an L-space and its fundamental group is not left-orderable. Therefore the family of 3-fold cyclic branched cover of any genus 2 two-bridge knot $K_{[-2q,2s,-2t,2l]}$ verifies the $L$-space conjecture. We also show that…

Algorithms compute invariants of 4-manifolds as branched covers.

We introduce a simple combinatorial method for computing all versions of the knot Floer homology of the preimage of a two-bridge knot K(p,q) inside its double-branched cover, -L(p,q). The 4-pointed genus 1 Heegaard diagram we obtain looks like a twisted version of the toroidal grid diagrams recently introduced by Manol…

Let K be a knot in an integral homology 3-sphere and let B denote the 2-fold branched cover of the integral homology sphere branched along K. We construct a map from the slice of characters with trace free along meridians in the SL(2, C)-character variety of the knot exterior to the SL(2, C)-character variety of 2-fold…

The paper proves properties of branched covers of specific knots and tori.

Using a Heegaard diagram for the pullback of a knot $K \subset S^3$ in its cyclic double branched cover $Σ_2(K)$, we give a combinatorial proof for the invariance of knot Floer homology over $\mathbb{Z}$.

We show that every strongly-cyclic branched covering of a (1,1)-knot is a Dunwoody manifold. This result, together with the converse statement previously obtained by Grasselli and Mulazzani, proves that the class of Dunwoody manifolds coincides with the class of strongly-cyclic branched coverings of (1,1)-knots. As a c…

We use grid diagrams to give a combinatorial algorithm for computing the knot Floer homology of the pullback of a knot K in its m-fold cyclic branched cover Sigma^m(K), and we give computations when m=2 for over fifty three-bridge knots with up to eleven crossings.

Recently, Mullins calculated the Casson-Walker invariant of the 2-fold cyclic branched cover of an oriented link in S^3 in terms of its Jones polynomial and its signature, under the assumption that the 2-fold branched cover is a rational homology 3-sphere. Using elementary principles, we provide a similar calculation f…

Strongly-cyclic branched coverings of knots are studied by using their (g,1)-decompositions. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of such coverings are obtained. It is also shown that their fundamental groups admit geometric g-words cyclic presentations.

Study shows $(2,1)$-cable of figure-eight knot can't be smoothly sliced.

We show that a hyperbolic $3$-manifold can be the cyclic branched cover of at most fifteen knots in $\mathbf{S}^3$. This is a consequence of a general result about finite groups of orientation preserving diffeomorphisms acting on $3$-manifolds. A similar, although weaker, result holds for arbitrary irreducible $3$-mani…

Updated rerefences and introduction. Given a knot in an integer homology sphere, one can construct a family of closed 3-manifolds (parametrized by the positive integers), namely the cyclic branched coverings of the knot. In this paper we give a formula for the the Casson-Walker invariants of these 3-manifolds in terms …

Using a Heegaard diagram for the pullback of a knot $K \subset S^3$ in its cyclic branched cover $Σ_m(K)$ obtained from a grid diagram for $K$, we give a combinatorial proof for the invariance of the associated combinatorial knot Floer homology over $\mathbb{Z}$.

We prove that any knot or link in any 3-manifold can be nicely decomposed (splitted) by a filling Dehn sphere. This has interesting consequences in the study of branched coverings over knots and links. We give an algorithm for computing Johansson diagrams of filling Dehn surfaces out from coverings of 3-manifolds branc…

Examples of knots and links distinguished by the total rank of their Khovanov homology but sharing the same two-fold branched cover are given. As a result, Khovanov homology does not yield an invariant of two-fold branched covers.