arXiv research

Homogeneous quasipositive links are positive if their Seifert circles match braid index.

We discuss the relations between the $e_0$ invariants of a small Seifert space and the twisting numbers of Legendrian vertical circles in it.

It is well known that the minimum crossing number of an alternating link equals the number of crossings in any reduced alternating link diagram of the link. This remarkable result is an application of the Jones polynomial. In the case of the braid index of an alternating link, Murasugi had conjectured that the number o…

A Seifert manifold is a 3-dimensional manifold with a circle action. It is a circle bundle (with singularities) over a 2-dimensional orbifold. In this note, we discuss a generalized Seifert manifolds. By definition, they have bundle-like structures whose fibers are infra- homogeneous spaces; that is, the fibers are fla…

The main result of this paper asserts that if a Seifert fibered 4-manifold has nonzero Seiberg-Witten invariant, the homotopy class of regular fibers has infinite order. This is a nontrivial obstruction to smooth circle actions; as applications, we show how to destroy smooth circle actions on a 4-manifold by knot surge…

New systolic inequality for 3D contact forms on Seifert bundles.

Proves alternating quasipositive links are positive and strongly quasipositive.

Rectangular diagrams of links are link diagrams in the plane ${\mathbb R}^2$ such that they are composed of vertical line segments and horizontal line segments and vertical segments go over horizontal segments at all crossings. P. R. Cromwell and I. A. Dynnikov showed that rectangular diagrams of links are useful for d…

It is well known that the braid index of a link equals the minimum number of Seifert circles among all link diagrams representing it. For a link with a reduced alternating diagram $D$, $s(D)$, the number of Seifert circles in $D$, equals the braid index $\textbf{b}(D)$ of $D$ if $D$ contains no {\em lone crossings} (a …

The infimal Heegaard gradient of a compact 3-manifold was defined and studied by Marc Lackenby in an approach toward the well-known virtually Haken conjecture. As instructive examples, we consider Seifert fibered 3-manifolds, and show that a Seifert fibered 3-manifold has zero infimal Heegaard gradient if and only if i…

We compute a recently introduced geometric invariant of stricly pseudoconvex CR 3-manifolds for certain circle invariant spherical CR structures on Seifert manifolds. We give applications to the problem of filling the CR manifold by a complex hyperbolic manifold, and more generally by a Kaehler-Einstein or an Einstein …

Lower bounds on average genus of 2-bridge knots found.

We consider circle bundles over compact three-manifolds with symplectic total spaces. We show that the base of such a space must be irreducible or the product of the two-sphere with the circle. We then deduce that such a bundle admits a symplectic form if and only if it admits one that is invariant under the circle act…

Conjecturally, there are only finitely many Heegaard Floer L-space knots in $S^3$ of a given genus. We examine this conjecture for twist families of knots $\{K_n\}$ obtained by twisting a knot $K$ in $S^3$ along an unknot $c$ in terms of the linking number $ω$ between $K$ and $c$. We establish the conjecture in case of…

This paper shows that the Seifert volume of each closed non-trivial graph manifold is virtually positive. As a consequence, for each closed orientable prime 3-manifold $N$, the set of mapping degrees $cD(M,N)$ is finite for any 3-manifold $M$, unless $N$ is finitely covered by either a torus bundle, or a trivial circle…

Murasugi sums can be defined as readily for Morse maps to the circle of (arbitrary) link complements in the 3-sphere as for fibrations over the circle of (fibered) link complements in the 3-sphere. As one application, I show that if a knot K has free genus m, then there is a Morse map from its complement to the circle …

We find a geometric invariant of isotopy classes of strongly irreducible Heegaard splittings of toroidal 3-manifolds. Combining this invariant with a theorem of R Weidmann, proved here in the appendix, we show that a closed, totally orientable Seifert fibered space M has infinitely many isotopy classes of Heegaard spli…

We define a "circle Euler characteristic" of a circle action on a compact manifold or finite complex X. It lies in the first Hochschild homology group of ZG where G is the fundamental group of X. It is analogous in many ways to the ordinary Euler characteristic. One application is an intuitively satisfying formula for …

Topology of vortex reconnection shows how knots transform.

This paper determines the braid indices for non-alternating pretzel links.

Generalizes Seifert algorithm to integral homology spheres.

This paper initiates a systematic study of the relation of commensurability of surface automorphisms, or equivalently, fibered commensurability of 3-manifolds fibering over the circle. We show that every hyperbolic fibered commensurability class contains a unique minimal element, whereas the class of Seifert manifolds …

In this paper we deal with Seifert fibre spaces, which are compact 3-manifolds admitting a foliation by circles. We give a combinatorial description for these manifolds in all the possible cases: orientable, non-orientable, closed, with boundary. Moreover, we compute a potentially sharp upper bound for their complexity…

We prove that a compact smooth 4-manifold admits generalized complex structures of odd type if and only if it has a transversely holomorphic 2-foliation. Consequently, there exist generalized complex structures of odd type on a circle bundle over a closed Seifert fibered 3-manifold.

Mathematical study supports connection between 3D manifolds and modular tensor categories.

We define braid presentation of edge-oriented spatial graphs as a natural generalization of braid presentation of oriented links. We show that every spatial graph has a braid presentation. For an oriented link it is known that the braid index is equal to the minimal number of Seifert circles. We show that an analogy do…

We compute eta invariants of various Dirac type operators on circle bundles over Riemann surfaces via two approaches: an adiabatic approach based on the results of Bismut-Cheeger-Dai and a direct elementary one. These results, coupled with some delicate spectral flow computations are then used to determine the virtual …

New geometry based on Siegel upper half-space with volume formula.

Let M be a closed orientable Seifert fibered 3-manifold with a hyperbolic base 2-orbifold, or equivalently, admitting a geometry modeled on H^2 \times R or the universal cover of SL(2,R). Our main result is that the connected component of the identity map in the diffeomorphism group Diff(M) is either contractible or ho…

We prove that a circle bundle over a closed oriented aspherical manifold with hyperbolic fundamental group admits a self-map of absolute degree greater than one if and only if it is virtually trivial. This generalizes in every dimension the case of circle bundles over hyperbolic surfaces, for which the result was known…

Study completes braid index determination for all pretzel links.

The paper constructs 3-manifolds with co-orientable taut foliations but no foliations with vanishing Euler class.

We study Chern-Simons theory on 3-manifolds M that are circle-bundles over 2-dimensional orbifolds S by the method of Abelianisation. This method, which completely sidesteps the issue of having to integrate over the moduli space of non-Abelian flat connections, reduces the complete partition function of the non-Abelian…

We establish the existence of new rigidity and rationality phenomena in the theory of nonabelian group actions on the circle, and introduce tools to translate questions about the existence of actions with prescribed dynamics into finite combinatorics. A special case of our theory gives a very short new proof of Naimi's…

This is a "software upgrade" to a paper originally published in 1976, with cleaner statements and improved proofs. The main result is that, in a Haken 3-manifold, the space of all incompressible surfaces in a single isotopy class is contractible, except when the surface is the fiber of a surface bundle structure, in wh…

New bases found for Kauffman bracket skein module of fibered torus.

For a knot $K\subset S^3$, its exterior $E(K) = S^3\backslashη(K)$ has a singular foliation by Seifert surfaces of $K$ derived from a circle-valued Morse function $f\colon E(K)\to S^1$. When $f$ is self-indexing and has no critical points of index 0 or 3, the regular levels that separate the index-1 and index-2 critica…

New minimal link diagrams found, including torus links and homogeneous ones.

The aim of this paper is to consider a possible extension of the Bogomolov--Miyaoka--Yau inequality to differentiable orbifolds. The conjectured extension is related to the Montgomery--Yang problem about circle actions on the 5--sphere and also to the H--cobordism of Seifert fibered 3--manifolds. Related conjectures on…

The abstract discusses applications of Menke's JSJ decomposition to symplectic fillings of various 3-manifolds.

A regular circle-valued Morse function on the knot complement C(K) = S^3\K is a function f from C(K) to S^1 which separates critical points and which behaves nicely in a neighborhood of the knot. Such a function induces a handle decomposition on the knot exterior E(K) = S^3\N (K), with the property that every regular l…

We reconsider Chern-Simons gauge theory on a Seifert manifold M, which is the total space of a nontrivial circle bundle over a Riemann surface, possibly with orbifold points. As shown in previous work with Witten, the path integral technique of non-abelian localization can be used to express the partition function of C…

A self-transverse immersion of the 2-sphere into 4-space with algebraic number of self intersection points equal to -n induces an immersion of the circle bundle over the 2-sphere of Euler class 2n into 4-space. Precomposing the circle bundle immersions with their universal covering maps, we get for n>0 immersions g_n o…

We describe explicit open books on arbitrary plumbings of oriented circle bundles over closed oriented surfaces. We show that, for a non-positive plumbing, the open book we construct is horizontal and the corresponding compatible contact structure is also horizontal and Stein fillable. In particular, we describe horizo…

In this paper we prove a vanishing theorem for the contact Ozsvath--Szabo invariants of certain contact 3--manifolds having positive Giroux torsion. We use this result to establish similar vanishing results for contact structures with underlying 3--manifolds admitting either a torus fibration over the circle or a Seife…

For a smooth complex curve C, we consider the link L(r) intersection of C with the boundary of B(r), where B(r) denotes an Euclidean ball of radius r>0. We prove that the diagram D(r) obtained from L(r) by a complex stereographic projection satisfies that the Euler characteristic of the part of C in B(r) equals the rot…

A Seifert surgery is an integral surgery on a knot in S^3 producing a Seifert fiber space which may contain an exceptional fiber of index 0. The Seifert Surgery Network is a 1-dimensional complex whose vertices correspond to Seifert surgeries; its edges correspond to single twistings along "seiferters" or "annular pair…

How do Seifert surgeries on hyperbolic knots arise from those on torus knots? We approach this question from a networking viewpoint. The Seifert Surgery Network is a 1-dimensional complex whose vertices correspond to Seifert surgeries; two vertices are connected by an edge if one Seifert surgery is obtained from the ot…