arXiv research

New obstructions for knots in high dimensions prevent double sliceness.

The paper calculates knot invariants using Blanchfield forms and obstructs sliceness.

Study shows non-orientable manifolds restrict signature-changing metrics globally.

Simplified account of Kubota's work on codimension 2 index obstructions.

On pseudo-Riemannian manifolds of even dimension $n\geq 4$, with everywhere vanishing (Fefferman-Graham) obstruction tensor, we construct a complex of conformally invariant differential operators. The complex controls the infinitesimal deformations of obstruction-flat structures, and, in the case of Riemannian signatur…

We analyze the signature type of a cascade of periodic orbits associated to period doubling renormalizable maps of the two dimensional disk. The signature is a sequence of rational numbers which describes how periodic orbits turn each other and is invariant by topological conjugacies that preserve orientation. We prove…

This thesis is concerned with the residues modulo 4 and 8 of the signature of a 4k-dimensional oriented geometric Poincare complex. The Z_8-valued Brown-Kervaire invariant of Z_4-valued quadratic forms is used to prove that if the signature is divisible by 4, the divisibility by 8 is detected by the Arf invariant of a …

We use twisted Alexander polynomials to show that certain algebraically slice 2-bridge knots are not topologically slice, even though all prime power Casson-Gordon signatures vanish. We also provide some computations indicating the efficacy of Casson-Gordon signatures in obstructing the smooth sliceness of 2-bridge kno…

The paper offers new methods to determine if certain 3D links can be formed by intersecting spheres in 4D space.

We derive the topological obstruction to spin-Klein cobordism. This result has implications for signature change in general relativity, and for the $N=2$ superstring.

We define a set of "second-order" L^(2)-signature invariants for any algebraically slice knot. These obstruct a knot's being a slice knot and generalize Casson-Gordon invariants, which we consider to be "first-order signatures". As one application we prove: If K is a genus one slice knot then, on any genus one Seifert …

Kjuchukova's $Ξ_p$ invariant gives a ribbon obstruction for Fox $p$-colored knots. The invariant is derived from dihedral branched covers of 4-manifolds, and is needed to calculate the signatures of these covers, when singularities on the branching sets are present. In this note, we give an algorithm for evaluating $Ξ_…

This paper studies twisted signature invariants and twisted linking forms, with a view towards obstructions to knot concordance. Given a knot $K$ and a representation $ρ$ of the knot group, we define a twisted signature function $σ_{K,ρ} \colon S^1 \to \mathbb{Z}$. This invariant satisfies many of the same algebraic pr…

We construct many examples of non-slice knots in 3-space that cannot be distinguished from slice knots by previously known invariants. Using Whitney towers in place of embedded disks, we define a geometric filtration of the 3-dimensional topological knot concordance group. The bottom part of the filtration exhibits all…

We introduce new obstructions to topological knot concordance. These are obtained from amenable groups in Strebel's class, possibly with torsion, using a recently suggested $L^2$-theoretic method due to Orr and the author. Concerning $(h)$-solvable knots which are defined in terms of certain Whitney towers of height $h…

The SU(3)-Casson invariant for integral homology 3-spheres as studied by Boden-Herald possesses a 'spectral flow obstruction' to being an integer valued invariant which depends only on the non-degenerate (perturbed) moduli space of flat SU(3)-connections. This obstruction is the non-trivial spectral flow of a family of…

New invariants for virtual knots via spanning surfaces.

It was proved by Chern, Hirzebruch and Serre that the signature of a fibre bundle is multiplicative if the fundamental group of the base acts trivially on the cohomology ring of the fibre with real coefficients, in which case the signature of the total space equals the product of the signatures of base and fibre. Hambl…

The paper extends knot theory to 4-manifolds, defining new genera and obstructions.

We obtain the topological obstructions to existence of a bundle of irreducible real Clifford modules over a pseudo-Riemannian manifold $(M,g)$ of arbitrary dimension and signature and prove that bundles of Clifford modules are associated to so-called real Lipschitz structures. The latter give a generalization of spin s…

Defines a new homomorphism for strongly invertible knots, proving equivariant algebraic concordance.

This paper develops a path-first theory using signatures and jump lifts for self-exiting processes.

The paper disproves a conjecture about satellite maps not inducing homomorphisms.

We construct homology theories with coefficients in L-spectra on the category of ball complexes and we define products in this setting. We also obtain signatures of geometric situations in these homology groups and prove product formulae which we hope will clarify products used in the theory of the total surgery obstru…

Classifies stable diffeomorphism of spin 4-manifolds with specific fundamental groups.

In the 60's Levine proved that if $R$ is a slice knot, then on any genus $g$ Seifert surface for $R$ there is a $g$ component link $J$, called a derivative of $R$, on which the Seifert form vanishes. Many subsequent obstructions to $R$ being slice are given in terms of slice obstructions of $J$. Many of these obstructi…

We develop obstructions to a knot K in the 3-sphere bounding a smooth punctured Klein bottle in the 4-ball. The simplest of these is based on the linking form of the 2-fold branched cover of the 3-sphere branched over K. Stronger obstructions are based on the Ozsvath-Szabo correction term in Heegaard-Floer homology, al…

The aim of this paper is to use mapping class group relations to approach the `geography' problem for Stein fillings of a contact 3-manifold. In particular, we adapt a formula of Endo and Nagami so as to calculate the signature of such fillings as a sum of the signatures of basic relations in the monodromy of a related…

We introduce Tristram-Levine signatures of virtual knots and use them to investigate virtual knot concordance. The signatures are defined first for almost classical knots, which are virtual knots admitting homologically trivial representations. The signatures and $ω$-signatures are shown to give bounds on the topologic…

Inspired by an article of R. Bryant on holomorphic immersions of unit disks into Lorentzian CR manifolds, we discuss the application of Cartan's method to the question of the existence of bi-disk $\mathbb{D}^{2}$ in a smooth $9$-dimensional real analytic real hypersurface $M^{9}\subset\mathbb{C}^{5}$ with Levi signatur…

Let $(M,g)$ be a pseudo-Riemannian manifold of signature $(p,q)$. We compute the obstruction for a vector bundle $S$ over $(M,g)$ to admit a Dirac operator whose principal symbol induces on $S$ the structure of a bundle of irreducible real Clifford modules of complex type, that is, a real spinor bundle of irreducible c…

Let $X^4$ and $Y^4$ be smooth manifolds and $f: X\to Y$ a branched cover with branching set $B$. Classically, if $B$ is smoothly embedded in $Y$, the signature $σ(X)$ can be computed from data about $Y$, $B$ and the local degrees of $f$. When $f$ is an irregular dihedral cover and $B\subset Y$ smoothly embedded away fr…

A knot K is called Gordian adjacent to a knot L if there exists an unknotting sequence for L containing K. We provide a sufficient condition for Gordian adjacency of torus knots via the study of knots in the thickened torus. We also completely describe Gordian adjacency for torus knots of index 2 and 3 using Levine-Tri…

We study Einstein metrics on smooth compact 4-manifolds with an edge-cone singularity of specified cone angle along an embedded 2-manifold. To do so, we first derive modified versions of the Gauss-Bonnet and signature theorems for arbitrary Riemannian 4-manifolds with edge-cone singularities, and then show that these y…

Band surgery is an operation relating pairs of knots or links in the three-sphere. We prove that if two quasi-alternating knots $K$ and $K'$ of the same square-free determinant are related by a band surgery, then the absolute value of the difference in their signatures is either 0 or 8. This obstruction follows from a …

We show that if a compact, oriented 4-manifold admits a coassociative-free immersion into the Euclidean 7-space then its Euler characteristic and signature vanish. Moreover, in the spin case the Gauss map is contractible, so that the immersed manifold is parallelizable. The proof makes use of homotopy theory in particu…

This work extends knot homology theory to links, proving exact triangles and categorifying link signatures.

Study shows knots with similar Blanchfield forms can be homotopy ribbon concordant.

The Weyl functional is analyzed on 4-manifolds with positive scalar curvature.

Given a knot K we introduce a new invariant coming from the Blanchfield pairing and we show that it gives a lower bound on the unknotting number of K. This lower bound subsumes the lower bounds given by the Levine-Tristram signatures, by the Nakanishi index and it also subsumes the Lickorish obstruction to the unknotti…

Given a link L in the 3-sphere, we ask whether the components of L bound disjoint, nullhomologous disks properly embedded in a simply-connected positive-definite smooth 4-manifold; the knot case has been studied extensively in work of Cochran-Harvey-Horn. Such a 4-manifold is necessarily homeomorphic to a (punctured) c…

In this article we introduce $A$-valued Einstein-Hilbert-Palatini functional ($A$-EHP) over a n-manifold $M$, where $A$ is an arbitrary graded algebra, as a generalization of the functional arising in the study of the first order formulation of gravity. We show that if $A$ is weak $(k,s)$-solvable, then $A$-EHP is non-…

We find necessary and sufficient conditions for a Riemannian four-dimensional manifold $(M, g)$ with anti-self-dual Weyl tensor to be locally conformal to a Ricci--flat manifold. These conditions are expressed as the vanishing of scalar and tensor conformal invariants. The invariants obstruct the existence of parallel …

Using Gauge theoretical techniques employed by Lisca for 2-bridge knots and by Greene-Jabuka for 3-stranded pretzel knots, we show that no member of the family of Montesinos knots M(0;[m_1+1,n_1+2],[m_2+1,n_2+2],q), with certain restrictions on m_i, n_i, and q, can be (smoothly) slice. Our techniques use Donaldson's di…

For every integer g, we construct a 2-solvable and 2-bipolar knot whose topological 4-genus is greater than g. Note that 2-solvable knots are in particular algebraically slice and have vanishing Casson-Gordon obstructions. Similarly all known smooth 4-genus bounds from gauge theory and Floer homology vanish for 2-bipol…

Study transverse knots and symplectic surfaces using Seiberg-Witten monopole equations.

We define a family of formal Khovanov brackets of a colored link depending on two parameters. The isomorphism classes of these brackets are invariants of framed colored links. The Bar-Natan functors applied to these brackets produce Khovanov and Lee homology theories categorifying the colored Jones polynomial. Further,…

We study smooth bundles over surfaces with highly connected almost parallelizable fiber $M$ of even dimension, providing necessary conditions for a manifold to be bordant to the total space of such a bundle and showing that, in most cases, these conditions are also sufficient. Using this, we determine the characteristi…