arXiv research

New examples show limits of physical link isotopies.

We describe some problems, observations, and conjectures concerning thickness and packing density of knots and links in $\sp^3$ and $\R^3$. We prove the thickness of a nontrivial knot or link in $\sp^3$ is no more than $\fracπ{4}$, the thickness of a Hopf link. We also give arguments and evidence supporting the conject…

New examples of gordian unlinks show different rope geometries.

Study of cable links of uniformly thick knots, revealing new isotopy phenomena.

Study of Milnor invariants and ropelength of spherical links.

Classifies Legendrian torus and cable links, revealing symmetries and invariants.

We construct a pair of isotopic link configurations that are not thick isotopic while preserving total length.

Ropelength and embedding thickness are related measures of geometric complexity of classical knots and links in Euclidean space. In their recent work, Freedman and Krushkal posed a question regarding lower bounds for embedding thickness of $n$-component links in terms of the Milnor linking numbers. The main goal of the…

We present new computations of approximately length-minimizing polygons with fixed thickness. These curves model the centerlines of "tight" knotted tubes with minimal length and fixed circular cross-section. Our curves approximately minimize the ropelength (or quotient of length and thickness) for polygons in their kno…

Two subset germs of Euclidean spaces are called blow-spherically equivalent, if their spherical modifications are homeomorphic and the homeomorphism induces homeomorphic tangent links. Blow-spherical equivalence is stronger than the topological equivalence but weaker than the Lipschitz equivalence. We introduce the thi…

We study Khovanov homology classes which have state cycle representatives, and examine how they interact with Jacobsson homomorphisms and Lee's map $Φ$. As an application, we describe a general procedure, quasipositive modification, for constructing H-thick knots in rational Khovanov homology. Moreover, we show that sp…

In this paper, we study the Khovanov homology of cable links. We first estimate the maximal homological degree term of the Khovanov homology of the ($2k+1$, $(2k+1)n$)-torus link and give a lower bound of its homological thickness. Specifically, we show that the homological thickness of the ($2k+1$, $(2k+1)n$)-torus li…

We describe a natural decomposition of a normal complex surface singularity $(X,0)$ into its "thick" and "thin" parts. The former is essentially metrically conical, while the latter shrinks rapidly in thickness as it approaches the origin. The thin part is empty if and only if the singularity is metrically conical; the…

Quasi-alternating links are homologically thin for both Khovanov homology and knot Floer homology. We show that every quasi-alternating link gives rise to an infinite family of quasi-alternating links obtained by replacing a crossing with an alternating rational tangle. Consequently, we show that many pretzel links are…

In 1974, Gehring posed the problem of minimizing the length of two linked curves separated by unit distance. This constraint can be viewed as a measure of thickness for links, and the ratio of length over thickness as the ropelength. In this paper we refine Gehring's problem to deal with links in a fixed link-homotopy …

Physical knots and links are one-dimensional submanifolds of R^3 with fixed length and thickness. We show that isotopy classes in this category can differ from those of classical knot and link theory. In particular we exhibit a Gordian Split Link, a two component link that is split in the classical theory but cannot be…

The thickness, NIR(K) of a knot or link K is defined to be the radius of the largest solid tube one can put around the curve without any self intersections, which is also known as the normal injectivity radius of K. For C^{1,1} curves K, NIR(K)=min{(1/2)DCSC(K),(1/(supkappa(K))))}, where kappa(K) is the generalized cur…

New unknots with geometric constraints exist, proving a long-standing conjecture.

The ropelength of a knot is the quotient of its length and its thickness, the radius of the largest embedded normal tube around the knot. We prove existence and regularity for ropelength minimizers in any knot or link type; these are $C^{1,1}$ curves, but need not be smoother. We improve the lower bound for the ropelen…

We partially solve the conjecture by A.Shumakovitch about torsion in the Khovanov homology of prime, non-split links in S^3. We give a size restriction on the Khovanov homology of almost alternating links. We relate the Khovanov homology of the connected sum of a link diagram and the Hopf link with the Khovanov homolog…

Relatively extremal knots are the relative minima of the ropelength functional in C^1 topology. On the set curves of fixed length, they are the relative maxima of thickness (normal injectivity radius) functional, including the ideal knots. We prove that a C^{1,1} relatively extremal knot in R^n has thickness equal to h…

Study counts geodesics on modular surface, linking to necklace counting.

Lobb observed in [arXiv:1103.1412] that each equivariant sl(N) Khovanov-Rozansky homology over C[a] admits a standard decomposition of a simple form. In the present paper, we derive a formula for the corresponding Lee-Gornik spectral sequence in terms of this decomposition. Based on this formula, we give a simple alter…

New theory of distributions on spaces with singular submanifolds.

Path-connectivity of thick laminations on high-genus surfaces.

Let $M$ be a finite volume oriented Riemannian manifold of dimension $n\geq 3$ and curvature in $[-b^2,-1]$, with thick-thin decomposition $M=M(thick)\cup M(thin)$. Denote by $λ_k(M(thick))$ the k-th eigenvalue for the Laplacian on $M(thick)$, with Neumann boundary conditdions. We show that $λ_k(M(thick))/3\leq λ_k(M)$…

Paper finds first examples of unlinked knots that can't be separated.

We prove that the hypothetical extreme Khovanov cohomology of a link is the cohomology of the independence simplicial complex of its Lando graph. We also provide a family of knots having as many non-trivial extreme Khovanov cohomology modules as desired, that is, examples of $H$-thick knots which are as far of being $H…

What length of rope (of given diameter) is required to tie a particular knot? To answer this question, we define some new notions of thickness for a space curve, one based on Gromov's distortion, and another generalizing the thickness of Litherland, Simon et al. We prove a basic inequality between these thickness measu…

A knot's thickness is measured by its β invariant, a new numerical invariant.

In this paper we define an explicit basis for the $\mathfrak{gl}_n$-web algebra $H_n(\vec{k})$ (the $\mathfrak{gl}_n$ generalization of Khovanov's arc algebra) using categorified $q$-skew Howe duality. Our construction is a $\mathfrak{gl}_n$-web version of Hu--Mathas' graded cellular basis and has two major application…

The first algorithm for sampling the space of thick equilateral knots, as a function of thickness, will be described. This algorithm is based on previous algorithms of applying random reflections. To prove the existence of the algorithm, we describe a method for turning any knot into the regular planar polygon using on…

Method estimates section thickness and XY anisotropy in ssEM images.

Algorithm computes knot Floer complex for knots of thickness one.

For right-angled Coxeter groups $W_Γ$, we obtain a condition on $Γ$ that is necessary and sufficient to ensure that $W_Γ$ is thick and thus not relatively hyperbolic. We show that Coxeter groups which are not thick all admit canonical minimal relatively hyperbolic structures; further, we show that in such a structure, …

We show that thick morphisms (or microformal morphisms) between smooth (super)manifolds, introduced by us before, are classical limits of `quantum thick morphisms' defined here as particular oscillatory integral operators on functions.

The paper explores new algebraic structures and morphisms in graded settings.

We show that the diameter of the skinning map of an acylindrical hyperbolic 3-manifold M is bounded on thick Teichmueller geodesic rays by a constant depending only on the thickness of the ray and the topological type of the boundary of M.

The paper introduces boundary thickness as a measure for improving model robustness.

"Thick" or "microformal" morphisms of supermanifolds generalize ordinary maps. They were discovered as a tool for homotopy algebras. Namely, the corresponding pullbacks provide $L_{\infty}$-morphisms for $S_{\infty}$ or Batalin--Vilkovisky algebras. It was clear from the start that constructions used for thick morphism…

We introduce a new quasi-isometry invariant of 2-dimensional right-angled Coxeter groups, the hypergraph index, that partitions these groups into infinitely many quasi-isometry classes, each containing infinitely many groups. Furthermore, the hypergraph index of any right-angled Coxeter group can be directly computed f…

We show that a complete hyperbolic n-manifold has a geodesic triangulation such that the tetrahedra contained in the thick part are L-bilipschitz diffeomorphic to the standard Euclidean n-simplex, for some constant L depending only on the dimension and the constant used to define the thick-thin decomposition of M.

New proof shows knot Floer thickness limits bad domains in diagrams.

Study on reducing surgeries on knots, developing thickness and genus bounds.

We prove that thick groups (and more generally thick graphs) have trivial Floyd boundary. This shows a wide class of finitely generated groups that are non-relatively hyperbolic have trivial Floyd boundary. In addition to giving new examples, our result provides a common proof and framework for many of the known result…

We show the existence of a thick thin decomposition of the domain of a pseudo holomorphic curve with boundary. The geometry of the thick part is bounded uniformly in the energy. Furthermore, in the thick part, there is a uniform bound on the differential which is exponential in the energy. The thin part consists of ann…

We introduce the notion of connection thickness of spheres in a Cayley graph, related to dead-ends and their retreat depth. It was well-known that connection thickness is bounded for finitely presented one-ended groups. We compute that for natural generating sets of lamplighter groups on a line or on a tree, connection…

A graphical calculus for microformal morphisms simplifies complex operations in classical and quantum physics.