arXiv research

New 2-links created in 4D spaces, topologically unknotted but not smoothly.

We use an estimate on the Thurston--Bennequin invariant of a Legendrian link in terms of its Kauffman-polynomial to show that links of topological unknots, e.g. the Borromean rings or the Whithead link, may not be represented by Legendrian links of Legendrian unknots.

Manufacturing infinite sets of knotted and unknotted surfaces in 4-manifolds.

We show that an $(n+1)$-bridge sphere for the unknot is a topologically minimal surface of index at most $n$.

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

The surgery unknotting number of a Legendrian link is defined as the minimal number of particular oriented surgeries that are required to convert the link into a Legendrian unknot. Lower bounds for the surgery unknotting number are given in terms of classical invariants of the Legendrian link. The surgery unknotting nu…

Smooth tori in S^4 are topologically unknotted.

We show that there are links whose individual components are concordant to the unknot, but which are not concordant to any link with unknotted components. We give examples in the topological category, and examples in the smooth category which are topologically slice. We also give generalizations regarding components of…

New examples show unknotting numbers aren't always additive.

The paper studies cylindrical handlebody-knots of genus two with unique unknotting annuli and finds trivial symmetry groups.

New diagonal move simplifies knots and links efficiently.

This paper gives infinitely many examples of unknot diagrams that are hard, in the sense that the diagrams need to be made more complicated by Reidemeister moves before they can be simplified. In order to construct these diagrams, we prove theorems characterizing when the numerator of the sum of two rational tangles is…

New method shows nonorientable surfaces in 4D are topologically unknotted.

Permutations linked to knots and links, with unknots counted by Schröder numbers.

Computer experiments reveal complex knots that don't simplify.

Study on knot unknotting numbers and their behavior under connected sums.

Unknot recognition is one of the fundamental questions in low dimensional topology. In this work, we show that this problem can be encoded as a validity problem in the existential fragment of the first-order theory of real closed fields. This encoding is derived using a well-known result on SU(2) representations of kno…

It is a major unsolved problem as to whether unknot recognition - that is, testing whether a given closed loop in R^3 can be untangled to form a plain circle - has a polynomial time algorithm. In practice, trivial knots (which can be untangled) are typically easy to identify using fast simplification techniques, wherea…

We introduce and illustrate a new approach to the unknotting problem via the dynamics of vortex strings in a nonlinear partial differential equation of reaction-diffusion type. To untangle a given knot, a Biot-Savart construction is used to initialize the knot as a vortex string in the FitzHugh-Nagumo equation. Remarka…

We give infinitely many $2$-component links with unknotted components which are topologically concordant to the Hopf link, but not smoothly concordant to any $2$-component link with trivial Alexander polynomial. Our examples are pairwise non-concordant.

It is a consequence of theorems of Gordon-Reid [Tangle decompositions of tunnel number one knots and links, J. Knot Theory and its Ramifications, 4 (1995) 389-409] and Thompson [Thin position and bridge number for knots in the 3-sphere, Topology, 36 (1997) 505-507] that a tunnel number one knot, if put in thin position…

We explore the application of automated reasoning techniques to unknot detection, a classical problem of computational topology. We adopt a two-pronged experimental approach, using a theorem prover to try to establish a positive result (i.e. that a knot is the unknot), whilst simultaneously using a model finder to try …

Jones-Wenzl projectors lifted to Khovanov spectra, proving knot conjectures.

New method to untangle knots using null-homologous twists.

The paper shows how to unknot certain nonorientable surfaces in 4-dimensional spaces.

In this note we show that compact self shrinkers in $\mathbb{R}^3$ are "topologically standard" in that any genus $g$ compact self shrinker is ambiently isotopic to the standard genus $g$ embedded surface in $\mathbb{R}^3$. As a consequence self shrinking tori are unknotted.

This is a survey paper on algorithms for solving problems in 3-dimensional topology. In particular, it discusses Haken's approach to the recognition of the unknot, and recent variations.

New methods find minimal crossing numbers for surfaces in $S^4$.

The topological underpinnings are presented for a new algorithm which answers the question: `Is a given knot the unknot?' The algorithm uses the braid foliation technology of Bennequin and of Birman and Menasco. The approach is to consider the knot as a closed braid, and to use the fact that a knot is unknotted if and …

Study on folded ribbon knots and their minimum length.

Category theory generalizes finite type invariants using diagrams systems.

We claim that HOMFLY polynomials for virtual knots, defined with the help of the matrix-model recursion relations, contain more parameters, than just the usual $q$ and $A = q^N$. These parameters preserve topological invariance and do not show up in the case of ordinary (non-virtual) knots and links. They are most conv…

Machine learning maps knots to embeddings, revealing topological invariants.

This is a recreational paper showing that certain linked graphs cannot be separated. The proofs employ elementary covering space theory, an appeal to a theorem of Scharlemann (concerning the band sums of two unknots), and a Jones polynomial calculation.

Some generalizations and variations of the Fintushel-Stern rim surgery are known to produce smoothly knotted surfaces. We show that if the fundamental groups of their complements are cyclic, then these surfaces are topologically unknotted. Using a twist-spinning construction from high-dimensional knot theory, we constr…

We prove that deciding if a diagram of the unknot can be untangled using at most $k$ Riedemeister moves (where $k$ is part of the input) is NP-hard. We also prove that several natural questions regarding links in the $3$-sphere are NP-hard, including detecting whether a link contains a trivial sublink with $n$ componen…

We develop a topological model of knots and links arising from a single (or multiple processive) round(s) of recombination starting with an unknot, unlink, or (2,m)-torus knot or link substrate. We show that all knotted or linked products fall into a single family, and prove that the size of this family grows linearly …

Deep learning classifies knots using rectangular diagrams.

Theory is developed for linear-quadratic at infinity generating families for Legendrian knots in R^3. It is shown that the unknot with maximal Thurston--Bennequin invariant of -1 has a unique linear-quadratic at infinity generating family, up to fiber-preserving diffeomorphism and stabilization. From this, invariant ge…

New theorem shows noncompact self shrinkers are unknotted.

Geometric approach connects Burau representation to sphere metrics, identifying kernels.

Method optimizes knotting pathways in constrained polymers.

New formulas for knot polynomial evaluations from covering spaces.

We give new examples of 2-component links with linking number one and unknotted components that are topologically concordant to the positive Hopf link, but not smoothly so - in fact they are not smoothly concordant to the positive Hopf link with a knot tied in the first component. Such examples were previously construc…

We prove that any steady solution to the real analytic Euler equations on a Riemannian 3-sphere must possess a periodic orbit bounding an embedded disc. One key ingredient is an extension of Fomenko's work on the topology of integrable Hamiltonian systems to a degenerate case involving stratified integrals. The result …

Topology of vortex reconnection shows how knots transform.

New methods show hyperbolicity of Brunnian links.

In this article we give necessary and sufficient conditions for two triples of integers to be realized as the Thurston-Bennequin number and the rotation number of a Legendrian theta-graph with all cycles unknotted. We show that these invariants are not enough to determine the Legendrian class of a topologically planar …