arXiv research

In this paper, we compute the slice genus for many low-crossing virtual knots. For instance, we show that 1295 out of 92800 virtual knots with 6 or fewer crossings are slice, and that all but 248 of the rest are not slice. Key to these results are computations of Turaev's graded genus, which we show extends to give an …

The virtual genus of a virtual satellite link is equal to that of its companion.

Minimal crossing virtual links have minimal supporting genus.

We compute lower bounds on the virtual crossing number and minimal surface genus of virtual knot diagrams from the arrow polynomial. In particular, we focus on several interesting examples.

Handlebody groups are virtual duality groups in positive genus.

Proves Alexander and Markov theorems for higher genus virtual doodles.

For an oriented virtual link, L.H. Kauffman defined the f-polynomial (Jones polynomial). The supporting genus of a virtual link diagram is the minimal genus of a surface in which the diagram can be embedded. In this paper we show that the span of the f-polynomial of an alternating virtual link L is determined by the nu…

A realization of a virtual link diagram is obtained by choosing over/under markings for each virtual crossing. Any realization can also be obtained from some representation of the virtual link. (A representation of a virtual link is a link diagram on an oriented 2-dimensional surface.) We prove that if a minimal genus …

New bounds on virtual link genus using quantum supergroups.

Virtual braids are a combinatorial generalization of braids. We present abstract braids as equivalence classes of braid diagrams on a surface, joining two distinguished boundary components. They are identified up to isotopy, compatibility, stability and Reidemeister moves. We show that virtual braids are in a bijective…

A virtual knot is an equivalence class of embeddings of $S^1$ into thickened (closed oriented) surfaces, up to self-diffeomorphism of the surface and certain handle stabilisations. The slice genus of a virtual knot is defined diagrammatically, in direct analogy to that of a classical knot. However, it may be defined,…

We introduce a new polynomial invariant of virtual knots and links and use this invariant to compute a lower bound on the virtual crossing number and the minimal surface genus.

In this paper, we study the Khovanov homology of an alternating virtual link $L$ and show that it is supported on $g+2$ diagonal lines, where $g$ equals the virtual genus of $L$. Specifically, we show that $Kh^{i,j}(L)$ is supported on the lines $j=2i-σ_ξ+2k-1$ for $0\leq k\leq g+1$ where $σ_{ξ^*}(L)+2g= σ_ξ(L)$ are th…

Projection maps virtual Legendrian knots to classical ones.

Study uses graph Laplacians to analyze surface links.

This paper studies cobordism and concordance for virtual knots. We define the affine index polynomial, prove that it is a concordance invariant for knots and links (explaining when it is defined for links), show that it is also invariant under certain forms of labeled cobordism and study a number of examples in relatio…

We introduce the notion of ascent sliceness of virtual knots. A representative of a virtual knot is an embedding $S^1 \hookrightarrow Σ_{g} \times I$, for $Σ_g$ a closed connected oriented surface of genus $g$; the virtual knot represented is slice if there exists a pair consisting of a disc $D$ and an oriented…

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…

This paper defines a new invariant of virtual knots and links that we call the extended bracket polynomial, and denote by <<K>> for a virtual knot or link K. This invariant is a state summation over bracket states of the oriented diagram for K. Each state is reduced to a virtual 4-regular graph in the plane and the pol…

The paper proves that certain surface mapping class groups do not virtually surject to the integers.

Thurston's spine dimension exceeds virtual cohomological dimension.

In our works with Stoimenow, Vdovina and with Byberi, we introduced the virtual canonical genus $g_{vc}(K)$ and the virtual bridge number $vb(K)$ invariants of virtual knots. One can see from the definitions that for an classical knot $K$ the values of these invariants are less or equal than the classical canonical gen…

A combinatorial framework classifies genus-one knots and links.

A virtual $n$-string $α$ is a collection of $n$ oriented smooth generic loops on a surface $M$. A stabilization of $α$ is a surgery that results in attaching a handle to $M$ along disks avoiding $α$, and the inverse operation is a destabilization of $α$. We consider virtual $n$-strings up to virtual homotopy, i.e., seq…

Virtual links are generalizations of classical links that can be represented by links embedded in a ``thickened'' surface $Σ\times I$, product of a Riemann surface of genus $h$ with an interval. In this paper, we show that virtual alternating links and tangles are naturally associated with the $1/N^2$ expansion of an i…

A virtual knot that has a homologically trivial representative $\mathscr{K}$ in a thickened surface $Σ\times [0,1]$ is said to be an almost classical (AC) knot. $\mathscr{K}$ then bounds a Seifert surface $F\subset Σ\times [0,1]$. Seifert surfaces of AC knots are useful for computing concordance invariants and slice ob…

A group invariant for links in thickened closed orientable surfaces is studied. Associated polynomial invariants are defined. The group detects nontriviality of a virtual link and determines its virtual genus.

This paper defines a theory of cobordism for virtual knots and studies this theory for standard and rotational virtual knots and links. Non-trivial examples of virtual slice knots are given. Determinations of the four-ball genus of positive virtual knots are given using the results of a companion paper by the author an…

A virtual link can be understood as a link in a trivial I-bundle over an orientable compact surface with genus. A twisted virtual link is a link in a trivial I-bundle over a not-necessarily orientable compact surface. A twisted virtual birack is an algebraic structure with axioms derived from the twisted virtual Reidem…

We calculate the virtually-cyclic dimension of the mapping class group of a sphere with at most six punctures. As an immediate consequence, we obtain the virtually-cyclic dimension of the mapping class group of the twice-holed torus and of the closed genus-two surface.

A pseudodiagram is a diagram of a knot with some crossing information missing. We review and expand the theory of pseudodiagrams introduced by R. Hanaki. We then extend this theory to the realm of virtual knots, a generalization of knots. In particular, we investigate how much crossing information must be known to conc…

Suppose that M is a fibered three-manifold whose fiber is a surface of positive genus with one boundary component. Assume that M is not a semi-bundle. We show that infinitely many fillings of M along dM are virtually Haken. It follows that infinitely many Dehn-surgeries of any non-trivial knot in the three-sphere are v…

We show that if a closed hyperbolic 3-manifold has infinitely many finite covers of bounded Heegaard genus, then it is virtually fibered. This generalizes a theorem of Lackenby, removing restrictions needed about the regularity of the covers. Furthermore, we can replace the assumption that the covers have bounded Heega…

Kuperberg [Algebr. Geom. Topol. 3 (2003) 587-591] has shown that a virtual knot corresponds (up to generalized Reidemeister moves) to a unique embedding in a thichened surface of minimal genus. If a virtual knot diagram is equivalent to a classical knot diagram then this minimal surface is a sphere. Using this result a…

We define a group-valued invariant of virtual knots and relate it to various other group-valued invariants of virtual knots, including the extended group of Silver-Williams and the quandle group of Manturov and Bardakov-Bellingeri. A virtual knot is called almost classical if it admits a diagram with an Alexander numbe…

Let Mod_g be the mapping class group of a genus g >= 2 surface. The group Mod_g has virtual cohomological dimension 4g-5. In this note we use a theorem of Broaddus and the combinatorics of chord diagrams to prove that H^{4g-5}(Mod_g; Q) = 0.

We examine three key conjectures in 3-manifold theory: the virtually Haken conjecture, the positive virtual b_1 conjecture and the virtually fibred conjecture. We explore the interaction of these conjectures with the following seemingly unrelated areas: eigenvalues of the Laplacian, and Heegaard splittings. We first gi…

Two categorifications are given for the arrow polynomial, an extension of the Kauffman bracket polynomial for virtual knots. The arrow polynomial extends the bracket polynomial to infinitely many variables, each variable corresponding to an integer {\it arrow number} calculated from each loop in an oriented state summa…

The celebrated Thistlethwaite theorem relates the Jones polynomial of a link with the Tutte polynomial of the corresponding planar graph. We give a generalization of this theorem to virtual links. In this case, the graph will be embedded into a (higher genus) surface. For such graphs we use the generalization of the Tu…

In this paper, we give infinitely many non-Haken hyperbolic genus three 3-manifolds each of which has a finite cover whose induced Heegaard surface from some genus three Heegaard surface of the base manifold is reducible but can be compressed into an incompressible surface. This result supplements [CG] and extends [MMZ…

New invariants for virtual knots via spanning surfaces.

For a knot diagram we introduce an operation which does not increase the genus of the diagram and does not change its representing knot type. We also describe a condition for this operation to certainly decrease the genus. The proof involves the study of a relation between the genus of a virtual knot diagram and the ge…

We show that if M is a surface bundle over S^1 with fiber of genus 2, then for any integer n, M has a finite cover tilde(M) with b_1(tilde(M)) > n. A corollary is that M can be geometrized using only the `non-fiber' case of Thurston's Geometrization Theorem for Haken manifolds.

We use the Bar-Natan Zh-correspondence to identify the generalized Alexander polynomial of a virtual knot with the Alexander polynomial of a two component welded link. We show that the Zh-map is functorial under concordance, and also that Satoh's Tube map (from welded links to ribbon knotted tori in $S^4$) is functoria…

We show that any Kahler extension of a finitely generated abelian group by a surface group of genus g at least 2 is virtually a product. Conversely, we prove that any homomorphism of an even rank, finitely generated abelian group into the genus g mapping class group with finite image gives rise to a Kahler extension. T…

Dye and Kauffman defined surface bracket polynomials for virtual links by use of surface states, and found a relationship between the surface states and the minimal genus of a surface in which a virtual link diagram is realized. They and Miyazawa independently defined a multivariable polynomial invariant of virtual lin…

For large genus, precise monodromy groups are calculated for surface covers.

We characterize the first Alexander Z[Z]-modules of ribbon surface-links in the 4-sphere fixing the number of components and the total genus, and then the first Alexander Z[Z]-modules of surface-links in the 4-sphere fixing the number of components. Using the result of ribbon torus-links, we also characterize the first…