We examine graphs that contain a non-trivial link in every embedding into real projective space, using a weaker notion of unlink than was used by Flapan, et al. We call such graphs intrinsically linked in projective space. We fully characterize such graphs with connectivity 0,1 and 2. We also show that only one Petersen-family graph is intrinsically linked in projective space and prove that K7 minus any two edges is also minor-minimal intrinsically linked. In all, 594 graphs are shown to be minor-minimal intrinsically linked in projective space.
We say that a graph is intrinsically knotted or completely 3-linked if every embedding of the graph into the 3-sphere contains a nontrivial knot or a 3-component link any of whose 2-component sublink is nonsplittable. We show that a graph obtained from the complete graph on seven vertices by a finite sequence of $\triangle Y$-exchanges and $Y \triangle$-exchanges is a minor-minimal intrinsically knotted or completely 3-linked graph.
Flapan--Naimi--Pommersheim showed that every spatial embedding of $K_{10}$, the complete graph on ten vertices, contains a non-split three-component link; that is, $K_{10}$ is intrinsically triple-linked in $\mathbb{R}^3$. The work of Bowlin--Foisy and Flapan--Foisy--Naimi--Pommersheim extended the list of known intrinsically triple-linked graphs in $\mathbb{R}^3$ to include several other families of graphs. In this paper, we will show that while some of these graphs can be embedded 3-linklessly in $\mathbb{R}P^3$, $K_{10}$ is intrinsically triple-linked in $\mathbb{R}P^3$.
We prove that every embedding of $K_{2n+1,2n+1}$ into $\R^3$ contains a non-split link of $n$-components. Further, given an embedding of $K_{2n+1,2n+1}$ in $\R^3$, every edge of $K_{2n+1,2n+1}$ is contained in a non-split $n$-component link in $K_{2n+1,2n+1}$.
This paper introduces a number of new intrinsically 3-linked graphs through five new constructions. We then prove that intrinsic 3-linkedness is not preserved by $\text{Y}\nabla$ moves. We will see that the graph $M$, which is obtained through a $\text{Y}\nabla$ move on $(PG)^*_*(PG)$, is not intrinsically 3-linked.
We construct a graph G such that any embedding of G into R^{3} contains a nonsplit link of two components, where at least one of the components is a nontrivial knot. Further, for any m < n we produce a graph H so that every embedding of H contains a nonsplit n component link, where at least m of the components are nontrivial knots. We then turn our attention to complete graphs and show that for any given n, every embedding of a large enough complete graph contains a two component link whose linking number is a nonzero multiple of n.
We study intrinsically linked graphs where we require that every embedding of the graph contains not just a non-split link, but a link that satisfies some additional property. Examples of properties we address in this paper are: a two component link with lk(A,L) = k2^r, k not 0, a non-split n-component link where all linking numbers are even, or an n-component link with components L, A_i where lk(L,A_i) = 3k, k not 0. Links with other properties are considered as well. For a given property, we prove that every embedding of a certain complete graph contains a link with that property. The size o…
We consider intrinsic linking and knotting in the context of directed graphs. We construct an example of a directed graph that contains a consistently oriented knotted cycle in every embedding. We also construct examples of intrinsically 3-linked and 4-linked directed graphs. We introduce two operations, consistent edge contraction and H-cyclic subcontraction, as special cases of minors for digraphs, and show that the property of having a linkless embedding is closed under these operations. We analyze the relationship between the number of distinct knots and links in an undirected graph $G$ an…
A graph G is intrinsically S^1-linked if for every embedding of the vertices of G into S^1, vertices that form the endpoints of two disjoint edges in G form a non-split link in the embedding. We show that a graph is intrinsically S^1-linked if and only if it is not outer-planar. A graph is outer-flat if it can be embedded in the 3-ball such that all of its vertices map to the boundary of the 3-ball, all edges to the interior, and every cycle bounds a disk in the 3-ball that meets the graph only along its boundary. We show that a graph is outer-flat if and only if it is planar.
A directed graph $G$ is $\textit{intrinsically linked}$ if every embedding of that graph contains a non-split link $L$, where each component of $L$ is a consistently oriented cycle in $G$. A $\textit{tournament}$ is a directed graph where each pair of vertices is connected by exactly one directed edge. We consider intrinsic linking and knotting in tournaments, and study the minimum number of vertices required for a tournament to have various intrinsic linking or knotting properties. We produce the following bounds: intrinsically linked ($n=8$), intrinsically knotted ($9 \leq n \leq 12$), intri…
A tournament on 8 or more vertices may be intrinsically linked as a directed graph. We begin the classification of intrinsically linked tournaments by examining their score sequences. While many distinct tournaments may have the same score sequence, there exist score sequences $S$ such that any tournament with score sequence $S$ has an embedding with no nonsplit consistently oriented link. We call such score sequences $\textit{linkless}$, and we show that the vast majority of score sequences for 8 vertex tournaments are linkless. We also extend these results to $n$ vertex tournaments and are a…
A graph is intrinsically projectively linked (IPL) if its every embedding in projective space contains a nonsplit link. Some minor-minimal IPL graphs have been found previously. We determine that no minor-minimal IPL graphs on 16 edges exists and identify new minor-minimal IPL graphs by applying $Δ-Y$ exchanges to $K_{7}-2e$. We prove that for a nonouter-projective-planar graph $G$, $G+\bar{K}_{2}$ is IPL and describe the necessary and sufficient conditions on a projective planar graph $G$ such that $G+\bar{K}_{2}$ is IPL. Lastly, we deduce conditions for $f(G + \bar{K_{2}})$ to have no nonspl…
We prove that a graph is intrinsically linked in an arbitrary 3-manifold M if and only if it is intrinsically linked in S^3. Also, assuming the Poincare Conjecture, we prove that a graph is intrinsically knotted in M if and only if it is intrinsically knotted in S^3.
We say that a graph is intrinsically non-trivial if every spatial embedding of the graph contains a non-trivial spatial subgraph. We prove that an intrinsically non-trivial graph is intrinsically linked, namely every spatial embedding of the graph contains a non-splittable 2-component link. We also show that there exists a graph such that every spatial embedding of the graph contains either a non-splittable 3-component link or an irreducible spatial handcuff graph whose constituent 2-component link is split.
We classify graphs that are 0, 1, or 2 edges short of being complete partite graphs with respect to intrinsic linking and intrinsic knotting. In addition, we classify intrinsic knotting of graphs on 8 vertices. For graphs in these families, we verify a conjecture presented in Adams' "The Knot Book": If a vertex is removed from an intrinsically knotted graph, one obtains an intrinsically linked graph.
We introduce new sufficient conditions for intrinsic knotting and linking. A graph on n vertices with at least 4n-9 edges is intrinsically linked. A graph on n vertices with at least 5n-14 edges is intrinsically knotted. We also classify graphs that are 0, 1, or 2 edges short of being complete partite graphs with respect to intrinsic linking and intrinsic knotting. In addition, we classify intrinsic knotting of graphs on 8 vertices.
We introduce a notion of intrinsic linking and knotting for virtual spatial graphs. Our theory gives two filtrations of the set of all graphs, allowing us to measure, in a sense, how intrinsically linked or knotted a graph is; we show that these filtrations are descending and non-terminating. We also provide several examples of intrinsically virtually linked and knotted graphs. As a byproduct, we introduce the {\it virtual unknotting number} of a knot, and show that any knot with non-trivial Jones polynomial has virtual unknotting number at least 2.
