In this short note we highlight some of the differences between cube diagrams and grid diagrams. We also list examples of small cube diagrams for all knots up to 7 crossings and give some examples of links.
For a knot K the cube number is a knot invariant defined to be the smallest n for which there is a cube diagram of size n for K. We will show that the cube number detects chirality in all cases computed thus far, and distinguishes certain legendrian knots.
For a knot $K$ the cube number is a knot invariant defined to be the smallest $n$ for which there is a cube diagram of size $n$ for $K$. There is also a Legendrian version of this invariant called the \emph{Legendrian cube number}. We will show that the Legendrian cube number distinguishes the Legendrian left hand torus knots with maximal Thurston-Bennequin number and maximal rotation number from the Legendrian left hand torus knots with maximal Thurston-Bennequin number and minimal rotation number.
We examine the relationship between the (untwisted) knot Floer cube of resolutions and HOMFLY-PT homology. By using a filtration induced by additional basepoints on the Heegaard diagram for a knot $K$, we see that the filtered complex decomposes as a direct sum of HOMFLY-PT homologies of various subdiagrams. Jaeger's composition product formula shows that the graded Euler characteristic of this direct sum is the HOMFLY-PT polynomial of $K$.
Ozsvath and Szabo gave a combinatorial description of knot Floer homology based on a cube of resolutions, which uses maps with twisted coefficients. We study the t=1 specialization of their construction. The associated spectral sequence converges to knot Floer homology, and we conjecture that its E_1 page is isomorphic to the HOMFLY-PT chain complex of Khovanov and Rozansky. At the level of each E_1 summand, this conjecture can be stated in terms of an isomorphism between certain Tor groups. As evidence for the conjecture, we prove that such an isomorphism exists in degree zero.
Let M be a closed oriented 3-manifold with first Betti number one. Its equivariant linking pairing may be seen as a two-dimensional cohomology class in an appropriate infinite cyclic covering of the space of ordered pairs of distinct points of M. We show how to define the equivariant cube Q(K) of this Blanchfield pairing with respect to a framed knot K that generates H_1(M)/Torsion. This article is devoted to the study of the invariant Q. We prove many properties for this invariant including two surgery formulae. Via surgery, the invariant Q is equivalent to an invariant of null-homologous kno…
In this paper we introduce a representation of a embedded knotted (sometimes Lagrangian) tori in $\BR^4$ called a hypercube diagram, i.e., a 4-dimensional cube diagram. We prove the existence of hypercube homology that is invariant under 4-dimensional cube diagram moves, a homology that is based on knot Floer homology. We provide examples of hypercube diagrams and hypercube homology, including using the new invariant to distinguish (up to cube moves) two "Hopf linked" tori. We also give examples of a "Trefoil" torus and an immersed knotted torus that is an amalgamation of the $5_2$ knot and a …
We develop a skein exact sequence for knot Floer homology, involving singular knots. This leads to an explicit, algebraic description of knot Floer homology in terms of a braid projection of the knot.
In this paper we introduce a representation of knots and links called a cube diagram. We show that a property of a cube diagram is a link invariant if and only if the property is invariant under two types of cube diagram operations. A knot homology is constructed from cube diagrams and shown to be equivalent to knot Floer homology.
This article addresses the two significant aspects of Ozsváth and Szabó's knot Floer cube of resolutions that differentiate it from Khovanov and Rozansky's HOMFLY-PT chain complex: (1) the use of twisted coefficients and (2) the appearance of a mysterious non-local ideal. Our goal is to facilitate progress on Rasmussen's conjecture that a spectral sequence relates the two knot homologies. We replace the language of twisted coefficients with the more quantum topological language of framings on trivalent graphs. We define a homology theory for framed trivalent graphs with boundary that -- for a …
We give a simple example showing that a knot or link diagram that lies in the ${\mathbb{Z}}^2$ lattice is not necessarily the projection of a lattice stick knot or link in the ${\mathbb{Z}}^3$ lattice, and we give a necessary and sufficient condition for when a knot or link diagram that lies in the ${\mathbb{Z}}^2$ lattice is in fact the projection of a lattice stick knot or link.
This paper gives a partial description of the homotopy type of K, the space of long knots in 3-dimensional Euclidean space. The primary result is the construction of a homotopy equivalence between K and the free little 2-cubes object over the space of prime knots. In proving the freeness result, a close correspondence is discovered between the Jaco-Shalen-Johannson decomposition of knot complements and the little cubes action on K. Beyond studying long knots in 3-space, we show that for any compact manifold M the space of embeddings of R^n x M in R^n x M with support in I^n x M admits an actio…
This paper considers the invariance of knot Floer homology in a purely algebraic setting, without reference to Heegaard diagrams, holomorphic disks, or grid diagrams. We show that (a small modification of) Ozsváth and Szabó's cube of resolutions for knot Floer homology, which is assigned to a braid presentation with a basepoint, is invariant under braid-like Reidemeister moves II and III and under conjugation. All moves are assumed to happen away from the basepoint. We also describe the behavior of the cube of resolutions under stabilization. The techniques echo those employed to prove the inv…
We construct a new order 1 invariant for knot diagrams. We use it to determine the minimal number of Reidemeister moves needed to pass between certain pairs of knot diagrams.
Bankwitz characterized an alternating diagram representing the trivial knot. A non-alternating diagram is called almost alternating if one crossing change makes the diagram alternating. We characterize an almost alternaing diagram representing the trivial knot. As a corollary we determine an unknotting number one alternating knot with a property that the unknotting operation can be done on its alternating diagram.
In this paper a classification of Reidemeister moves, which is the most refined, is introduced. In particular, this classification distinguishes some $Ω_3$-moves that only differ in how the three strands that are involved in the move are ordered on the knot. To transform knot diagrams of isotopic knots into each other one must in general use $Ω_3$-moves of at least two different classes. To show this, knot diagram invariants that jump only under $Ω_3$-moves are introduced. Knot diagrams of isotopic knots can be connected by a sequence of Reidemeister moves of only six, out of the total of 24, …
We prove that any $11$-colorable knot is presented by an $11$-colored diagram where exactly five colors of eleven are assigned to the arcs. The number five is the minimum for all non-trivially $11$-colored diagrams of the knot. We also prove a similar result for any $11$-colorable ribbon $2$-knot.
We show that if a classical knot diagram satisfies a certain combinatorial condition then it is minimal with respect to the number of classical crossings. This statement is proved by using the Kauffman bracket and the construction of atoms and knots.
Racks do not give us invariants of surface-knots in general. For example, if a surface-knot diagram has branch points (and a rack which we use satisfies some mild condition), then it admits no rack colorings. In this paper, we investigate rack colorings for surface-knot diagrams without branch points and prove that rack colorings are invariants of $S^2$-knots. We also prove that rack colorings for $S^2$-knots can be interpreted in terms of quandles, and discuss a relationship with regular-equivalences of surface-knot diagrams.
We define a new kind of Gauss diagrams to describe knots in the solid torus with projections in the annulus. We see that it provides an efficient tool for showing that a knot diagram can be fully recovered from its decorated Gauss diagram, and we use it to establish a characterization of the decorated Gauss diagrams of closed braids.
We introduce the warping polynomial of an oriented knot diagram. In this paper, we characterize the warping polynomial, and define the span of a knot to be the minimal span of the warping polynomial for all diagrams of the knot. We show that the span of a knot is one if and only if it is non-trivial and alternating, and we give an inequality between the span and the dealternating number.
In the classical knot theory there is a well-known notion of descending diagram. From an arbitrary diagram one can easily obtain, by some crossing changes, a descending diagram which is a diagram of the unknot or unlink. In this paper the notion of descending diagram for knots and links in the real space is extended to the case of nonoriented knots and links in the projective space. It is also shown that this notion cannot be extended to oriented links.
We introduce a new combinatorial method to encode knots and links with applications to knot invariants. Clasp diagrams defined in this paper are combinatorial blueprints for building knot diagrams out of full twists on two strings rather than out of crossings. We describe an equivalence relation on clasp diagrams which produces the isotopy classes of knots as equivalence classes. This equivalence relation is generated by local moves similar to the Reidemeister moves. Clasp diagrams produce particularly simple Seifert surfaces for knots and lead to an explicit formula for the Alexander-Conway p…
We define and compare several natural ways to compute the bridge number of a knot diagram. We study bridge numbers of crossing number minimizing diagrams, as well as the behavior of diagrammatic bridge numbers under the connected sum operation. For each notion of diagrammatic bridge number considered, we find crossing number minimizing knot diagrams which fail to minimize bridge number. Furthermore, we construct a family of minimal crossing diagrams for which the difference between diagrammatic bridge number and the actual bridge number of the knot grows to infinity.
We show that a small tree-decomposition of a knot diagram induces a small sphere-decomposition of the corresponding knot. This, in turn, implies that the knot admits a small essential planar meridional surface or a small bridge sphere. We use this to give the first examples of knots where any diagram has high tree-width. This answers a question of Burton and of Makowsky and Mariño.
We define sutured Heegaard diagrams for null-homologous knots in 3-manifolds. These diagrams are useful for computing the knot Floer homology at the top filtration level. As an application, we give a formula for the knot Floer homology of a Murasugi sum. Our result echoes Gabai's earlier works. We also show that for so-called 'semifibred' satellite knots, the top filtration term of the knot Floer homology is isomorphic to the counterpart of the companion.
Two knots in three-space are S-equivalent if they are indistinguishable by Seifert matrices. We show that S-equivalence is generated by the doubled-delta move on knot diagrams. It follows as a corollary that a knot has trivial Alexander polynomial if and only if it can be undone by doubled-delta moves.
We introduce an equivalence relation, called stable equivalence, on knot diagrams and closed curves on surfaces. We give bijections between the set of abstract knots, the set of virtual knots, and the set of the stable equivalence classes of knot diagrams on surfaces. Using these bijections, we define concordance and link homology for virtual links. As an application, it is shown that Kauffman's example of a virtual knot diagram is not equivalent to a classical knot diagram.
In this brief note, we give an explicit sequence of Heegaard moves interpolating between local versions of the Kauffman-states Heegaard diagram and the planar Heegaard diagram used in knot Floer homology, and show how these local moves can be used to go between the global versions of the Heegaard diagrams.
The warping degree of an oriented knot diagram is the minimal number of crossing changes which are required to obtain a monotone knot diagram from the diagram. The minimal warping degree of a knot is the minimal value of the warping degree for all oriented minimal diagrams of the knot. In this paper, all prime alternating knots with minimal warping degree two are determined.
Given a diagram $D$ of a knot $K$, we consider the number $c(D)$ of crossings and the number $b(D)$ of overpasses of $D$. We show that, if $D$ is a diagram of a nontrivial knot $K$ whose number $c(D)$ of crossings is minimal, then $1+\sqrt{1+c(D)} \leq b(D)\leq c(D)$. These inequalities are shape in the sense that the upper bound of $b(D)$ is achieved by alternating knots and the lower bound of $b(D)$ is achieved by torus knots. The second inequality becomes an equality only when the knot is an alternating knot. We prove that the first inequality becomes an equality only when the knot is a tor…
If a rectangular diagram represents the trivial knot, then it can be deformed into the rectangular diagram with only two vertical edges by a finite sequence of merge operations and exchange operations, without increasing the number of vertical edges, which was shown by I. A. Dynnikov. We show in this paper that we need no merge operations to deform a rectangular diagram of the trivial knot to one with no crossings.
Frequently, knots are enumerated by their crossing number. However, the number of knots with crossing number $c$ grows exponentially with $c$, and to date computer-assisted proofs can only classify diagrams up to around twenty crossings. Instead, we consider diagrams enumerated by bridge number, following the lead of Schubert who classified 2-bridge knots in the 1950s. We prove a uniqueness result for this enumeration. Using recent developments in geometric topology, including distances in the curve complex and techniques with incompressible surfaces, we show that infinitely many knot and link…
The forbidden moves can be combined with Gauss diagram Reidemeister moves to obtain move sequences with which we may change any Gauss diagram (and hence any virtual knot) into any other, including in particular the unknotted diagram
We study petal diagrams of knots, which provide a method of describing knots in terms of permutations in a symmetric group $S_{2n+1}$. We define two classes of moves on such permutations, called trivial petal additions and crossing exchanges, which do not change the isotopy class of the underlying knot. We prove that any two permutations which represent isotopic knots can be related by a sequence of these moves and their inverses.
For an oriented knot diagram D, the warping degree d(D) is the smallest number of crossing changes which are needed to obtain the monotone diagram from D in the usual way. We show that d(D) + d(-D) + 1 is less than or equal to the crossing number of D. Moreover the equality holds if and only if D is an alternating diagram.
We explore free knot diagrams, which are projections of knots into the plane which don't record over/under data at crossings. We consider the combinatorial question of which free knot diagrams give which knots and with what probability. Every free knot diagram is proven to produce trefoil knots, and certain simple families of free knots are completely worked out. We make some conjectures (supported by computer-generated data) about bounds on the probability of a knot arising from a fixed free diagram being the unknot, or being the trefoil.
For each diagram $D$ of a $2$-knot, we provide a way to construct a new diagram $D'$ of the same knot such that any sequence of Roseman moves between $D$ and $D'$ necessarily involves branch points. The proof is done by developing the observation that no sphere eversion can be lifted to an isotopy in $4$-space.
In recent years, several families of hyperbolic knots have been shown to have both volume and $λ_1$ (first eigenvalue of the Laplacian) bounded in terms of the twist number of a diagram, while other families of knots have volume bounded by a generalized twist number. We show that for general knots, neither the twist number nor the generalized twist number of a diagram can provide two-sided bounds on either the volume or $λ_1$. We do so by studying the geometry of a family of hyperbolic knots that we call double coil knots, and finding two-sided bounds in terms of the knot diagrams on both the …
We succeed to generalize spun knots of classical 1-knots to the virtual 1-knot case by using the `spinning construction'. That, is, we prove the following: Let $Q$ be a spun knot of a virtual 1-knot $K$ by our method. The embedding type $Q$ in $S^4$ depends only on $K$. Furthermore we prove the following: The submanifolds, $Q$ and the embedded torus made from $K,$ defined by Satoh's method, in $S^4$ are isotopic. We succeed to generalize the above construction to the virtual 2-knot case. Note that Satoh's method says nothing about the virtual 2-knot case. Rourke's interpretation of Satoh's met…
We introduce and study knotoids. Knotoids are represented by diagrams in a surface which differ from the usual knot diagrams in that the underlying curve is a segment rather than a circle. Knotoid diagrams are considered up to Reidemeister moves applied away from the endpoints of the underlying segment. We show that knotoids in $S^2$ generalize knots in $S^3$ and study the semigroup of knotoids. We also discuss applications to knots and invariants of knotoids.
We show that every rational knot $K$ of crossing number $N$ admits a polynomial parametrization $x=T_a(t), y = T_b(t), z = C(t)$ where $T_k(t)$ are the Chebyshev polynomials, $a=3$ and $b+ °C = 3N.$ We show that every rational knot also admits a polynomial parametrization with $a=4$. If $C (t)= T_c(t)$ is a Chebyshev polynomial, we call such a knot a harmonic knot. We give the classification of harmonic knots for $a \le 4.$
Twisted knot theory, introduced by M.O.Bourgoin, is a generalization of virtual knot theory. It is easily shown that any virtual knot can be deformed into a trivial knot by a finite sequence of generalized Reidemeister moves and two "forbidden moves" $F_{1}$ and $F_{2}$. Similarly, we show that any twisted knot also can be deformed into a trivial knot or a trivial knot with a bar by a finite sequence of extended Reidemeister moves and three "forbidden moves" $T_{4}$, $F_{1}$ (or $F_{2}$) and $F_{3}$ (or $F_{4}$) .
We provide a way to produce knots in $S^3$ from signed chord diagrams, and prove that every knot can be produced in this way. Using these diagrams, we generalize the fundamental theorem of finite type invariants. We also provide moves for the diagrams so that any two diagrams for the same knot are connected by a sequence of moves.
We describe a new class of minimal link diagrams. This class includes certain alternating diagrams, the standard diagrams of all torus links, and numerous homogeneous diagrams whose minimality has not been proven before. Besides, we describe a new larger class of link diagrams with the least number of Seifert circles among all diagrams of a given link. Our approach refers to the Morton-Franks-Williams inequality.
In this article, we give a list of minimal grid diagrams of the 12 crossing prime alternating knots. This is a continuation of the work in https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218216520500765
A string figure is topologically a trivial knot lying on an imaginary plane orthogonal to the fingers with some crossings. The fingers prevent cancellation of these crossings. As a mathematical model of string figure we consider a knot diagram on the $xy$-plane in $xyz$-space missing some straight lines parallel to the $z$-axis. These straight lines correspond to fingers. We study minimal number of crossings of these knot diagrams under Reidemeister moves missing these lines.
The Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariant of classical link diagrams is generalized to virtual link diagrams. This invariant is unchanged by the framed Reidemeister moves and the Kirby calculus. As a result, it is also an invariant of the 3-manifolds represented by the classical link diagrams. This generalization is used to demonstrate that there are virtual knot diagrams with a non-trivial Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariant and trivial 3-manifold fundamental group.
Let $D$ be a diagram of an alternating knot with unknotting number one. The branched double cover of $S^3$ branched over $D$ is an L-space obtained by half integral surgery on a knot $K_D$. We denote the set of all such knots $K_D$ by $\mathcal D$. We characterize when $K_D\in \mathcal D$ is a torus knot, a satellite knot or a hyperbolic knot. In a different direction, we show that for a given $n>0$, there are only finitely many L-space knots in $\mathcal D$ with genus less than $n$.