The purpose of this paper is to present a new periodicity criterion. For that purpose, we study the HOMFLY-PT polynomial and the Kauffman polynomial of cables of periodic links. Furthermore, we exhibit a couple of examples for which our criterion is stronger than many previously know criteria, among which is the Khovanov homology criterion of Borodzik and the second author.
In [D.A. Fedoseev, V.O. Manturov, A sliceness criterion for odd free knots,arXiv:1707.04923], the authors proved a sliceness criterion for odd free knots: free knots with odd chords. In the present paper we give a similar criterion for stably odd free knots. Some additional results on knot sliceness and cobordism are given.
The main goal of this paper is to prove that for odd free knots - that is free knots with all odd crossings - the problem of sliceness (the existence of a spanning disc) has an explicit answer based on the pairing of the knot diagram chords.
Let $p\geq 2$ and $q\neq 0$ an integer. A knot $K$ in the three-sphere is said to be a $(p,q)$-lens knot if and only if it covers a link in the lens space $L(p,q)$. In this paper, we use the second coefficient of the HOMFLY polynomial to provide a necessary condition for a knot to be a $(p,q)$-lens knot. As an application, it is shown that this criterion rules out the possibility of being $(5,1)$-lens for 80 among the 84 knots with less than 9 crossings.
Edmonds famously proved that every periodic knot of genus g possesses an equivariant Seifert surface of genus g. We show that this is not true if one instead considers nonorientable spanning surfaces of a periodic knot. We demonstrate by example that the difference between the first Betti number of an equivariant and a nonequivariant nonorientable spanning surface of a periodic knot, can be arbitrarily large.
A knot $K$ is definite if $|σ(K)| = 2g(K)$. We prove that the quotient of a definite periodic knot is definite by considering equivariant minimal genus Seifert surfaces.
We show that the equivariant and non-equivariant non-orientable 4-genus of p-periodic knots may differ, for any choice of p>1. Similar results have previously been obtained for the smooth 4-genus and non-orientable 3-genus of a periodic knot. These stand in contrast to Edmods' acclaimed result by which the equivariant and non-equivariant Seifert genus of a periodic knot agree.
This paper is devoted to prove the existence of $q$-periodic alternating projections of prime alternating $q$-periodic knots. The main tool is the Menasco-Thistlethwaite's Flyping theorem. Let $K$ be an oriented prime alternating knot that is $q$-periodic with $q\geq 3$, i.e. $K$ admits a symmetry that is a rotation of order $q$. Then $K$ has an alternating $q$-periodic projection. As applications, we obtain the crossing number of a $q$ -periodic alternating knot with $q\geq 3$ is a multiple of $q$ and we give an elementary proof that the knot $12_{a634} $ is not 3-periodic; this proof does no…
Let $\widetilde{K}$ be a 2-periodic knot in $S^3$ with quotient $K$. We prove a rank inequality between the knot Floer homology of $\widetilde{K}$ and the knot Floer homology of $K$ using a spectral sequence of Hendricks, Lipshitz and Sarkar. We also conjecture a filtered refinement of this inequality, for which we give computational evidence, and produce applications to the Alexander polynomials of $\widetilde{K}$ and $K$.
We show that every periodic virtual knot can be realized as the closure of a periodic virtual braid and use this to study the Alexander invariants of periodic virtual knots. If $K$ is a $q$-periodic and almost classical knot, we show that its quotient knot $K_*$ is also almost classical, and in the case $q=p^r$ is a prime power, we establish an analogue of Murasugi's congruence relating the Alexander polynomials of $K$ and $K_*$ over the integers modulo $p$. This result is applied to the problem of determining the possible periods of a virtual knot $K$. One consequence is that if $K$ is an alm…
We consider free symmetries on cobordisms between knots. We classify which freely periodic knots bound equivariant surfaces in the 4-ball in terms of corresponding homology classes in lens spaces. A key tool is the homology cobordism classification of lens spaces using d-invariants. We give a numerical condition determining the free periods for which torus knots bound equivariant surfaces in the 4-ball.
We derive new obstructions to periodicity of classical knots by employing the Heegaard Floer correction terms of the finite cyclic branched covers of the knots. Applying our results to two fold covers, we demonstrate through numerous examples that our obstructions are successful where many existing periodicity obstructions fail. A combination of previously known periodicity obstructions and the results presented here, leads to a nearly complete (with the exception of a single knot) classification of alternating, periodic, 12-crossing knots with odd prime periods. For the case of alternating kn…
We study the equivariant genera of strongly invertible and periodic knots. Our techniques include some new strongly invertible concordance group invariants, Donaldson's theorem, and the g-signature. We find many new examples where the equivariant 4-genus is larger than the 4-genus.
Murasugi discovered two criteria that must be satisfied by the Alexander polynomial of a periodic knot. We generalize these to the case of twisted Alexander polynomials. Examples demonstrate the application of these new criteria, including to knots with trivial Alexander polynomial, such as the two polynomial 1 knots with 11 crossings. Hartley found a restrictive condition satisfied by the Alexander polynomial of any freely periodic knot. We generalize this result to the twisted Alexander polynomial and illustrate the applicability of this extension in cases in which Hartley's criterion does n…
Let $M$ be a $\mathbb{Q}$-homology solid torus. In this paper, we give a cohomological criterion for the existence of an interval of left-orderable Dehn surgeries on $M$. We apply this criterion to prove that the two-bridge knot that corresponds to the continued fraction $[1,1,2,2,2j]$ for $j\geq 1$ admits an interval of left-orderable Dehn surgeries. This family of two-bridge knots gives some positive evidence for a question of Xinghua Gao.
We give a new criterion for a given knot to be a Montesinos knot by using the Rasmussen invariant and the signature. We apply the criterion to study Seifert fibered surgery on a strongly invertible knot, and show that a $(p,q,q)$-pretzel knot with integers $p,q \ge 2$ admits no Seifert fibered surgery.
A knot $K$ in $S^3$ is $q$-periodic if it admits a symmetry that is conjugate to a rotation of order $q$ of $S^3$. If $K$ admits a symmetry which is a homeomorphism without fixed point of period $q$ of $S^3$, then $K$ is called freely $q$-periodic. In a previous paper, we obtained, as a consequence of Flyping Theorem due to Menasco and Thislethwaite, that the $q$-periodicity with $q>2$ can be visualized in an alternating projection as a rotation of the projection sphere. In this paper, we show that the free $q$-action of an alternating knot can be represented on some alternating projection as …
The union of singular orbits of an effective locally smooth circle action on the 4-sphere consists of two 2-knots, $K$ and $K^{\prime}$, intersecting at two points transversely. Each of $K$ and $K^{\prime}$ is called a branched twist spin. A twist spun knot is an example of a branched twist spin. The Gluck twists along branched twist spins are studied by Fintushel, Gordon and Pao. In this paper, we determine the 2-knot obtained from $K$ by the Gluck twist along $K^{\prime}$. As an application, we give infinitely many pairs of inequivalent branched twist spins whose complements are homeomorphic…
Let K be a an alternating prime knot in the 3-sphere. We investigate the category of flypes between reduced alternating diagrams for K. As a consequence, we show that any odd prime order action on K is isotopic through maps of pairs to a single flype. This implies that for any odd prime order action on K there is either a reduced alternating periodic diagram or a reduced alternating free periodic diagram. Finally, we deduce that the quotient of an odd periodic alternating knot is also alternating.
We use Heegaard splittings to give a criterion for a tunnel number one knot manifold to be non-fibered and to have large cyclic covers. We also show that such a knot manifold (satisfying the criterion) admits infinitely many virtually Haken Dehn fillings. Using a computer, we apply this criterion to the 2 generator, non-fibered knot manifolds in the cusped Snappea census. For each such manifold M, we compute a number c(M), such that, for any n>c(M), the n-fold cyclic cover of M is large.
A graph G is called "minimalizable" if a diagram with minimal crossing number can be obtained from an arbitrary diagram of G by crossing changes. If, furthermore, the minimal diagram is unique up to crossing changes then G is called "strongly minimalizable". In this article, it is explained how minimalizability of a graph is related to its automorphism group and it is shown that a graph is strongly minimalizable if the automorphism group is trivial or isomorphic to a product of symmetric groups. Then, the treatment of crossing number problems in graph theory by knot theoretical means is discus…
Twisted Alexander invariants have been defined for any knot and linear representation of its group. The invariants are generalized for any periodic representation of the commutator subgroup of the knot group. Properties of the new twisted invariants are given. Under suitable hypotheses, reciprocality and bounds on the moduli of zeros are obtained. A topological interpretation of the Mahler measure of the invariants is presented. Keywords: Knot, twisted Alexander polynomial, representation shift, Mahler measure.
We give a criterion for distinguishing a prime knot $K$ in $S^3$ from every other knot in $S^3$ using the finite quotients of $π_1(S^3\setminus K)$. Using recent work of Baldwin-Sivek, we apply this criterion to the hyperbolic knots $5_2$, $15n_{43522}$, and the three-strand pretzel knots $P(-3,3,2n+1)$ for every integer $n$.
We show that all twist knots, certain double twist knots and some other 2-bridge knots are minimal elements for the partial ordering on the set of prime knots. The key to these results are presentations of their character varieties using Chebyshev polynomials and a criterion for irreducibility of a polynomial of two variables. These give us an elementary method to discuss the number of irreducible components of the character varieties, which concludes the result essentially.
We will show that if $K$ is a knot of prime period $p>2$ and whose Alexander polynomial $Δ_K(t)$ is monic and of degree $p-1$, then $Δ_K(t)$ is uniquely determined only by $p$.
Previous work of the authors establishes a criterion on the fundamental group of a knot complement that determines when Dehn surgery on the knot will have a fundamental group that is not left-orderable. We provide a refinement of this criterion by introducing the notion of a decayed knot; it is shown that Dehn surgery on decayed knots produces surgery manifolds that have non-left-orderable fundamental group for all sufficiently positive surgeries. As an application, we prove that sufficiently positive cables of decayed knots are always decayed knots. These results mirror properties of L-space …
We study character varieties of symmetric knots and their reductions mod p. We observe that the varieties present a different behaviour according to whether the knots admit a free or periodic symmetry.
We consider the space of all representations of the commutator subgroup of a knot group into Z/p, p is prime. As proven by D. Silver and S. Williams, this space can be completely described by a finite oriented graph. We describe the lengths of cycles in this graph.
Boyer, Gordon, and Watson have conjectured that an irreducible rational homology 3-sphere is an L-space if and only if its fundamental group is not left-orderable. Since large classes of L-spaces can be produced from Dehn surgery on knots in the 3-sphere, it is natural to ask what conditions on the knot group are sufficient to imply that the quotient associated to Dehn surgery is not left-orderable. Clay and Watson develop a criterion for determining the left-orderability of this quotient group and use it to verify the conjecture for surgeries on certain L-space twisted torus knots. We general…
Every closed geodesic $γ$ on a surface has a canonically associated knot $\widehatγ$ in the projective unit tangent bundle. We study, for $γ$ filling, the volume of the associated knot complement with respect to its unique complete hyperbolic metric. We provide a lower bound for the volume relative to the number of homotopy classes of $γ$-arcs in each pair of pants of a pants decomposition of the surface.
In this paper we show that periodic Takahashi 3-manifolds are cyclic coverings of the connected sum of two lens spaces (possibly cyclic coverings of the 3-sphere), branched over knots. When the base space is a 3-sphere, we prove that the associated branching set is a two-bridge knot of genus one, and we determine its type. Moreover, a geometric cyclic presentation for the fundamental groups of these manifolds is obtained in several interesting cases, including the ones corresponding to the branched cyclic coverings of the 3-sphere.
In the study of homology cobordisms, knot concordance and link concordance, the following technical problem arises frequently: let $π$ be a group and let $M \to N$ be a homomorphism between projective $\Z[π]$-modules such that $\Z_p \otimes_{\Z[π]} M\to \Z_p \otimes_{\Z[π]} N$ is injective; for which other right $\Z[π]$-modules $V$ is the induced map $V \otimes_{\Z[π]} M\to V\otimes_{\Z[π]}N$ also injective? Our main theorem gives a new criterion which combines and generalizes many previous results.
A knot \widetilde{K} \subset S^3 is q-periodic if there is a \mathbb Z_q-action preserving \widetilde{K} whose fixed set is an unknot U. The quotient of \widetilde{K} under the action is a second knot K. We construct equivariant Heegaard diagrams for q-periodic knots, and show that Murasugi's classical condition on the Alexander polynomials of periodic knots is a quick consequence of these diagrams. For \widetilde{K} a two-periodic knot, we show there is a spectral sequence whose E^1 page is \hat{\mathit{HFL}}(S^3,\widetilde{K}\cup U)\otimes V^{\otimes (2n-1)})\otimes \mathbb Z_2((θ)) and whos…
In this article, we study the knots realized by periodic orbits of R-covered Anosov flows in compact 3-manifolds. We show that if two orbits are freely homotopic then in fact they are isotopic. We show that lifts of periodic orbits to the universal cover are unknotted. When the manifold is atoroidal, we deduce some finer properties regarding the existence of embedded cylinders connecting two given homotopic orbits.
Symmetry of geometrical figures is reflected in regularities of their algebraic invariants. Algebraic regularities are often preserved when the geometrical figure is topologically deformed. The most natural, intuitively simple but mathematically complicated, topological objects are Knots. We present in this papers several examples, both old and new, of regularity of algebraic invariants of knots. Our main invariants are the Jones polynomial (1984) and its generalizations. In the first section, we discuss the concept of a symmetric knot, and give one important example -- a torus knot. In the se…
Some years ago, V. Markovic proved that there is no section of the Mapping Class Group for a closed surface of genus g larger than 5 (in the case of homeomorphims) and more recently generalized this result with D. Saric to the case where g is larger than 1. We will state a periodicity criterion and will use it to simplify some of the arguments given by Markovic and Saric in the proof of their theorem. The periodicity criterion tells us that a homeomorphism of a connected surface must be periodic if the set of connected periodic open sets generates the topology of the surface.
Let $K$ be a knot type for which the quadratic term of the Conway polynomial is nontrivial, and let $γ: \mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R}^3$ be an analytic $\mathbb{Z}$-periodic function with non-vanishing derivative which parameterizes a knot of type $K$ in space. We prove that there exists a sequence of numbers $0\leq t_1 < t_2 < ... < t_6 < 1$ so that the polygonal path obtained by cyclically connecting the points $γ(t_1), γ(t_2), ..., γ(t_6)$ by line segments is a trefoil knot.
We study factorizations of HOMFLY polynomials of certain knots and oriented links. We begin with a computer analysis of knots with at most 12 crossings, finding 17 non-trivial factorizations. Next, we give an irreducibility criterion for HOMFLY polynomials of oriented links associated to 2-connected plane graphs.
Using Taubes' periodic ends theorem, Auckly gave examples of toroidal and hyperbolic irreducible integer homology spheres which are not surgery on a knot in the three-sphere. We give an obstruction to a homology sphere being surgery on a knot coming from Heegaard Floer homology. This is used to construct infinitely many small Seifert fibered examples.
Motivated by his studies in knot theory V. Vassiliev introduced $X$-graphs as regular 4-valent graph with a structure of pairs of opposite edges at each vertex. He conjectured the conditions under which $X$-graph can be embedded into a plane respecting the the $X$-structure at every vertex. The conjecture was proved by V.Manturov. Here we generalize these results for graphs with vertices of valency 4 or 6, *-graphs. A problem of such generalization was posted by A.Skopenkov.
According to work of Hartley and Kawauchi in 1979 and 1980, the Conway Polynomial of all negative amphicheiral knots and strongly positive amphicheiral knots factors as $ϕ(z)ϕ(-z)$ for some $ϕ(z)\in\mathbb Z[z]$. Moreover, a 2012 example due to Ermotti, Hongler and Weber shows that this is not true for general amphicheiral knots. On the other hand, in 2006 the first author made a conjecture equivalent to saying that the Conway polynomial of all amphicheiral knots splits as $ϕ(z)ϕ(-z)$ in the ring $\mathbb Z_4[z]$. In this paper, we establish this conjecture for all periodically amphicheiral kn…
Our goal is to compute the minimal-order recurrence of the colored Jones polynomial of the 7_4 knot, as well as for the first four double twist knots. As a corollary, we verify the AJ Conjecture for the simplest knot 7_4 with reducible non-abelian SL(2,C) character variety. To achieve our goal, we use symbolic summation techniques of Zeilberger's holonomic systems approach and an irreducibility criterion for q-difference operators. For the latter we use an improved version of the qHyper algorithm of Abramov-Paule-Petkovsek to show that a given q-difference operator has no linear right factors.…
A textile structure is a periodic arrangement of threads in the thickened plane. A topological classification of textile structures is harder than for classical knots and links that are non-periodic and restricted to a bounded region. The first important problem is to encode all textile structures in a simple combinatorial way. This paper extends the notion of the Gauss code in classical knot theory, providing a tool for topological computation on these structures. As a first application, we present a linear time algorithm for determining whether a code represents a textile in the physical sen…
Let K \subset Y be a knot in a three manifold which admits a longitude-framed surgery such that the surgered manifold has first Betti number greater than that of Y. We find a formula which computes the twisted Floer homology of the surgered manifold, in terms of twisted knot Floer homology. Using this, we compute the twisted Heegaard Floer homology \underline{HF}^+ of the mapping torus of a diffeomorphism of a closed Riemann surface whose mapping class is periodic, giving an almost complete description of the structure of these groups. When the mapping class is nontrivial, we find in particula…
For a prime number $q\neq 2$ and $r>0$ we study, whether there exists an isometry of order $q^r$ acting on a free $\mathbb{Z}_{p^k}$-module equipped with a scalar product. We investigate, whether there exists such an isometry with no non-zero fixed points. Both questions are completely answered in this paper if $p\neq 2,q$. As an application we refine Naik's criterion for periodicity of links in $S^3$. The periodicity criterion we obtain is effectively computable and gives concrete restrictions for periodicity of low-crossing knots.
We prove a criterion for Benjamini-Schramm convergence of periodic orbits of Lie groups. This general observation is then applied to homogeneous spaces and the space of translation surfaces.
We construct periodic families of Poincare complexes, partially solving a question of Hodgson that was posed in the proceedings of the 1982 Northwestern homotopy theory conference. We also construct infinite families of Poincare complexes whose top cell falls off after one suspension but which fail to embed in a sphere of codimension one. We give a homotopy theoretic description of the four-fold periodicity in knot cobordism.
We study random knots, which we define as a triple of random periodic functions (where a random function is a random trigonometric series, \[f(θ) = \sum_{k=1}^\infty a_k \cos (k θ) +b_k (\sin k θ),\] with $a_k, b_k$ are independent gaussian random variables with mean $0$ and variance $σ(k)^2$ - our results will depend on the functional dependence of $σ$ on $k.$ In particular, we show that if $σ(k) = k^α,$ with $α< -3/2,$ then the probability of getting a knot type which admits a projection with $N$ crossings, decays at least as fast as $1/N.$ The constant $3/2$ is significant, because having $…