In this paper, we study on knots and closed incompressible surfaces in the 3-sphere via Morse functions. We show that both of knots and closed incompressible surfaces can be isotoped into a "related Morse position" simultaneously. As an application, we have following results. *Smallness of Montesinos tangles with length two and Kinoshita's theta curve *Classification of closed incompressible and meridionally incompressible surfaces in 2-bridge theta-curve and handcuff graph complements and the complements of links which admit Hopf tangle decompositions.
We define and study Vassiliev invariants for (long) Morse knots. It is shown that there are Vassiliev invariants which can distinguish some topologically equivalent Morse knots. In particular, there is an invariant of order 3 for Morse knots with one maximum that distinguishes two different representations of the figure eight knot. We also present the results of computer calculations for some invariants of low order. It turns out that for Morse knots with two maxima there is a Z/2-valued invariant of order 6 which is not a reduction of any integer-valued invariant.
A knot is an a-small knot if its exterior does not contain closed incompressible surfaces disjoint from some incompressible Seifert surface for the knot. Using circular thin position for knots we prove that the handle number is additive under the connected sum of two a-small knots. As a consequence the Morse-Novikov number turns out to be additive under the connected sum of two a-small knots.
Murasugi sums can be defined as readily for Morse maps to the circle of (arbitrary) link complements in the 3-sphere as for fibrations over the circle of (fibered) link complements in the 3-sphere. As one application, I show that if a knot K has free genus m, then there is a Morse map from its complement to the circle (representing the relative homology class of a Seifert surface for K) with no more than 4m critical points.
The Morse-Novikov number MN(L) of an oriented link L in the 3-sphere is the minimum number of critical points of a Morse map from the complement of L in the 3-sphere to the circle representing the class of a Seifert surface for L (e.g., the Morse-Novikov number of L is zero if and only if L is fibered). We develop various constructions of Morse maps (Milnor maps, Stallings twists, splicing along a link which is a closed braid with respect to a Morse map, Murasugi sums, cutting a Morse map along an arc on a page) and use them to bound Morse-Novikov numbers from above in terms of other knot and …
We show that any closed incompressible surface in the complement of a positive knot is algebraically non-split from the knot, positive knots cannot bound non-free incompressible Seifert surfaces and that the splitability and the primeness of positive knots and links can be seen from their positive diagrams.
We show that a knot in $S^3$ with an infinite number of distinct incompressible Seifert surfaces contains a closed incompressible surface in its complement.
In this paper, we characterize closed incompressible surfaces of genus two in the complements of 3-bridge knots and links. This characterization includes that of essential 2-string tangle decompositions for 3-bridge knots and links.
We give an alternative proof of that a critical knot of a Morse-Bott function $f: S^3 \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ is a graph knot where the critical set of $f$ is a link in $S^3$. Our proof inducts on the number of index-1 critical knots of $f$.
We give a description of all (1,2)-knots in S^3 which admit a closed meridionally incompressible surface of genus 2 in their complement. That is, we give several constructions of (1,2)-knots having a meridionally incompressible surface of genus 2, and then show that any such surface for a (1,2)-knot must come from one of the constructions. As an application, we show explicit examples of tunnel number one knots which are not (1,2)-knots.
Let $K\subset S^4$ be a 2-knot, that is, a smoothly embedded 2-sphere in $S^4$. The Morse-Novikov number $\mathcal M\mathcal N(K)$ is the minimal possible number of critical points of a Morse map $S^4\setminus K\to S^1$ belonging to the canonical class in $H^1(S^4\setminus K)$. We prove that for a classical knot $K\subset S^3$ the Morse-Novikov number of the spun knot $S(K)$ is $\leq 2\mathcal M\mathcal N(K)$. This enables us to compute $\mathcal M\mathcal N(S(K))$ for every classical knot $K$ with tunnel number 1.
In the closed, non-Haken, hyperbolic class of examples generated by (2p,q) Dehn fillings of Figure 8 knot space, the geometrically incompressible one-sided surfaces are identified by the filling ratio p/q and determined to be unique in all cases. When applied to one-sided Heegaard splittings, this can be used to classify all geometrically incompressible splittings in this class of closed, hyperbolic examples; no analogous classification exists for two-sided Heegaard splittings.
Let M be $S^3$, $S^1\times S^2$, or a lens space L(p,q), and let k be a (1,1)-knot in M, i.e., a knot which is of 1-bridge with respect to a Heegaard torus. We show that if there is a closed meridionally incompressible surface in the complement of k, then the surface and the knot can be put in a special position, namely, the surface is the boundary of a regular neighborhood of a toroidal graph, and the knot is level with respect to that graph. As an application we show that for any such M there exist tunnel number one knots which are not (1,1)-knots.
Let $F$ be an incompressible, meridionally incompressible and not boundary-parallel surface with boundary in the complement of an algebraic tangle $(B,T)$. Then $F$ separates the strings of $T$ in $B$ and the boundary slope of $F$ is uniquely determined by $(B,T)$ and hence we can define the slope of the algebraic tangle. In addition to the Conway's tangle sum, we define a natural product of two tangles. The slopes and binary operation on algebraic tangles lead an algebraic structure which is isomorphic to the rational numbers. We introduce a new knot and link class, algebraically alternating …
We analyse the topological (knot-theoretic) features of a certain codimension-one bifurcation of a partially hyperbolic fixed point in a flow on $\real^3$ originally described by Shil'nikov. By modifying how the invariant manifolds wrap around themselves, or ``pleat,'' we may apply the theory of templates, or branched two-manifolds, to capture the topology of the flow. This analysis yields a class of flows which bifurcate from a Morse-Smale flow to a Smale flow containing periodic orbits of all knot and link types.
Let N be a closed oriented k-dimensional submanifold of the (k+2)-dimensional sphere; denote its complement by C(N). Denote by x the 1-dimensional cohomology class in C(N), dual to N. The Morse-Novikov number of C(N) is by definition the minimal possible number of critical points of a regular Morse map f from C(N) to a circle, such that f belongs to x. In the first part of this paper we study the case when N is the twist frame spun knot associated to an m-knot K. We obtain a formula which relates the Morse-Novikov numbers of N and K and generalizes the classical results of D. Roseman and E.C. …
Let L be a Legendrian knot in R^3 with the standard contact structure. In [10], a map was constructed from equivalence classes of Morse complex sequences for L, which are combinatorial objects motivated by generating families, to homotopy classes of augmentations of the Legendrian contact homology algebra of L. Moreover, this map was shown to be a surjection. We show that this correspondence is, in fact, a bijection. As a corollary, homotopic augmentations determine the same graded normal ruling of L and have isomorphic linearized contact homology groups. A second corollary states that the cou…
The Morse-Novikov number MN(L) of a smooth link L in the three-dimensional sphere is by definition the minimal possible number of critical points of a regular circle-valued Morse function on the link complement (the term regular means that the Morse function must have nice behaviour in a tubular neighbourhood of L). Novikov homology provides lower bounds for MN(L). In the present paper we introduce the notion of twisted Novikov homology, which allows to obtain better lower bounds for MN(L) than the usual Novikov homology. Our twisted Novikov homology is a module over the Novikov ring Z((t)) bu…
We develop a word mechanism applied in knot and link diagrams for the illustration of a diagrammatic property. We also give a necessary condition for determining incompressible and pairwise incompressible surfaces, that are embedded in knot or link complements. Finally, we give a finiteness theorem and an upper bound on the Euler characteristic of such surfaces.
We define an algebraic/combinatorial object on the front projection $Σ$ of a Legendrian knot called a Morse complex sequence, abbreviated MCS. This object is motivated by the theory of generating families and provides new connections between generating families, normal rulings, and augmentations of the Chekanov-Eliashberg DGA. In particular, we place an equivalence relation on the set of MCSs on $Σ$ and construct a surjective map from the equivalence classes to the set of chain homotopy classes of augmentations of $L_Σ$, where $L_Σ$ is the Ng resolution of $Σ$. In the case of Legendrian knot c…
The Slope Conjecture relates the degree of the colored Jones polynomial of a knot to boundary slopes of incompressible surfaces. Our aim is to prove the Slope Conjecture for Montesinos knots, and to match parameters of a state-formula for the colored Jones polynomial of such knots with the parameters that describe their corresponding incompressible surfaces via the Hatcher-Oertel algorithm.
We obtain a simple and complete characterisation of which matchings on the Tait graph of a knot diagram induce a discrete Morse function (dMf) on $S^2$, extending a construction due to Cohen. We show these dMfs are in bijection with certain rooted spanning forests in the Tait graph. We use this to count the number of such dMfs with a closed formula involving the graph Laplacian. We then simultaneously generalise Kauffman's Clock Theorem and Kenyon-Propp-Wilson's correspondence in two different directions; we first prove that the image of the correspondence induces a bijection on perfect dMfs, …
We establish surgery formulas for filtration of the Heegaard Floer homology associated with p/q surgery on a null-homologous knot K in a three-manifold Y, induced by K_{p/q}. Here K_{p/q} is the core of the attached solid torus (which produces the surgery). This would generalize a result of Ozsvath and Szabo. We will re-prove that surgery on non-trivial knots can not produce S^3, as a corollary of a non-vanishing result for the knot Floer homology of K_{p/q}.
We introduce two numerical invariants, the waist and the trunk of knots. The waist of a closed incompressible surface in the complement of a knot is defined as the minimal intersection number of all compressing disks for the surface in the 3-sphere and the knot. Then the waist of a knot is defined as the maximal waist of all closed incompressible surfaces in the complement of the knot. On the other hand, the trunk of a knot is defined as the minimal number of the intersection of the most thick level 2-sphere and the knot over all Morse positions of the knot. In this paper, we obtain an inequal…
Applying Morse theory, we give a standard form for a class of surfaces which includes all the properly embedded incompressible surfaces in 3-dimensional handlebodies. We also give a necessary and sufficient condition to determine the incompressibility of such surfaces placed in our standard form. Our algorithm is practical. Several examples are given to test the algorithm.
We will discuss a method for visual presentation of knotted surfaces in the four space, by examining a number and a position of its Morse's critical points. Using this method, we will investigate surface-knot with one critical point of index 1. Then we show infinitely many mutually distinct surface-knots that has an embedding with two critical points of index 1. Next we define a long flat for a banded link for any surface-knot and show diagrammatically a long flat form of $n$-twist-spun $(2,t)$-torus knots.
In this paper we give a complete characterization of those knotted toroidal sets that can be realized as attractors for both discrete and continuous dynamical systems globally defined in $\mathbb{R}^3$. We also see that the techniques used to solve this problem can be used to give sufficient conditions to ensure that a wide class of subcompacta of $\mathbb{R}^3$ that are attractors for homeomorphisms must also be attractors for flows. In addition we study certain attractor-repeller decompositions of $\mathbb{S}^3$ which arise naturally when considering toroidal sets.
We classify incompressible, boundary-incompressible, nonorientable surfaces in punctured-torus bundles over $S^1$. We use the ideas of Floyd, Hatcher, and Thurston. The main tool is to put our surface in the "Morse position" with respect to the projection of the bundle into the basis S^1.
We use parameterized Morse theory on the pages of an open book decomposition to efficiently encode the contact topology in terms of a labelled graph on a disjoint union of tori (one per binding component). This construction allows us to generalize the notion of the front projection of a Legendrian knot from the standard contact $\mathbb{R}^3$ to arbitrary closed contact $3$-manifolds. We describe a complete set of moves on such front diagrams, extending the standard Legendrian Reidemeister moves, and we give a combinatorial formula to compute the Thurston-Bennequin number of a nullhomologous L…
In this paper, by putting a separating incompressible surface in a 3-manifold into Morse position relative to the height function associated to a strongly irreducible Heegaard splitting, we show that an incompressible subsurface of the Heegaard splitting can be found, by decomposing the 3-manifold along the separating surface. Further if the Heegaard surface is of Hempel distance at least 4, then there is a pair of such subsurfaces on both sides of the given separating surface. This gives a particularly simple hierarchy for the 3-manifold.
Consider a knot $K$ in $S^3$ with uniformly distributed electric charge. Whilst solutions to the Laplace equation in terms of Dirichlet integrals are readily available, it is still of theoretical and physical interest to understand the qualitative behavior of the potential, particularly with respect to critical points and equipotential surfaces. In this paper, we demonstrate how techniques from geometric topology can yield novel insights from the perspective of electrostatics. Specifically, we show that when the knot is sufficiently close to a planar projection, we prove a lower bound on the s…
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 $ 3 $-manifold $ M $, such that $ D \hookrightarrow M \times I $, $ \partial M = Σ_{g} $, and $ \partial D = S^1 $ (the image of the embedding). This definition of sliceness exemplifies that a cobordism of virtual links is a pair consisting of a surface and a $ 3 $-manifold; in …
Suppose $K$ is a knot in a closed 3-manifold $M$ such that $\bar{M-N(K)}$ is irreducible. We show that for any positive integer $b$ there exists a triangulation of $\bar{M-N(K)}$ such that any weakly incompressible bridge surface for $K$ of $b$ bridges or fewer is isotopic to an almost normal bridge surface.
We show that for each pair of positive integers g and n, there are infinitely many tunnel number one knots, whose exteriors contain an essential meridional surface of genus g, and with 2n boundary components. We also show that for each positive integer n, there are tunnel number one knots whose exteriors contain n disjoint, non-parallel, closed incompressible surfaces, each of genus n.
The works of Donaldson and Mark make the structure of the Seiberg-Witten invariant of 3-manifolds clear. It corresponds to certain torsion type invariants counting flow lines and closed orbits of a gradient flow of a circle-valued Morse map on a 3-manifold. We study these invariants using the Morse-Novikov theory and Heegaard splitting for sutured manifolds, and make detailed computations for knot complements.
When a Dehn filled link manifold contains a geometrically incompressible one-sided surface, it is shown there is a unique boundary incompressible position that the surface can take in the link space. The proof uses a version of the sweep-out technique from two-sided Heegaard splitting theory. When applied to one-sided Heegaard splittings, this result can be used to complete the classification of one-sided splittings of (2p, q) fillings of Figure 8 knot space: determining that fillings with |2p/q|<3 have two non-isotopic geometrically incompressible one-sided splitting surfaces.
A Seifert surface F for a knot K is free if the complement of F is a handlebody (i.e., has free fundamental group). The free genus of K is the minimum genus among all free Seifert surfaces for K. In this paper we show that there exist families of hyperbolic knots with arbitrarily large volume, which each have free genus one. This implies that there are knots with free genus one but arbitrarily large canonical genus, and that there exist knots admitting incompressible free Seifert surfaces which cannot be built by applying Seifert's algorithm to a projection of the knot.
A regular circle-valued Morse function on the knot complement C(K) = S^3\K is a function f from C(K) to S^1 which separates critical points and which behaves nicely in a neighborhood of the knot. Such a function induces a handle decomposition on the knot exterior E(K) = S^3\N (K), with the property that every regular level surface contains a Seifert surface for the knot. We rearrange the handles in such a way that the regular surfaces are as simple as possible. To make this precise the concept of circular width for E(K) is introduced. When E(K) is endowed with a handle decomposition which real…
We show that for certain hyperbolic 3-manifolds, all boundary slopes are slopes of immersed incompressible surfaces, covered by incompressible embeddings in some finite cover. The manifolds include hyperbolic punctured torus bundles and hyperbolic two-bridge knots.
For a Legendrian knot L in R^3 with a chosen Morse complex sequence (MCS) we construct a differential graded algebra (DGA) whose differential counts "chord paths" in the front projection of L. The definition of the DGA is motivated by considering Morse-theoretic data from generating families. In particular, when the MCS arises from a generating family we give a geometric interpretation of our chord paths as certain broken gradient trajectories which we call "gradient staircases". Given two equivalent MCS's we prove the corresponding linearized complexes of the DGA are isomorphic. If the MCS ha…
In this paper, we give an algorithm to build all compact orientable atoroidal Haken 3-manifolds with tori boundary or closed orientable Haken 3-manifolds, so that in both cases, there are embedded closed orientable separating incompressible surfaces which are not tori. Next, such incompressible surfaces are related to Heegaard splittings. For simplicity, we focus on the case of separating incompressible surfaces, since non-separating ones have been extensively studied. After putting the surfaces into Morse position relative to the height function associated to the Heegaard splittings, a thin p…
We apply Lescop's construction of $\mathbb{Z}$-equivariant perturbative invariant of knots and 3-manifolds to the explicit equivariant propagator of "AL-paths" given in arXiv:1403.8030. We obtain an invariant $\hat{Z}_n$ of certain equivalence classes of fiberwise Morse functions on a 3-manifold fibered over $S^1$, which can be considered as a higher loop analogue of the Lefschetz zeta function and whose construction will be applied to that of finite type invariants of knots in such a 3-manifold. We also give a combinatorial formula for Lescop's equivariant invariant $\mathscr{Q}$ for 3-manifo…
A persistent lamination for a knot K is an essential lamination in the complement of K, which remains essential after every non-trivial Dehn surgery along K. Having a persistent lamination implies, for example, that every manifold obtained by non-trivial Dehn surgery along K has universal cover R^3. In this paper we present a method for building persistent laminations for knots from an incompressible Seifert surface for some `parent' knot. Using this construction, we can, for example, currently build persistent laminations for approximately 45 percent of the knots in the standard knot tables; …
Neuwirth asked if any non-trivial knot in the 3-sphere can be embedded in a closed surface so that the complement of the surface is a connected essential surface for the knot complement. In this paper, we examine some variations on this question and prove it for all knots up to 11 crossings except for two examples. We also establish the conjecture for all Montesinos knots and for all generalized arborescently alternating knots. For knot exteriors containing closed incompressible surfaces satisfying a simple homological condition, we establish that the knots satisfy the Neuwirth conjecture. If …
Weights of essential surfaces in 2-bridge knot complements
University of Wisconsin, Madison（威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校）；Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The College of New Jersey（新泽西学院数学与统计系）；Ignite Fueling Innovation, Inc（Ignite燃料创新公司）
Let $K$ denote a knot inside the homology sphere $Y$. The zero-framed longitude of $K$ gives the complement of $K$ in $Y$ the structure of a bordered three-manifold, which may be denoted by $Y(K)$. We compute the quasi-isomorphism type of the bordered Floer complex of $Y(K)$ in terms of the knot Floer complex associated with $K$. As a corollary, we show that if a homology sphere has the same Heegaard Floer homology as $S^3$ it does not contain any incompressible tori. Consequently, if $Y$ is an irreducible homology sphere $L$-space then $Y$ is either $S^3$, or the Poicaré sphere $Σ(2,3,5)$, or…
We consider closed acylindrical surfaces in 3-manifolds and in knot and link complements, and show that the genus of these surfaces is bounded linearly by the number of tetrahedra in the triangulation of the manifold and by the number of rational (or alternating) tangles in a projection of a link (or knot). For each g we find knots with tunnel number 2 and manifolds of Heegaard genus 3 containing acylindrical surfaces of genus g. Finally, we construct 3-bridge knots containing quasi-Fuchsinan surfaces of unbounded genus, and use them to find manifolds of Heegaard genus 2 and homology spheres o…
This monograph derives direct and concrete relations between colored Jones polynomials and the topology of incompressible spanning surfaces in knot and link complements. Under mild diagrammatic hypotheses that arise naturally in the study of knot polynomial invariants (A- or B-adequacy), we prove that the growth of the degree of the colored Jones polynomials is a boundary slope of an essential surface in the knot complement. We show that certain coefficients of the polynomial measure how far this surface is from being a fiber in the knot complement; in particular, the surface is a fiber if and…
Various curve complexes with vertices representing multicurves on a surface $S$ have been defined, for example [3], [4] and [8]. The homology curve complex $\mathcal{HC}(S,α)$ defined in [7] is one such complex, with vertices corresponding to multicurves in a nontrivial integral homology class $α$. Given two multicurves $m_1$ and $m_2$ corresponding to vertices in $\mathcal{HC}(S,α)$, it was shown in [8] that a path in $\mathcal{HC}(S,α)$ connecting these vertices represents a surface in $S\times \mathbb{R}$, and a simple algorithm for constructing minimal genus surfaces of this type was obtai…
In this paper, we use normal surface theory to study Dehn filling on a knot-manifold. First, it is shown that there is a finite computable set of slopes on the boundary of a knot-manifold that bound normal and almost normal surfaces in a one-vertex triangulation of that knot-manifold. This is combined with existence theorems for normal and almost normal surfaces to construct algorithms to determine precisely which manifolds obtained by Dehn filling: 1) are reducible, 2) contain two--sided incompressible surfaces, 3) are Haken, 4) fiber over the circle, 5) are the 3--sphere, and 6) are a lens s…
Using elementary ideas from Tropical Geometry, we assign a a tropical curve to every $q$-holonomic sequence of rational functions. In particular, we assign a tropical curve to every knot which is determined by the Jones polynomial of the knot and its parallels. The topical curve explains the relation between the AJ Conjecture and the Slope Conjecture (which relate the Jones polynomial of a knot and its parallels to the $\SL(2,\BC)$ character variety and to slopes of incompressible surfaces). Our discussion predicts that the tropical curve is dual to a Newton subdivision of the $A$-polynomial o…
