A technique to calculate the colored Jones polynomials of satellite knots, illustrated by the Whitehead doubles of knots, is presented. Then we prove the volume conjecture for Whitehead doubles of a family of torus knots and show some interesting observations.
We show that for an alternating pretzel knot K the canonical genera of its Whitehead doubles W(K) are equal to the crossing number c(K) of K, verifying a conjecture of Tripp in the case of these knots.
We prove that the meridional rank and the bridge number of the Whitehead double of a prime algebraically tame knot coincide. Algebraically tame knots are a broad generalization of torus knots and iterated cable knots.
A conjecture proposed by J. Tripp in 2002 states that the crossing number of any knot coincides with the canonical genus of its Whitehead double. In the meantime, it has been established that this conjecture is true for a large class of alternating knots including $(2, n)$ torus knots, $2$-bridge knots, algebraic alternating knots, and alternating pretzel knots. In this paper, we prove that the conjecture is not true for any alternating $3$-braid knot which is the connected sum of two torus knots of type $(2, m)$ and $(2, n)$. This results in a new modified conjecture that the crossing number …
For any given integer $r \geq 1$ and a quasitoric braid $β_r=(σ_r^{-ε} σ_{r-1}^ε...$ $ σ_{1}^{(-1)^{r}ε})^3$ with $ε=\pm 1$, we prove that the maximum degree in $z$ of the HOMFLYPT polynomial $P_{W_2(\hatβ_r)}(v,z)$ of the doubled link $W_2(\hatβ_r)$ of the closure $\hatβ_r$ is equal to $6r-1$. As an application, we give a family $\mathcal K^3$ of alternating knots, including $(2,n)$ torus knots, 2-bridge knots and alternating pretzel knots as its subfamilies, such that the minimal crossing number of any alternating knot in $\mathcal K^3$ coincides with the canonical genus of its Whitehead dou…
It has long been known that the quadratic term in the degree of the colored Jones polynomial of a knot is bounded above in terms of the crossing number of the knot. We show that this bound is sharp if and only if the knot is adequate. As an application of our result we determine the crossing numbers of broad families of non-adequate prime satellite knots. More specifically, we exhibit minimal crossing number diagrams for untwisted Whitehead doubles of zero-writhe adequate knots. This allows us to determine the crossing number of untwisted Whitehead doubles of any amphicheiral adequate knot, in…
Let $D(K)$ be the positively-clasped untwisted Whitehead double of a knot $K$, and $T_{p,q}$ be the $(p,q)$ torus knot. We show that $D(T_{2,2m+1})$ and $D^2(T_{2,2m+1})$ are linearly independent in the smooth knot concordance group $\mathcal{C}$ for each $m\geq 2$. Further, $D(T_{2,5})$ and $D^2(T_{2,5})$ generate a $\mathbb{Z}\oplus\mathbb{Z}$ summand in the subgroup of $\mathcal{C}$ generated by topologically slice knots. We use the concordance invariant $δ$ of Manolescu and Owens, using Heegaard Floer correction term. Interestingly, these results are not easily shown using other concordanc…
In the present paper we extend the definition of slice-torus invariant to links. We prove a few properties of the newly-defined slice-torus link invariants: the behaviour under crossing change, a slice genus bound, an obstruction to strong sliceness, and a combinatorial bound. Furthermore, we provide an application to the computation of the splitting number. Finally, we use the slice-torus link invariants, and the Whitehead doubling to define new strong concordance invariants for links, which are proven to be independent from the corresponding slice-torus link invariant.
In this paper we study the knot Floer homology invariants of the twisted and untwisted Whitehead doubles of an arbitrary knot K. We present a formula for the filtered chain homotopy type of HFK(D(+,K,t)) in terms of the invariants for K, where D(+,K,t) denotes the t-twisted positive-clasped Whitehead double of K. In particular, the formula can be used iteratively and can be used to compute the Floer homology of manifolds obtained by surgery on Whitehead doubles. An immediate corollary is that tau(D(+,K,t))=1 if t< 2tau(K) and zero otherwise, where tau is the Ozsv{á}th-Szab{ó} concordance invar…
By considering homotopies that preserve the stratification, one obtains a natural notion of homotopy for stratified spaces. In this short note, we introduce invariants of stratified homotopy, the stratified homotopy groups. We show that they satisify a stratified version of Whitehead's theorem. As an example, we introduce a complete knot invariant defined via the stratified homotopy groups ----- En considérant des homotopies préservant la stratification, on obtient une notion naturelle d'homotopie pour les espaces stratifiés. Dans cette note, on présente des invariants d'homotopie stratifiée, …
We use moduli spaces of instantons and Chern-Simons invariants of flat connections to prove that the Whitehead doubles of (2,2^n-1) torus knots are independent in the smooth knot concordance group; that is, they freely generate a subgroup of infinite rank.
The Slope Conjecture proposed by Garoufalidis asserts that the degree of the colored Jones polynomial determines a boundary slope, and its refinement, the Strong Slope Conjecture proposed by Kalfagianni and Tran asserts that the linear term in the degree determines the topology of an essential surface that satisfies the Slope Conjecture. Under certain hypotheses, we show that twisted, generalized Whitehead doubles of a knot satisfies the Slope Conjecture and the Strong Slope Conjecture if the original knot does. Additionally, we provide a proof that there are Whitehead doubles which are not ad…
A theorem of Furuta and Fintushel-Stern provides a criterion for a collection of Seifert fibred homology spheres to be independent in the homology cobordism group of oriented homology 3-spheres. In this article we use these results and some 4-dimensional constructions to produce infinite families of positive torus knots whose iterated Whitehead doubles are independent in the smooth concordance group.
We consider a homology sphere $M_n(K_1,K_2)$ presented by two knots $K_1,K_2$ with linking number 1 and framing $(0,n)$. We call the manifold {\it Matsumoto's manifold}. We show that there exists no contractible bound of $M_n(T_{2,3},K_2)$ if $n<2τ(K_2)$ holds. We also give a formula of Ozsváth-Szabó's $τ$-invariant as the total sum of the Euler numbers of the reduced filtration. We compute the $δ$-invariants of the twisted Whitehead doubles of torus knots and correction terms of the branched covers of the Whitehead doubles. By using Owens and Strle's obstruction we show that the $12$-twisted …
The operation of (untwisted) Whitehead doubling trivializes the Alexander module of a knot (and consequently, all known abelian invariants), and converts knots to topologically slice ones. In this note we show that Whitehead doubling does not trivialize the rational function that equals to the 2-loop part of the Kontsevich integral.
We show that a large class of satellite operators are rank-expanding; that is, they map some rank-one subgroup of the concordance group onto an infinite linearly independent set. Our work constitutes the first systematic study of this property in the literature and partially affirms a conjecture of the second author and Pinzón-Caicedo. More generally, we establish a Floer-theoretic condition for a family of companion knots to have infinite-rank image under satellites from this class. The methods we use are amenable to patterns which act trivially in topological concordance and are capable of h…
We show that if K is any knot whose Ozsvath-Szabo concordance invariant tau(K) is positive, the all-positive Whitehead double of any iterated Bing double of K is topologically but not smoothly slice. We also show that the all-positive Whitehead double of any iterated Bing double of the Hopf link (e.g., the all-positive Whitehead double of the Borromean rings) is not smoothly slice; it is not known whether these links are topologically slice.
We show that for genus one knots the Alexander polynomial and the homology of the double cover branching over the knot provide obstructions to cosmetic crossings. As an application we prove the nugatory crossing conjecture for the negatively twisted, positive Whitehead doubles of all knots. We also verify the conjecture for several families of pretzel knots and all genus one knots with up to 10 crossings.
We define the longitude Floer homology of a knot K in S^3 and show that it is a topological invariant of K. Some basic properties of these homology groups are derived. In particular, we show that they distinguish the genus of K. We also make explicit computations for the (2,2n+1) torus knots. Finally a correspondence between the longitude Floer homology of K and the Ozsvath-Szabo Floer homology of its Whitehead double K_L is obtained.
Twisted torus knots are torus knots with some full twists added along some number of adjacent strands. There are infinitely many known examples of twisted torus knots which are actually torus knots. We give eight more infinite families of such twisted torus knots with a single negative twist.
It is known that connected sums of positive torus knots are not concordant to $L$-space knots. Here we consider differences of torus knots. The main result states that the subgroup of the concordance group generated by two positive torus knots contains no nontrivial $L$-space knots other than the torus knots themselves. Generalizations to subgroups generated by more than two torus knots are also considered.
We show that most cabled knots over torus knots in $S^3$ satisfy the AJ-conjecture, namely each $(r,s)$-cabled knot over each $(p,q)$-torus knot satisfies the $AJ$-conjecture if $r$ is not a number between $0$ and $pqs$.
We show that any non-minimal bridge decomposition of a torus knot is stabilized and that $n$-bridge decompositions of a torus knot are unique for any integer $n$. This implies that a knot in a bridge position is a torus knot if and only if there exists a torus containing the knot such that it intersects the bridge sphere in two essential loops.
A twisted torus knot is a knot obtained from a torus knot by twisting adjacent strands by full twists. The twisted torus knots lie in $F$, the genus 2 Heegaard surface for $S^3$. Primitive/primitive and primitive/Seifert knots lie in $F$ in a particular way. Dean gives sufficient conditions for the parameters of the twisted torus knots to ensure they are primitive/primitive or primitive/Seifert. Using Dean's conditions, Doleshal shows that there are infinitely many twisted torus knots that are fibered and that there are twisted torus knots with distinct primitive/Seifert representatives with t…
The crosscap number of a knot in the 3-sphere is the minimal genus of non-orientable surface bounded by the knot. We determine the crosscap numbers of torus knots.
We consider the question, asked by Friedl, Livingston and Zentner, of which sums of torus knots are concordant to alternating knots. After a brief analysis of the problem in its full generality, we focus on sums of two torus knots. We describe some effective obstructions based on Heegaard Floer homology.
The twisted torus knots lie on the standard genus 2 Heegaard surface for $S^3$, as do the primitive/primitive and primitive/Seifert knots. It is known that primitive/primitive knots are fibered, and that not all primitive/Seifert knots are fibered. Since there is a wealth of primitive/Seifert knots that are twisted torus knots, we consider the twisted torus knots to partially answer the question of which primitive/Seifert knots are fibered. A braid computation shows that a particular family of twisted torus knots is fibered, and that computation is then used to generalize the results of a prev…
Algebraic knots are known to be iterated torus knots and to admit L-space surgeries. However, Hedden proved that there are iterated torus knots that admit L-space surgeries but are not algebraic. We present an infinite family of such examples, with the additional property that no nontrivial linear combination of knots in this family is concordant to a linear combination of algebraic knots. The proof uses the Ozsvath-Stipsicz-Szabo Upsilon function, and also introduces a new invariant of L-space knots, the formal semigroup.
Every torus knot can be represented as a Fourier-(1,1,2) knot which is the simplest possible Fourier representation for such a knot. This answers a question of Kauffman and confirms the conjecture made by Boocher, Daigle, Hoste and Zheng. In particular, the torus knot T(p,q) can be parameterized as x(t)=cos(pt), y(t)=cos(qt+pi/(2p)), and z(t)=cos(pt+pi/2)\cos((q-p)t+pi/(2p)-pi/(4q)).
The unknotting number of a knot is bounded from below by its slice genus. It is a well-known fact that the genera and unknotting numbers of torus knots coincide. In this note we characterize quasipositive knots for which the genus bound is sharp: the slice genus of a quasipositive knot equals its unknotting number, if and only if the given knot appears in an unknotting sequence of a torus knot.
A knot K is called Gordian adjacent to a knot L if there exists an unknotting sequence for L containing K. We provide a sufficient condition for Gordian adjacency of torus knots via the study of knots in the thickened torus. We also completely describe Gordian adjacency for torus knots of index 2 and 3 using Levine-Tristram signatures as obstructions to Gordian adjacency. Finally, Gordian adjacency for torus knots is compared to the notion of adjacency for plane curve singularities.
The present paper is an addendum to "Spherical structures on torus knots and links", arXiv:1008.0312, and concerns more general case of torus knot and link cone-manifolds.
In this paper we study the knot Floer homology of a subfamily of twisted $(p, q)$ torus knots where $q \equiv\pm1$ (mod $p$). Specifically, we classify the knots in this subfamily that admit L-space surgeries. To do calculations, we use the fact that these knots are $(1, 1)$ knots and, therefore, admit a genus one Heegaard diagram.
We give a necessary condition for a torus knot to be untied by a single twisting. By using this result, we give infinitely many torus knots that cannot be untied by a single twisting.
In this paper, the authors give an unknotting sequence for torus knots and also provide unknotting numbers of $_n14_{17191}, \ _n14_{14274}, \ _n14_{18351}, \ _n14_{24498}$ and some other knots from the knot table of Hoste-Thistlethwite.
The set consisting of all rotations of the Euclidean plane is equipped with a quandle structure. We show that a knot is colorable by this quandle if and only if its Alexander polynomial has a root on the unit circle in $\mathbb{C}$. Further we enumerate all non-trivial colorings of a torus knot diagram by the quandle using PL trochoids. As an application of these results, we have the complete factorization of the Alexander polynomial of the torus knot.
The twisted torus knots K(p, q; r, s) are obtained by performing a sequence of s full twists on r adjacent strands of (p, q)-torus knots. Morimoto asked whether all twisted torus knots with essential tori in the exterior fit into one of two families. We prove that the answer to this question is no, by finding two different new families of toroidal twisted torus knots.
We show that the triple-crossing number of any knot is greater or equal to twice its (canonical) genus and we show an even stronger bound in the case of links. As an application we show that this bound is strong enough to obtain the triple-crossing numbers of all torus knots, and of many more knots and their connected sums.
We show that there exists a $\mathbb{Z}^\infty$-summand in the subgroup of the knot concordance group generated by knots with trivial Alexander polynomial. To this end we use the invariant Upsilon $Υ$ recently introduced by Ozsváth, Stipsicz and Szabó using knot Floer homology. We partially compute $Υ$ of $(n,1)$-cable of the Whitehead double of the trefoil knot. For this computation of $Υ$, we determine a sufficient condition for two satellite knots to have identical $Υ$ for any pattern with nonzero winding number.
In the present paper, we will show that for any integer n>0 there are infinitely many twisted torus knots with n-string essential tangle decompositions.
We establish upper bounds for the complexity of Seifert fibered manifolds with nonempty boundary. In particular, we obtain potentially sharp bounds on the complexity of torus knot complements.
Let $D(p,q)$ be the usual knot diagram of the $(p,q)$-torus knot, that is, $D(p,q)$ is the closure of the $p$-braid $(σ_1^{-1} σ_2^{-1}... σ_{p-1}^{-1})^q$. As is well-known, $D(p,q)$ and $D(q,p)$ represent the same knot. It is shown that $D(n+1,n)$ can be deformed to $D(n,n+1)$ by a sequence of $\{(n-1)n(2n-1)/6 \} + 1$ Reidemeister moves, which consists of a single RI move and $(n-1)n(2n-1)/6$ RIII moves. Using cowrithe, we show that this sequence is minimal over all sequences which bring $D(n+1,n)$ to $D(n,n+1)$.
We study properties of the signature function of the torus knot $T_{p,q}$. First we provide a very elementary proof of the formula for the integral of the signatures over the circle. We obtain also a closed formula for the Tristram--Levine signature of a torus knot in terms of Dedekind sums.