Sachs' linkless embedding conjecture (Q1898719)
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English | Sachs' linkless embedding conjecture |
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Sachs' linkless embedding conjecture (English)
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20 February 1996
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The core part of this paper is a proof of Sachs' conjecture, which states that a graph can be linklessly embedded in the 3-space iff it has no Petersen family minor, i.e., iff it contains as minor none of the seven graphs obtainable from \(K_6\) by \(Y-\Delta\) and \(\Delta- Y\) exchanges. Other results: (1) A proof of a conjecture of Böhme stating that a graph admits a linkless embedding iff it admits a panelled embedding (one in which every circuit of the graph is the boundary of a disc disjoint from the remainder of the graph). (2) An embedding is panelled iff the complement in 3-space of every subgraph has free fundamental group. This extends a theorem of Scharelmann and Thompson for planar graphs. (3) If two panelled embeddings are not related by an orientation-preserving homeomorphism of the 3-space, then there is a subgraph which is a subdivision of \(K_5\) or \(K_{3,3}\) such that the two embeddings of this subgraph are still ``different''.
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Petersen family minor
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conjecture of Böhme
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linkless embedding
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panelled embedding
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fundamental group
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subdivision
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