Essential tangle decomposition from thin position of a link

DOI10.2140/PJM.1997.179.101MaRDI QIDQ1367607zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Daniel J. Heath, Tsuyoshi Kobayashi

Publication date 25 May 1998

Published in Pacific Journal of Mathematics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.2140/pjm.1997.179.101

zbMATH Keywords

bridge presentationessential tanglethin position

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Review text

Thin position for a link is a generalization of a bridge presentation, defined by minimizing a simply-defined intersection count for a height function on the link. It was introduced by \textit{D. Gabai} [J. Differ. Geom. 26, 479-536 (1987; Zbl 0639.57008)] and used effectively by him in studying decompositions of the link exterior and other manifolds constructed from the link. In this paper the authors consider the case where a thin position presentation is not a bridge presentation. They extend results of \textit{A. Thompson} [Topology 36, No. 2, 505-507 (1997; Zbl 0867.57009)] to find a maximal essential tangle decomposition for the link and also a canonical decomposition with incompressible 2-spheres which is unique, given the thin position. They give examples of links where there is more than one choice of thin position. Starting with a brief but helpful illustrated account of thin position the paper includes a number of other examples to help appreciating the general features of thin position presentations. Thompson showed that a thin position presentation which is not a bridge presentation gives rise to an incompressible punctured sphere in the link complement; one of the examples presented here exhibits an incompressible punctured sphere which does not arise in this way.

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Cited in

(14)

• Cut-disks for level spheres in link and tangle complements
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• Mp-small summands increase knot width
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• Links, bridge number, and width trees
• A locally minimal, but not globally minimal, bridge position of a knot
• DISTANCES BETWEEN THE SURGERY SLOPES YIELDING S³ ON A GENERIC LINK
• ESSENTIAL ARCBODY AND TANGLE DECOMPOSITIONS OF KNOTS AND LINKS
• Thin position and essential planar surfaces
• Knots and surfaces
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 2211483 (Why is no real title available?)
• Thin position for a connected sum of small knots

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