Inscribed Trefoil Knots

Abstract: Let

K

be a knot type for which the quadratic term of the Conway polynomial is nontrivial, and let

g a m m a : m a t h b b R o m a t h b b R^{3}

be an analytic

m a t h b b 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 l e q t_{1} < t_{2} < ... < t_{6} < 1

so that the polygonal path obtained by cyclically connecting the points

g a m m a (t_{1}), g a m m a (t_{2}), ..., g a m m a (t_{6})

by line segments is a trefoil knot.

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