When does a satellite knot fiber? (Q1012457)

Let \(\widetilde k\) be a knot embedded in a standard solid torus \(\widetilde V\) in the \(3\)-sphere such that \(\widetilde k\) is not isotopic to the core circle of \(\widetilde V\) nor is it contained in any \(3\)-ball of \(\widetilde V\). When \(\widetilde k\) is carried by a homeomorphism \(h\) from \(\widetilde V\) onto a regular neighborhood of a nontrivial knot \(\hat k\), mapping a longitude of \(\widetilde V\) onto a longitude of \(\hat k\), the image \(k = h(\widetilde k)\) is called a satellite knot with companion knot \(\hat k\) and pattern \((\widetilde V, \widetilde k)\). In the paper under review, necessary and sufficient conditions are given for a satellite knot to be fibered. First the authors show that a satellite knot \(k\) is fibered if and only if both of its companion knot \(\hat k\) and pattern \((\widetilde V, \widetilde k)\) are fibered. Then they give necessary and sufficient conditions for a pattern \((\widetilde V, \widetilde k)\) to be fibered. A corollary is that any knot \(\widetilde k\) can be embedded in an unknotted solid torus \(\widetilde V\) with arbitrary winding number \(n\) in such a way that no satellite knot with pattern \((\widetilde V, \widetilde k)\) is fibered. In particular, there exist non-fibered satellite knots with fibered pattern and companion knots and nonzero winding number.