Counterexamples to Kauffman's conjectures on slice knots (Q2359929)

This paper disproves some long-standing conjectures about slice knots, surveying prior partial results and introducing a novel approach through ``excellent'' Seifert surfaces. Among other things, the Slice-Ribbon Conjecture is shown to be equivalent to the existence of such surfaces for slice knots, and to imply a ``Stable Kauffman Conjecture'' formulated by the authors, who promise a future paper suggesting how Levine's half century old strategy for dealing with slice knots might be repaired. Reviewer's remark: conjectures invite counterexamples; for theorems, they are less welcome, though more important.