Grid diagrams and the Ozsváth-Szabó tau-invariant (Q2391572)

Milnor's conjecture that the slice genus and unknotting number of the \(T_{p,q}\) torus knot are equal to \((p-1)(q-1)/2\) was first proved by \textit{P. B. Kronheimer} and \textit{T. S. Mrowka} [Topology 32, No. 4, 773--826 (1993; Zbl 0799.57007)] using instanton gauge theory. New proofs were given by \textit{P. Ozsváth} and \textit{Z. Szabó}, using their \(\tau\)-invariant from knot Floer homology [Geom. Topol. 7, 615--639 (2003; Zbl 1037.57027)], and by \textit{J. Rasmussen} using Khovanov homology [Invent. Math. 182, No. 2, 419--447 (2010; Zbl 1211.57009)]. Grid diagrams are special Heegaard diagrams adapted to a link in the three-sphere. Using such a diagram gives rise to a completely combinatorial description of the knot Floer homology of a link, as shown by \textit{C. Manolescu} et al. [Ann. Math. (2) 169, No. 2, 633--660 (2009; Zbl 1179.57022)], following an earlier idea of Sarkar and Wang. One can use grid diagrams to define the \(\tau\)-invariant of a knot. Here Sarkar gives a proof based on the combinatorics of grid diagrams that the \(\tau\)-invariant gives a lower bound for the slice genus and hence a new proof of the Milnor conjecture.