Epimorphisms between 2-bridge knot groups and their crossing numbers (Q2398922)

This paper looks at epimorphisms of a 2-bridge knot group onto that of another knot \(K'\), proving that the minimal crossing number is at least as great as three times that of \(K'\). It also determines the number of 2-bridge knot groups that admit epimorphisms onto the group of a given 2-bridge knot, establishing that such epimorphisms are always meridional. Its list of the 21 prime knots through 11 crossings whose groups admit epimorphisms onto the trefoil knot group is an interesting collection of geometrically similar examples.