Characterizing slopes for torus knots (Q2444349)

For a given knot \(K_0\) in the three sphere \(S^3\), we call \(p/q\) a characterizing slope for \(K_0\) if whenever the result of \(p/q\)--surgery on a knot \(K\) in \(S^3\) is orientation preservingly homeomorphic to the result of \(p/q\)--surgery on \(K_0\), then \(K\) is isotopic to \(K_0\). For the trivial knot \(K_0\), \textit{C. McA. Gordon} [in: Knot Theory, Proc. Semin., Plans--sur--Bex 1977, Lect. Notes Math. 685, 1--60 (1978; Zbl 0386.57002)] conjectured that every nontrivial slope \(p/q (\neq 1/0)\) is a characterizing slope. \textit{P. B. Kronheimer} et al. [Ann. Math. (2) 165, No. 2, 457--546 (2007; Zbl 1204.57038)] proved this conjecture in the positive using Seiberg-Witten monopoles. See \textit{P. Ozsváth} and \textit{Z. Szabó} [Geom. Topol. 8, 311--334 (2004; Zbl 1056.57020)] and [Algebr. Geom. Topol. 11, No. 1, 1--68 (2011; Zbl 1226.57044)] for alternative proofs using Heegaard Floer homology. Furthermore, \textit{P. Ozsváth} and \textit{Z. Szabó} [``The Dehn surgery characterization of the trefoil and the figure eight knot'', {\texttt{arXiv:math.GT/0604079}}] showed that for the trefoil knot and the figure-eight knot, every nontrivial slope is a characterizing slope. In the paper under review, the authors investigate characterizing slopes for torus knots. As they point out, a torus knot may have a nontrivial noncharacterizing slope. For instance, \(21\)--surgery on \(T_{5, 4}\) and \(T_{11, 2}\) produces the same oriented \(3\)--manifolds, and hence \(21\) is not a characterizing slope for \(T_{5, 4}\) and \(T_{11, 2}\). On the other hand, the authors prove that for a torus knot \(T_{r, s}\) with \(r > s> 1\), a nontrivial slope \(p/q\) is a characterizing slope if \(p/q > 30(r^2 -1)(s^2 -1)/67\). In the case of \(T_{5, 2}\), applying further Heegaard Floer homology techniques, they obtain more specific information about the set of characterizing slopes.