Unknotting information from Heegaard Floer homology (Q2474325)

For a knot \(K\) in \(S^3\) and any diagram \(D\) for it, a new knot can be obtained by changing one or more crossings of \(D\). The unknotting number \(u(K)\) of a knot \(K\) is defined to be the minimum number of crossing changes required to obtain the unknot, where the minimum is taken over all diagrams for \(K\). Denote by \(\Sigma(K)\) the double cover of \(S^3\) branched along \(K\). A theorem of \textit{J. M. Montesinos} [Bol. Soc. Mat. Mex., II. Ser. 18, 1--32 (1973; Zbl 0317.55001)] claimed that it can be obtained from Dehn surgery on some framed link in \(S^3\) with \(u(K)\) components, with half-integral framing coefficients. The paper under review generalizes \textit{P. Ozsváth} and \textit{Z. Szabó}'s obstruction for \(u(K)=1\) [Topology 44, No.~4, 705--745 (2005; Zbl 1083.57013)] to arbitrary unknotting numbers, and obtains new bounds on unknotting numbers. A basic difficulty in this extension is overcome by a refined version of Montesinos' theorem. Applying these bounds to various knots, the author completes the table of unknotting numbers for prime knots with crossing number at most nine.