The untangling theorem (Q582631)
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| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | The untangling theorem |
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The untangling theorem (English)
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1990
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A tangle is a 3-ball with 2 properly embedded arcs; it is trivial if it is of the form (2-disc \(\times\) interval) and the arcs are 2 interval- fibers. It is proved that a tangle is trivial if and only if the complement of the 2 arcs has free fundamental group of rank 2, and if the fundamental group of the complement of each arc is free cyclic. By an example it is shown that these conditions are mutually independent.
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trivial tangle
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handlebody of genus 2
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characteristic loop
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canonical longitude
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fundamental group of the complement
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