The Jones polynomial, genus and weak genus of a knot (Q5928963)

A Seifert surface of a knot or link \(L\) in \(S^3\) is a compact connected orientable surface \(F \subset S^3\) bounded by \(L\). For a given knot or link \(L\) in \(S^3\), H. Seifert introduced an algorithm for constructing a Seifert surface of \(L\), which is now called the \textit{Seifert algorithm}. The \textit{genus} of a knot or link \(L\) in \(S^3\) is the smallest genus of all Seifert surfaces of \(L\) and denoted by \(g(L)\). The \textit{canonical (or weak) genus} of a knot or link \(L\), denoted by \(g_c(L)\), is the minimal genus of all Seifert surfaces of \(L\) obtained by the Seifert algorithm applied to any diagram of the knot or link \(L\), which appears implicitly in \textit{H. R. Morton} [Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 99, 107--109 (1986; Zbl 0588.57008)], where he shows by using the HOMFLY-PT polynomial that the canonical genus \(g_c(L)\) of a link \(L\) is sometimes strictly greater than the genus \(g(L)\) of \(L\). Later on, \textit{Y. Moriah} [Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 99, no. 2, 373--379 (1987; Zbl 0624.57008)] proved that for each positive integer \(s\), there exists a knot \(K\) such that \(g_c(K)- g(K) \geq s\). \textit{A. Kawauchi} [Kobe J. Math. 11, no. 1, 49--68 (1994; Zbl 0861.57013)] showed that there exists a knot \(K\) such that \(g_c(K)- g(K)=2s\) for each positive integer \(s\). In the paper under review, the author shows that any coefficients of the Jones polynomial \(V_K(t)\) of an alternating knot \(K\) has an upper bound which is a polynomial in the crossing number for fixed genus by writing down an explicit estimate. Further, he shows that the value range of any sequence of fixed length of leading or trailing coefficients of \(V_K(t)\) of an alternating knot \(K\) of a given genus stabilizes as its crossing number goes to infinity. Both properties are generalized in slightly weaker forms to non-alternating knots. Using these series of boundedness and stability criteria for the Jones polynomial for alternating knots, the author shows that for any knot \(K\) for which the Jones polynomial of a double satisfies a certain condition, the canonical genus of the doubles (and hence genus one) of the iterated connected sums of the knot \(K\) grows unboundedly. (In addition, a Seifert surface \(F\) is said to be \textit{free} if \(\pi_1(S^3 - N(F))\) is a free group. The minimal genus of all free Seifert surfaces of a knot \(K\) is called the \textit{free genus} of \(K\) and is denoted by \(g_f(K)\). All Seifert surfaces obtained by the Seifert algorithm are free. The \textit{slice genus} of a knot \(K\) is the minimum genus over all Seifert surfaces for \(K\) properly embedded in a \(4\)-ball \(B^4\) and is denoted by \(g_s(K)\). Then we have the inequalities: \(g_s(K)\leq g(K)\leq g_f(K)\leq g_c(K)\). \textit{M. Kobayashi and T. Kobayashi} [J. Knot Theory Ramifications 5, no. 1, 77--85 (1996; Zbl 0859.57009)] found an infinite family of knots \(K\) with \(g_c(K)=2g(K)=\frac{3}{2}g_f(K)\). \textit{S. Y. Lee and M. Seo} [Bull. Aust. Math. Soc. 79, No. 2, 273--284 (2009; Zbl 1175.57008)] found an infinite family of knots \(K\) with \(g_s(K)= g(K)= g_f(K)= g_c(K)\).)