Waist and trunk of knots (Q605062)

Let \(K\) be a non-trivial knot in \(S^3\). Let \(F\) be one of the closed incompressible surfaces in \(S^3 - K\) and let \(D\) be a compressing disk for \(F\) in \(S^3\). Assume that \(D\) intersects \(K\) transversely. The minimum number of intersection points of \(D\) and \(K\) over all compressing disks \(D\) for \(F\) in \(S^3\) is called the waist of \(F\). The waist of \(K\) is defined as the maximum number of \(waist(F)\) over all closed incompressible surfaces \(F\) in \(S^3 - K\), and \(waist(K)=0\) for the trivial knot \(K\). It is known that there are several classes of knots with waist one, for example small knots, toroidally alternating knots by \textit{C. Adams} [Topology 33, No.~2, 353--369 (1994; Zbl 0839.57004)], and algebraically alternating knots by \textit{M. Ozawa} [Topology Appl. 157, No.~12, 1937--1948 (2010; Zbl 1217.57008)]. Also, the trunk of knots is defined as the minimum over all the set of Morse functions \(h: S^3 \rightarrow \mathcal{R}\) with two critical points such that \(h\) is also a Morse function on \(K\), over the maximum intersection number of \(h^{-1}(t)\) with \(K\) for all \(t\in \mathcal{R}\). In the paper under review it is shown that for two knots \(K_1, K_2\) the waist of the connected sum is the maximum of the waists of \(K_1\) and \(K_2\) and that if these knots are meridionally small knots, then the trunk of the connected sum is also the maximum of the trunks of \(K_1\) and \(K_2\). Furthermore, for any knot \(K\) the following inequality is proved: \(waist (K) \leq {trunk (K) /3}\). It is also proved that if \(K\) is a knot with waist one then any incompressible and \(\partial\)-incompressible surface properly embedded in the exterior of \(K\) with boundary of finite slope is free, where free means that the surface properly embedded in the knot exterior cuts it into handlebodies.