Whitehead double and Milnor invariants (Q661390)

The authors show that a link with vanishing Milnor invariants of length \(k\) or less may be converted to a link whose Milnor invariants of length \(2k+1\) or less vanish by replacing any component by its Whitehead \(n\)-double, \(n \neq 0\). When this is done the authors are able to calculate the first non-zero Milnor invariant. Results relating self \(\Delta\)-equivalence and link homotopy follow, and are specialized to Brunnian links. The replacement procedure is generalized and other results obtained including the vanishing of all Milnor invariants for a Brunnian link which has been twice subjected to the replacement operation.