Squeezed knots (Q6921244)

This paper introduces a class of knots, called \textit{squeezed knots}, characterized by the \(4\)-dimensional property that they are slices of genus-minimizing oriented smooth cobordisms between positive and negative torus knots. The authors provide a well-motivated exposition that renders this perspective both natural and compelling. In Proposition~1.2, they show that the class of squeezed knots encompasses many well-behaved families, including positive knots, alternating knots, and various generalizations of these two classes.\N\NThe paper develops both construction and obstruction techniques, enabling the authors to determine -- with two exceptions -- the squeezedness status of all prime knots up to \(10\) crossings: \(243\) squeezed, \(4\) non-squeezed, and \(2\) unknown.\N\NOn the constructive side, Section~2 introduces, by diagrammatic means, the class of \textit{quasihomogeneous knots} as a simultaneous generalization of quasipositive and quasinegative knots. After observing that quasihomogeneous knots are squeezed, the authors exhibit quasihomogeneous Seifert surfaces for \(12\) of the \(18\) knots up to \(10\) crossings that are neither slice nor members of the special classes listed in Proposition~1.2, thereby establishing the squeezedness of these knots.\N\NOn the obstructive side, Proposition~1.4 shows that all slice-torus invariants agree on a squeezed knot, and that their common value further determines a list of variations and refinements of Rasmussen's \(s\)-invariant. These variations and refinements of the \(s\)-invariant obstruct the squeezedness of \(4\) prime knots up to \(10\) crossings.