The canonical genus for Whitehead doubles of a family of alternating knots (Q715646)

Let \(T\) be a knot embedded in a solid torus \(V= S^1\times D^2\), which is essential in the sense that it meets every meridional disk in \(V\). Let \(K\) be an arbitrary knot in \(S^3\) and \(N(K)\) be a tubular neighborhood of \(K\) in \(S^3\). Let \(h: V\rightarrow N(K)\) be a homeomorphism. Then the image \(h(T) = S_T(K)\) is a new knot, which is called a satellite with companion \(K\) and pattern \(V\). One of the families of satellite knots is that of \(m\)-twisted positive Whitehead doubles \(W_+(K,m)\) and negative Whitehead doubles \(W_-(K,m)\) where \(m\in \mathbb Z\), which are satellites of knots \(K\). \textit{J. J. Tripp} [J. Knot Theory Ramifications 11, No. 8, 1233--1242 (2002; Zbl 1024.57013)] showed that the canonical genus of a Whitehead double of a torus knot \(T(2,n)\) is equal to \(n\), the minimal crossing number of \(T(2,n)\), and conjectured that the minimal crossing number of any knot coincides with the canonical genus of its Whitehead double. In [Osaka J. Math. 43, No. 3, 609--623 (2006; Zbl 1111.57008)], \textit{T. Nakamura} extended Tripp's argument and showed that for 2-bridge knots the conjecture holds. He also found a non-alternating knot for which the minimal crossing number is not equal to the canonical genus of its Whitehead double and so he modified the conjecture to the following: The minimal crossing number of any alternating knot coincides with the canonical genus of its Whitehead double. In [``Canonical genus and the Whitehead doubles of pretzel knots'', \url{arXiv:math/0608765}], \textit{M. Brittenham} and \textit{J. Jensen} showed the conjecture holds for alternating pretzel knots and \textit{H. Gruber} [Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 147, No. 1, 173--183 (2009; Zbl 1170.57010)] extended Nakamura's result to algebraic alternating knots. In the present paper the authors give a new infinite family of alternating knots for which the conjecture holds, which is an extension of results of Tripp, Nakamura, Brittenham and Jensen. This family of knots consists of the closure of certain quasitoric braids. In order to prove the conjecture, the maximum \(z\)-degree of HOMFLYPT polynomials for double links of certain closed quasitoric braids is calculated.