Curves on surfaces (Q908548)

Given a cylinder the t/i-number (twist-intersection-number) a/b describes a family of b helixes which intersect the longitude at a points. It is positive if the helixes cross the longitude and meridian in the same direction and negative otherwise. An \((n+1)\) torus can be decomposed into 3n cylinders and 2n ``pairs of pants'' (spheres with 3 open disks removed), referred to as Y's. Standard position is defined for curves in terms of their positions on the Y's. The main theorem then states that every curve in a closed connected 2- manifold is equivalent, under an ambient isotopy of the surface, to one in standard position. Further the curve is determined, up to ambient isotopy, by the t/i numbers on the 3n cylinders. A similar notion of t/i-number is defined for nonorientable surfaces. The projective plane and Klein Bottle are handled separately. The connected sum of n tori and one Klein Bottle is divided into Y's and cylinders and curves on it are determined, as in the orientable case, by 3n t/i- numbers. The case of the connected sum of n tori and a projective plane is a bit more complicated with the curves being determined by 3n-1 t/i- numbers.