The C-complex clasp number of links

DOI10.1216/RMJ.2020.50.839MaRDI QIDQ2192239zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Yanyan Li

Publication date 14 August 2020

Published in Rocky Mountain Journal of Mathematics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.12472, https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.rmjm/1595988024

zbMATH Keywords

C-complexknotlinkMilnor invariantSeifert surface

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Knot theory (57K10)

Abstract: In the 1980's Daryl Cooper introduced the notion of a C-complex (or clasp-complex) bounded by a link and explained how to compute signatures and polynomial invariants using a C-complex. Since then this was extended by works of Cimasoni, Florens, Mellor, Melvin, Conway, Toffoli, Friedl, and others to compute other link invariants. Informally a C-complex is a union of surfaces which are allowed to intersect each other in clasps. The purpose of the current paper is to study the minimal number of clasps amongst all C-complexes bounded by a fixed link $L$. This measure of complexity is related to the number of crossing changes needed to reduce $L$ to a boundary link. We prove that if $L$ is a 2-component link with nonzero linking number, then the linking number determines the minimal number of clasps amongst all C-complexes. In the case of 3-component links, the triple linking number provides an additional lower bound on the number of clasps in a C-complex.

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Cites work

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Cited in

(4)

• Triple clasp formulas for \(C_2\) webs
• When do links admit homeomorphic C-complexes?
• COMPONENT-ISOTOPY OF SEIFERT COMPLEXES
• Slopes and concordance of links

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