Optimal cobordisms between torus knots

DOI10.4310/CAG.2016.V24.N5.A4MaRDI QIDQ2396640zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Peter Feller

Publication date 24 May 2017

Published in Communications in Analysis and Geometry (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1501.00483

zbMATH Keywords

\(\Upsilon\)-invariantcobordism distancefour-genusHeegaard-Floer concordance invariantspositive braidsquasi-positive braids and linksslice genustorus knots

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Deformations of singularities (14B07) Milnor fibration; relations with knot theory (32S55) Cobordism and concordance in topological manifolds (57N70)

Abstract: We construct cobordisms of small genus between torus knots and use them to determine the cobordism distance between torus knots of small braid index. In fact, the cobordisms we construct arise as the intersection of a smooth algebraic curve in $mathbb{C}^2$ with the unit 4-ball from which a 4-ball of smaller radius is removed. Connections to the realization problem of $A_n$-singularities on algebraic plane curves and the adjacency problem for plane curve singularities are discussed. To obstruct the existence of cobordisms, we use Ozsv'ath, Stipsicz, and Szab'o's $Upsilon$-invariant, which we provide explicitly for torus knots of braid index 3 and 4.

Review text

An optimal cobordism between two torus knots \(K_0\) and \(K_1\) is a smooth cobordism from \(K_0\) to \(K_1\) of genus \(|g(K_0)-g(K_1)|\); this is the smallest possible genus allowed by the Milnor conjecture. These cobordisms are related to deformations of curve singularities, and more generally to singular curves in the complex plane; indeed, an algebraic (or even symplectic) cobordism between two torus knots is known to be optimal [\textit{P. B. Kronheimer} and \textit{T. S. Mrowka}, Topology 32, No. 4, 773--826 (1993; Zbl 0799.57007)]. This is where the motivation of the paper lies, and the main results (Theorems 1 and 2) assert that, when one of the two torus knots is of the form \(T(2,n)\) and the other one has braid index 3 or 4, then there exists an optimal smooth cobordism between them if and only if there is an algebraic cobordism between them. (Equivalent numerical conditions are given, too.) Corollary 3 measures the failure of optimality for torus knots whose sum of braid indices is at most 6; this failure is expressed in terms of two concordance invariants coming from Heegaard Floer homology, namely \(\tau\) [\textit{P. Ozsváth} and \textit{Z. Szabó}, Geom. Topol. 7, 615--639 (2003; Zbl 1037.57027)] and \(\upsilon\) [\textit{P. S. Ozsváth}, \textit{A. I. Stipsicz}, and \textit{Z. Szabó}, Adv. Math. 315, 366--426 (2017; Zbl 1383.57020)].

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Cited in

(22)

• Using secondary Upsilon invariants to rule out stable equivalence of knot complexes
• Unknotting with a single twist
• Signature invariants related to the unknotting number
• A note on cobordisms of algebraic knots
• On cobordisms between knots, braid index, and the upsilon-invariant
• Scissor equivalence for torus links
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3942511 (Why is no real title available?)
• The \(\Upsilon\) function of \(L\)-space knots is a Legendre transform
• The four-genus of connected sums of torus knots
• Genus one cobordisms between torus knots
• The cobordism distance between a knot and its reverse
• Braids, fibered knots, and concordance questions
• The smooth 4-genus of (the rest of) the prime knots through 12 crossings
• Knot cobordisms, bridge index, and torsion in Floer homology
• Cross-sections of unknotted ribbon disks and algebraic curves
• Critical point counts in knot cobordisms: abelian and metacyclic invariants
• Symplectic hats
• The upsilon invariant at 1 of 3-braid knots
• On the values taken by slice torus invariants
• Non-complex cobordisms between quasipositive knots
• Minimal cobordisms between thin and thick torus knots
• Asymptotics of the smooth A_n-realization problem

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