Distance two links

DOI10.1007/S10711-015-0088-2MaRDI QIDQ2634842zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Marion Campisi, Scott A. Taylor, Maggy Tomova, Ryan Blair, Jesse Johnson

Publication date 10 February 2016

Published in Geometriae Dedicata (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1309.3787

zbMATH Keywords

distance in the curve complexessential surfacelinks

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Abstract: In this paper, we characterize all links in the 3-sphere with bridge number at least three that have a bridge sphere of distance two. We show that a link L has a bridge sphere of distance at most two then it falls into at least one of three categories: (1) The exterior of L contains an essential meridional sphere. (2) L can be decomposed as a tangle product of a Montesinos tangle with an essential tangle in a way that respects the bridge surface and either the Montesinos tangle is rational or the essential tangle contains an incompressible, boundary-incompressible annulus. (3) L is obtained by banding from another link L' that has a bridge sphere of the same Euler characteristic as the bridge sphere for L but of distance 0 or 1.

Review text

A sphere \(S\) in \(S^3\) is a bridge sphere for a link \(L\) if \(L\) intersects each of the balls \(B_1\) and \(B_2\) bounded by \(S\) in trivial tangles. That is, \(L\cap B_i\) consists of boundary-parallel arcs. The bridge number of \(L\) is the minimal number of such arcs required in \(B_1\). Compressing discs for \(S\setminus L\) in \(B_i\setminus L\) define two sets of essential simple closed curves on \(S\setminus L\). The distance of the bridge splitting is the minimal distance between these two sets in the curve complex. This paper studies links with bridge number at least \(3\) and distance at most \(2\). It shows that all such links match at least one of three descriptions. This is achieved by building suitable surfaces and isotopies. Links with distance \(1\) are known to have an essential meridional surface in their complement, while those with distance at least \(3\) share various nice properties and are often collectively known as `high distance'. The paper includes a discussion of what a converse statement to the theorem would look like, and finishes with a series of outstanding questions.

Recommendations

• Distance of bridge surfaces for links with essential meridional spheres
• Bridge distance and plat projections
• Bridge number and tangle products
• An estimate of Hempel distance for bridge spheres
• Bridge splittings of links with distance exactly \(n\)

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Cited in

(9)

• Bridge number and tangle products
• Distance of bridge surfaces for links with essential meridional spheres
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1424300 (Why is no real title available?)
• The distance between the two BBM leaders
• Exceptional and cosmetic surgeries on knots
• Knots and surfaces
• Rectangle condition for bridge decompositions of links
• An estimate of Hempel distance for bridge spheres
• Bridge distance and plat projections

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