On the number of unknot diagrams

DOI10.1137/17M115462XzbMATH Open1411.57016arXiv1710.06470OpenAlexW2963040438WikidataQ128429350 ScholiaQ128429350MaRDI QIDQ4619481FDOQ4619481

Authors: Carolina Medina, Jorge Luis Ramírez Alfonsín, Gelasio Salazar 

Publication date: 6 February 2019

Published in: SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Let $D$ be a knot diagram, and let $mathcalD$ denote the set of diagrams that can be obtained from $D$ by crossing exchanges. If $D$ has $n$ crossings, then $mathcalD$ consists of $2^n$ diagrams. A folklore argument shows that at least one of these $2^n$ diagrams is unknot, from which it follows that every diagram has finite unknotting number. It is easy to see that this argument can be used to show that actually $mathcalD$ has more than one unknot diagram, but it cannot yield more than $4n$ unknot diagrams. We improve this linear bound to a superpolynomial bound, by showing that at least $2^{sqrt[3]n}$ of the diagrams in $mathcalD$ are unknot. We also show that either all the diagrams in $mathcalD$ are unknot, or there is a diagram in $mathcalD$ that is a diagram of the trefoil knot.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.06470

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zbMATH Keywords

lower boundsknot diagramsknot shadowsunknot diagrams

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Planar graphs; geometric and topological aspects of graph theory (05C10) Relations of low-dimensional topology with graph theory (57M15)

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Cited In (14)

• On the unknotting number of minimal diagrams
• Unknotting number and Khovanov homology
• Positive links with arrangements of pseudocircles as shadows
• The granny and the square tangle and the unknotting number
• Polynomial unknotting and singularity index
• UNKNOTTING NUMBERS AND MINIMAL KNOT DIAGRAMS
• Combinatorial random knots
• The knots that lie above all shadows
• Unknotting numbers of alternating knot and link families
• A PARTIAL ORDERING OF KNOTS AND LINKS THROUGH DIAGRAMMATIC UNKNOTTING
• On unknotting numbers and four-dimensional clasp numbers of links
• Structure and enumeration of \(K_4\)-minor-free links and link-diagrams
• Unknotted cycles
• UNKNOTTING NUMBERS OF DIAGRAMS OF A GIVEN NONTRIVIAL KNOT ARE UNBOUNDED

Uses Software

• SnapPy

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