Knots connected by wide ribbons

DOI10.1142/S0218216519500718zbMATH Open1432.57007arXiv1808.00154OpenAlexW2967568932WikidataQ127390605 ScholiaQ127390605MaRDI QIDQ5215802FDOQ5215802

Authors: Susan C. Brooks, Oguz C. Durumeric, Jonathan K. Simon 

Publication date: 13 February 2020

Published in: Journal of Knot Theory and Its Ramifications (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: A ribbon is, intuitively, a smooth mapping of an annulus $S^{1}imesI$ in 3-space having constant width $varepsilon$. This can be formalized as a triple $(x,varepsilon,mathbfu)$ where $x$ is smooth curve in 3-space and $mathbfu$ is a unit vector field based along $x$. In the 1960s and 1970s, G. Calugareanu, G. H. White, and F. B. Fuller proved relationships between the geometry and topology of thin ribbons, in particular the "Link = Twist + Writhe" theorem that has been applied to help understand properties of double-stranded DNA. Although ribbons of small width have been studied extensively, it appears that less is known about ribbons of large width whose images (even via a smooth map) can be singular or self-intersecting. Suppose $K$ is a smoothly embedded knot in $mathbb{R}^3$. Given a regular parameterization $mathbfx(s)$, and a smooth unit vector field $mathbfu(s)$ based along $K$, we may define a ribbon of width $R$ associated to $mathbfx$ and $mathbfu$ as the set of all points $mathbfx(s)+rmathbfu(s)$, $rin[0,R]$. For large $R$, these wide ribbons typically have self-intersections. In this paper, we analyze how the knot type of the outer ribbon edge $mathbfx(s)+Rmathbfu(s)$ relates to that of the original knot $K$. We show that, generically, there is an eventual limiting knot type of the outer ribbon edge as $R$ gets arbitrary large. We prove that this eventual knot type is one of only finitely many possibilities which depend just on the vector field $mathbfu$. However, the particular knot type within the finite set depends on the parameterized curves $mathbfx(s)$, $mathbfu(s)$, and their interactions. Finally, we show how to control the curves and their parameterizations so that given two knot types $K_1$ and $K_2$, we can find a smooth ribbon of constant width connecting curves of these two knot types.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.00154

Recommendations

• RIBBON 2-KNOTS WITH DISTINCT RIBBON TYPES
• Ribbonlength and crossing number for folded ribbon knots
• Ribbonlength of families of folded ribbon knots
• Ribbonlength of folded ribbon unknots in the plane
• Folded ribbonlength of 2-bridge knots

zbMATH Keywords

geometrytopologyknotsribbons

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Curves in Euclidean and related spaces (53A04) Surfaces in Euclidean and related spaces (53A05) Knot theory (57K10)

Cites Work

• Title not available (Why is that?)
• On the minimum ropelength of knots and links
• Global curvature, thickness, and the ideal shapes of knots
• Self-Linking and the Gauss Integral in Higher Dimensions
• The Writhing Number of a Space Curve
• Thickness and crossing number of knots
• Thickness of knots
• Collected Papers of John Milnor. III: Differential topology. Edited by the author
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Differentiable manifolds
• Thicknesses of knots
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Hamiltonian knot projections and lengths of thick knots.
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Minimal flat knotted ribbons

This page was built for publication: Knots connected by wide ribbons

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q5215802)