The dihedral genus of a knot

DOI10.2140/AGT.2020.20.1939MaRDI QIDQ784254zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Patricia Cahn, Alexandra Kjuchukova

Publication date 3 August 2020

Published in Algebraic \& Geometric Topology (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.10842

zbMATH Keywords

branched coverknotribbon genustrisection

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Knot theory (57K10) Low-dimensional topology of special (e.g., branched) coverings (57M12) Cobordism and concordance in PL-topology (57Q60)

Abstract: Let $Ksubset{S}^3$ be a Fox $p$-colored knot and assume $K$ bounds a locally flat surface $Ssubset{B}^4$ over which the given $p$-coloring extends. This coloring of $S$ induces a dihedral branched cover $Xo{S}^4$. Its branching set is a closed surface embedded in $S^4$ locally flatly away from one singularity whose link is $K$. When $S$ is homotopy ribbon and $X$ a definite four-manifold, a condition relating the signature of $X$ and the Murasugi signature of $K$ guarantees that $S$ in fact realizes the four-genus of $K$. We exhibit an infinite family of knots $K_m$ with this property, each with a {Fox 3-}colored surface of minimal genus $m$. As a consequence, we classify the signatures of manifolds $X$ which arise as dihedral covers of $S^4$ in the above sense.

Review text

There are several highly influential open questions regarding the surfaces that a knot in the 3-sphere can bound in the 4-ball. For a given type of surface (smooth, topological, locally flat, homotopy ribbon, etc.) one can ask for the minimal genus of such a surface bounded by a fixed knot \(K\). There are several relations between the different genera that one obtains in this way for a knot \(K\), but in general it is challenging to prove that a given surface really is of minimal genus (among surfaces of the relevant type). This article studies the \(p\)-dihedral genus of a knot \(K\), defined as the minimal genus of any locally flat, orientable surface \(S\) in the 4-ball, bounded by \(K\) in \(S^3\) such that some \(p\)-coloring of \(K\) extends over \(S\). The coloring of \(S\) allows a construction of a dihedral branched cover \(X\to S^4\). The authors obtain a lower bound for the \(p\)-dihedral genus, which becomes an equality if \(S\) is homotopy ribbon, \(X\) is a definite manifold and the signature of \(X\) satisfies a condition in relation to the Murasugi signature of \(K\). The formula implies that if these conditions are satisfied, then \(S\) realizes the 4-genus of \(K\). Furthermore, the authors prove for any given non-negative integer \(m\) the existence of an infinite family of knots \(K_m\), for which the 3-dihedral genus and the topological 4-genus are both equal to \(m\).

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Cites work

• A la recherche de la topologie perdue. 1: Du côté de chez Rohlin. 2: Le côté de Casson
• Bridge trisections of knotted surfaces in \(S^4\)
• Dihedral branched covers of four-manifolds
• Every closed orientable 3-manifold is a 3-fold branched covering space of S³
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3214380 (Why is no real title available?)
• On a Certain Numerical Invariant of Link Types
• On the signature of a link
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Cited in

(3)

• Linking numbers in three-manifolds
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 920822 (Why is no real title available?)
• Computing ribbon obstructions for colored knots

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