The dihedral genus of a knot

Abstract: Let

K s u b s e t S^{3}

be a Fox

p

-colored knot and assume

K

bounds a locally flat surface

S s u b s e t B^{4}

over which the given

p

-coloring extends. This coloring of

S

induces a dihedral branched cover

X o 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.

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