Depth of knots (Q1183667)

For a knot \(\kappa\subset S^ 3\), let \(E(\kappa)\) be the complement in \(S^ 3\) of the interior of a smooth tubular neighbourhood of \(\kappa\). The authors prove the following: For each integer \(k\geq 0\), there is a knot \(\kappa\) such that \(E(\kappa)\) admits a taut \(C^ \infty\) foliation of depth \(k\) that meets \(\partial E(\kappa)\) in circles, but it does not admit a taut \(C^ 2\) foliation, transverse to \(\partial E(\kappa)\) and of depth \(< k\). They also give examples of knots whose complements do not admit taut \(C^ 2\) foliations, with leaves meeting the boundary of the knot complement in circles, of any finite depth.