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50 votes
2 answers
2k views

Can I wrap a suitcase with hair ties

Is there a nontrivial link in a big solid torus that is trivial in the ambient Euclidean space such that each circle is unknot and has a sufficiently small length? It is motivated by a question that ...
Anton Petrunin's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
235 views

Links and non-orientable surfaces

Let $\Sigma \subset \mathbb{R}^3$ be a compact embedded surface with boundary $\partial \Sigma$ and $i:\Sigma\setminus \partial\Sigma \to \mathbb{R}^3 \setminus \partial\Sigma$ the inclusion. Is the ...
mmen's user avatar
  • 443
6 votes
0 answers
211 views

$\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}$ coefficients in gysin sequence

I am reading the article "Signature of links" by Kauffman and Taylor. Here they show that it is possible to calculate the nullity of a link $L\subset S^3$ by knowing the first betti number of the ...
Diego95's user avatar
  • 521
5 votes
1 answer
376 views

Why is this Brieskorn manifold a rational homology sphere?

In Némethi's book "Normal surface singularities", Example 5.1.17, there is a formula to find the Seifert invariants of a Brieskorn complete intersection $\Sigma(a_1,...,a_n)$. I am ...
user13121312's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
831 views

Non-zero winding number on a space curve implies a linked curve in the zero set?

The following statement has been largely improved from my original post thanks to discussions with @DmitriPanov ad well as the comment from @Wojowu. Let $f \colon \mathbb{S}^3 \to \mathbb{R}^2$ be ...
Hao Chen's user avatar
  • 2,581
4 votes
0 answers
181 views

Borromean Lines of three $\mathbb{R}^1$ in $\mathbb{R}^3$ and analogous Milnor link invariants

It is know that Borromean rings can be detected by Milnor invariant $$ \bar{\mu}(\gamma_1,\gamma_2,\gamma_3)= \# (\Sigma_1 \cap \Sigma_2 \cap \Sigma_3)-\frac{1}{2}\sum_{I,J,K}\epsilon_{IJK} \sum_{\...
annie marie cœur's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
57 views

What's the Milnor's link group for the trivial knot in a lens space?

For a link $L$ in a 3-manifold $Y$, Milnor's paper "Link Groups" https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF01393902.pdf defined the link group as some quotient of $\pi_1(Y-L)$. If $L$ ...
Faniel's user avatar
  • 673
2 votes
1 answer
145 views

Are all Torus Links in fact Lorenz links or not?

I'm currently trying to work through the material on Lorenz knots in the literature and there seems to be conflicting information. On p. 66, in the Birman-Williams' paper Knotted Periodic Orbits in ...
asldjk's user avatar
  • 318
2 votes
1 answer
248 views

Wrapping a suitcase with large rotational symmetry

This is a follow-up question to Can I wrap a suitcase with hair ties. Now we know that it is possible to wrap a suitcase with hair ties without tying them together, but can you do it with large ...
Anton Petrunin's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
164 views

Are there infinite number of 3-braids with trivial closure?

Not counting equivalent braids, are there finite or infinite numbers of 3-braids whose closures are trivial knot or links? If the answer is infinite, are there some patterns in those infinite numbers ...
Muqing Cao's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
44 views

Link invariants on a thickened surface

Let $\Sigma$ be an oriented surface. I want to know about link invariants in $\Sigma\times [0,1]$. I already know the Ozawa polynomial introduced in this paper, but I couldn’t find any other than that....
AW.'s user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
0 answers
80 views

Composition of 3-braids to obtain braids with trivial closure

Given a 3-braid $b=\sigma_1\sigma_2^{-1}\sigma_1\sigma_2^{-1}\sigma_1$ (which has non-trivial closure), can we find a 3-braid $c$, which has trivial closure (closure results in any trivial knot or ...
Muqing Cao's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
135 views

Möbius cross energy in $S^3$?

Let $\gamma_i$, $i=1,2$ be two loops in $\mathbb R^3$. The Möbius cross energy of the pair is defined by $$ E(\gamma_1, \gamma_2)=\iint_{S^1\times S^1}\frac{|\gamma'_1(u)|\cdot|\gamma'_2(v)|}{|\...
J. GE's user avatar
  • 2,623
0 votes
1 answer
205 views

Space-time trajectory that cannot be straightened and its braid form

Considering we have the space-time trajectory of multiple particles (or any objects) in the X-Y-Time coordination system. Given a projection direction, we can obtain the braid form of the space-time ...
Muqing Cao's user avatar