Search arXivSearch

arXiv · math/0608435

Conway products and links with multiple bridge surfaces

Abstract

Suppose a link K in a 3-manifold M is in bridge position with respect to two different bridge surfaces P and Q, both of which are c-weakly incompressible in the complement of K. Then either P and Q can be properly isotoped to intersect in a nonempty collection of curves that are essential (including non-meridional) on both surfaces, or K is a Conway product with respect to an incompressible Conway sphere that naturally decomposes both P and Q into bridge surfaces for the respective factor link(s).

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Martin Scharlemann, Maggy Tomova. 2006-08-16. Conway products and links with multiple bridge surfaces. https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0608435

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Chern-Simons invariants and volumes of representations in Nil, Sol, and Euclidean geometries

In this paper, we realize volumes of representations as real-valued Chern-Simons invariants in Nil, Sol, and Euclidean geometries. To this end, we formulate a Chern-Simons invariant of a pair of connections on a principal bundle that need not be trivial. For a connected closed oriented 3-manifold $M$ and a representation $ρ\colonπ_1(M)\to G$ into the identity component $G$ of the isometry group of one of these geometries, we construct an auxiliary connection on the associated flat $G$-bundle. We show that, for a suitably normalized invariant polynomial, the Chern-Simons invariant of the auxiliary and flat connections equals the volume of the representation. For the holonomy representation of a geometric structure, this invariant recovers the Riemannian volume. We also compute the Chern-Simons invariant of the Levi-Civita connection for representative closed manifolds in each of these geometries.

math.GT

Khovanov homology and refined bounds for Gordian distances

From Khovanov homology, we extract a new lower bound for the Gordian distance of knots, which combines and strengthens the previously existing bounds coming from Rasmussen invariants and from torsion invariants. We also improve the bounds for the proper rational Gordian distance.

math.GT

From arcs to curves: quadratic growth of 1-systems

We show that a collection of simple closed curves pairwise intersecting at most once on an orientable surface of Euler characteristic $χ$ has at most $2016|χ|^2+338|χ|$ curves. Up to multiplicative constants, this resolves a thirty-year old problem (see Problem 2.12(b) from the K3 Problem List). Inspired by the work of Przytycki in the setting of arcs, we introduce the concepts of tulips, flowers, and stem systems in order to account for how certain polygons built from pairs of curves in the collection distribute area over the surface.

math.GT