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Knot Complement
In mathematics, the knot complement of a tame knot ''K'' is the space where the knot is not. If a knot is embedded in the 3-sphere, then the complement is the 3-sphere minus the space near the knot. To make this precise, suppose that ''K'' is a knot in a three-manifold ''M'' (most often, ''M'' is the 3-sphere). Let ''N'' be a tubular neighborhood of ''K''; so ''N'' is a solid torus. The knot complement is then the complement of ''N'', :X_K = M - \mbox(N). The knot complement ''XK'' is a compact 3-manifold; the boundary of ''XK'' and the boundary of the neighborhood ''N'' are homeomorphic to a two-torus. Sometimes the ambient manifold ''M'' is understood to be 3-sphere. Context is needed to determine the usage. There are analogous definitions of link complement. Many knot invariants, such as the knot group, are really invariants of the complement of the knot. When the ambient space is the three-sphere no information is lost: the Gordon–Luecke theorem states that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unknot
In the mathematical theory of knots, the unknot, not knot, or trivial knot, is the least knotted of all knots. Intuitively, the unknot is a closed loop of rope without a knot tied into it, unknotted. To a knot theorist, an unknot is any embedded topological circle in the 3-sphere that is ambient isotopic (that is, deformable) to a geometrically round circle, the standard unknot. The unknot is the only knot that is the boundary of an embedded disk, which gives the characterization that only unknots have Seifert genus 0. Similarly, the unknot is the identity element with respect to the knot sum operation. Unknotting problem Deciding if a particular knot is the unknot was a major driving force behind knot invariants, since it was thought this approach would possibly give an efficient algorithm to recognize the unknot from some presentation such as a knot diagram. Unknot recognition is known to be in both NP and co-NP. It is known that knot Floer homology and Khova ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torus
In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle. If the axis of revolution does not touch the circle, the surface has a ring shape and is called a torus of revolution. If the axis of revolution is tangent to the circle, the surface is a horn torus. If the axis of revolution passes twice through the circle, the surface is a spindle torus. If the axis of revolution passes through the center of the circle, the surface is a degenerate torus, a double-covered sphere. If the revolved curve is not a circle, the surface is called a ''toroid'', as in a square toroid. Real-world objects that approximate a torus of revolution include swim rings, inner tubes and ringette rings. Eyeglass lenses that combine spherical and cylindrical correction are toric lenses. A torus should not be confused with a '' solid torus'', which is formed by r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seifert Surface
In mathematics, a Seifert surface (named after German mathematician Herbert Seifert) is an orientable surface whose boundary is a given knot or link. Such surfaces can be used to study the properties of the associated knot or link. For example, many knot invariants are most easily calculated using a Seifert surface. Seifert surfaces are also interesting in their own right, and the subject of considerable research. Specifically, let ''L'' be a tame oriented knot or link in Euclidean 3-space (or in the 3-sphere). A Seifert surface is a compact, connected, oriented surface ''S'' embedded in 3-space whose boundary is ''L'' such that the orientation on ''L'' is just the induced orientation from ''S''. Note that any compact, connected, oriented surface with nonempty boundary in Euclidean 3-space is the Seifert surface associated to its boundary link. A single knot or link can have many different inequivalent Seifert surfaces. A Seifert surface must be oriented. It is possible t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knot Genus
In mathematics, a Seifert surface (named after German mathematician Herbert Seifert) is an orientable surface whose boundary is a given knot or link. Such surfaces can be used to study the properties of the associated knot or link. For example, many knot invariants are most easily calculated using a Seifert surface. Seifert surfaces are also interesting in their own right, and the subject of considerable research. Specifically, let ''L'' be a tame oriented knot or link in Euclidean 3-space (or in the 3-sphere). A Seifert surface is a compact, connected, oriented surface ''S'' embedded in 3-space whose boundary is ''L'' such that the orientation on ''L'' is just the induced orientation from ''S''. Note that any compact, connected, oriented surface with nonempty boundary in Euclidean 3-space is the Seifert surface associated to its boundary link. A single knot or link can have many different inequivalent Seifert surfaces. A Seifert surface must be oriented. It is possible to ass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homeomorphic
In the mathematical field of topology, a homeomorphism, topological isomorphism, or bicontinuous function is a bijective and continuous function between topological spaces that has a continuous inverse function. Homeomorphisms are the isomorphisms in the category of topological spaces—that is, they are the mappings that preserve all the topological properties of a given space. Two spaces with a homeomorphism between them are called homeomorphic, and from a topological viewpoint they are the same. The word ''homeomorphism'' comes from the Greek words '' ὅμοιος'' (''homoios'') = similar or same and '' μορφή'' (''morphē'') = shape or form, introduced to mathematics by Henri Poincaré in 1895. Very roughly speaking, a topological space is a geometric object, and the homeomorphism is a continuous stretching and bending of the object into a new shape. Thus, a square and a circle are homeomorphic to each other, but a sphere and a torus are not. However, this descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon–Luecke Theorem
In mathematics, the Gordon–Luecke theorem on knot complements states that if the complements of two tame knots are homeomorphic, then the knots are equivalent. In particular, any homeomorphism between knot complements must take a meridian to a meridian. The theorem is usually stated as "knots are determined by their complements"; however this is slightly ambiguous as it considers two knots to be equivalent if there is a self-homeomorphism taking one knot to the other. Thus mirror images are neglected. Often two knots are considered equivalent if they are '' isotopic''. The correct version in this case is that if two knots have complements which are orientation-preserving homeomorphic, then they are isotopic. These results follow from the following (also called the Gordon–Luecke theorem): no nontrivial Dehn surgery on a nontrivial knot in the 3-sphere can yield the 3-sphere. The theorem was proved by Cameron Gordon and John Luecke. Essential ingredients of the pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knot Group
In mathematics, a knot is an embedding of a circle into 3-dimensional Euclidean space. The knot group of a knot ''K'' is defined as the fundamental group of the knot complement of ''K'' in R3, :\pi_1(\mathbb^3 \setminus K). Other conventions consider knots to be embedded in the 3-sphere, in which case the knot group is the fundamental group of its complement in S^3. Properties Two equivalent knots have isomorphic knot groups, so the knot group is a knot invariant and can be used to distinguish between certain pairs of inequivalent knots. This is because an equivalence between two knots is a self-homeomorphism of \mathbb^3 that is isotopic to the identity and sends the first knot onto the second. Such a homeomorphism restricts onto a homeomorphism of the complements of the knots, and this restricted homeomorphism induces an isomorphism of fundamental groups. However, it is possible for two inequivalent knots to have isomorphic knot groups (see below for an example). The ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knot Invariant
In the mathematical field of knot theory, a knot invariant is a quantity (in a broad sense) defined for each knot which is the same for equivalent knots. The equivalence is often given by ambient isotopy but can be given by homeomorphism. Some invariants are indeed numbers (algebraic), but invariants can range from the simple, such as a yes/no answer, to those as complex as a homology theory (for example, "a ''knot invariant'' is a rule that assigns to any knot a quantity such that if and are equivalent then ."). Research on invariants is not only motivated by the basic problem of distinguishing one knot from another but also to understand fundamental properties of knots and their relations to other branches of mathematics. Knot invariants are thus used in knot classification,Purcell, Jessica (2020). ''Hyperbolic Knot Theory'', p.7. American Mathematical Society. "A ''knot invariant'' is a function from the set of knots to some other set whose value depends only on the equiva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Link (knot Theory)
In mathematical knot theory, a link is a collection of knots which do not intersect, but which may be linked (or knotted) together. A knot can be described as a link with one component. Links and knots are studied in a branch of mathematics called knot theory. Implicit in this definition is that there is a ''trivial'' reference link, usually called the unlink, but the word is also sometimes used in context where there is no notion of a trivial link. For example, a co-dimension 2 link in 3-dimensional space is a subspace of 3-dimensional Euclidean space (or often the 3-sphere) whose connected components are homeomorphic to circles. The simplest nontrivial example of a link with more than one component is called the Hopf link, which consists of two circles (or unknots) linked together once. The circles in the Borromean rings are collectively linked despite the fact that no two of them are directly linked. The Borromean rings thus form a Brunnian link and in fact constitut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3-manifold
In mathematics, a 3-manifold is a space that locally looks like Euclidean 3-dimensional space. A 3-manifold can be thought of as a possible shape of the universe. Just as a sphere looks like a plane to a small enough observer, all 3-manifolds look like our universe does to a small enough observer. This is made more precise in the definition below. Introduction Definition A topological space ''X'' is a 3-manifold if it is a second-countable Hausdorff space and if every point in ''X'' has a neighbourhood that is homeomorphic to Euclidean 3-space. Mathematical theory of 3-manifolds The topological, piecewise-linear, and smooth categories are all equivalent in three dimensions, so little distinction is made in whether we are dealing with say, topological 3-manifolds, or smooth 3-manifolds. Phenomena in three dimensions can be strikingly different from phenomena in other dimensions, and so there is a prevalence of very specialized techniques that do not generalize to dimensions g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homeomorphism
In the mathematical field of topology, a homeomorphism, topological isomorphism, or bicontinuous function is a bijective and continuous function between topological spaces that has a continuous inverse function. Homeomorphisms are the isomorphisms in the category of topological spaces—that is, they are the mappings that preserve all the topological properties of a given space. Two spaces with a homeomorphism between them are called homeomorphic, and from a topological viewpoint they are the same. The word ''homeomorphism'' comes from the Greek words '' ὅμοιος'' (''homoios'') = similar or same and '' μορφή'' (''morphē'') = shape or form, introduced to mathematics by Henri Poincaré in 1895. Very roughly speaking, a topological space is a geometric object, and the homeomorphism is a continuous stretching and bending of the object into a new shape. Thus, a square and a circle are homeomorphic to each other, but a sphere and a torus are not. However, this desc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compact Space
In mathematics, specifically general topology, compactness is a property that seeks to generalize the notion of a closed and bounded subset of Euclidean space by making precise the idea of a space having no "punctures" or "missing endpoints", i.e. that the space not exclude any ''limiting values'' of points. For example, the open interval (0,1) would not be compact because it excludes the limiting values of 0 and 1, whereas the closed interval ,1would be compact. Similarly, the space of rational numbers \mathbb is not compact, because it has infinitely many "punctures" corresponding to the irrational numbers, and the space of real numbers \mathbb is not compact either, because it excludes the two limiting values +\infty and -\infty. However, the ''extended'' real number line ''would'' be compact, since it contains both infinities. There are many ways to make this heuristic notion precise. These ways usually agree in a metric space, but may not be equivalent in other topologic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
