Splitting numbers of links

Jae Choon Cha; Stefan Friedl; Mark Powell

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arXiv · 1308.5638

Splitting numbers of links

Jae Choon Cha·Stefan Friedl·Mark Powell

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Abstract

The splitting number of a link is the minimal number of crossing changes between different components required, on any diagram, to convert it to a split link. We introduce new techniques to compute the splitting number, involving covering links and Alexander invariants. As an application, we completely determine the splitting numbers of links with 9 or fewer crossings. Also, with these techniques, we either reprove or improve upon the lower bounds for splitting numbers of links computed by J. Batson and C. Seed using Khovanov homology.

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BibTeX RIS

Jae Choon Cha, Stefan Friedl, Mark Powell. 2013-08-26. Splitting numbers of links. https://arxiv.org/abs/1308.5638

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