arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Michael Eisermann.
Pick's astonishing theorem explains how to obtain the area of any integer polygon by counting lattice points. It is a notoriously difficult challenge to translate the geometric statement and intuitive reasoning into a formal statement and rigorous proof. We transform the beautiful geometry into equally elegant algebra, and then implement the algebraic proof in Lean.
The simultaneous crossing number is a new knot invariant which is defined for strongly invertible knots having diagrams with two orthogonal transvergent axes of strong inversions. Because the composition of the two inversions gives a cyclic period of order 2 with an axis orthogonal to the two axes of strong inversion, knot diagrams with this property have three characteristic orthogonal directions. We define the simultaneous crossing number, $\operatorname{sim}(K)$, as the minimum of the sum of the numbers of crossings of projections in the 3 directions, where the minimum is taken over all embeddings of $K$ satisfying the symmetry condition. Dividing the simultaneous crossing number by the usual crossing number, $\operatorname{cr}(K)$, of a knot gives a number $\ge 3$, because each of the 3 diagrams is a knot diagram of the knot in question. We show that $\liminf_{\operatorname{cr}(K) \to \infty} \operatorname{sim}(K)/\operatorname{cr}(K) \le 8$, when the minimum over all knots and the limit over increasing crossing numbers is considered.
Motivated by the study of ribbon knots we explore symmetric unions, a beautiful construction introduced by Kinoshita and Terasaka in 1957. For symmetric diagrams we develop a two-variable refinement $W_D(s,t)$ of the Jones polynomial that is invariant under symmetric Reidemeister moves. Here the two variables $s$ and $t$ are associated to the two types of crossings, respectively on and off the symmetry axis. From sample calculations we deduce that a ribbon knot can have essentially distinct symmetric union presentations even if the partial knots are the same. If $D$ is a symmetric union diagram representing a ribbon knot $K$, then the polynomial $W_D(s,t)$ nicely reflects the geometric properties of $K$. In particular it elucidates the connection between the Jones polynomials of $K$ and its partial knots $K_\pm$: we obtain $W_D(t,t) = V_K(t)$ and $W_D(-1,t) = V_{K_-}(t) \cdot V_{K_+}(t)$, which has the form of a symmetric product $f(t) \cdot f(t^{-1})$ reminiscent of the Alexander polynomial of ribbon knots.
We present an intriguing question about lattice points in triangles where Pick's formula is "almost correct". The question has its origin in knot theory, but its statement is purely combinatorial. After more than 30 years the topological question was recently solved, but the lattice point problem is still open.
Sturm's theorem (1829/35) provides an elegant algorithm to count and locate the real roots of any real polynomial. In his residue calculus (1831/37) Cauchy extended Sturm's method to count and locate the complex roots of any complex polynomial. For holomorphic functions Cauchy's index is based on contour integration, but in the special case of polynomials it can effectively be calculated via Sturm chains using euclidean division as in the real case. In this way we provide an algebraic proof of Cauchy's theorem for polynomials over any real closed field. As our main tool, we formalize Gauss' geometric notion of winding number (1799) in the real-algebraic setting, from which we derive a real-algebraic proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra. The proof is elementary inasmuch as it uses only the intermediate value theorem and arithmetic of real polynomials. It can thus be formulated in the first-order language of real closed fields. Moreover, the proof is constructive and immediately translates to an algebraic root-finding algorithm.
Every rack $Q$ provides a set-theoretic solution $c_Q$ of the Yang-Baxter equation. This article examines the deformation theory of $c_Q$ within the space of Yang-Baxter operators over a ring $\A$, a problem initiated by Freyd and Yetter in 1989. As our main result we classify deformations in the modular case, which had previously been left in suspense, and establish that every deformation of $c_Q$ is gauge-equivalent to a quasi-diagonal one. Stated informally, in a quasi-diagonal deformation only behaviourally equivalent elements interact. In the extreme case, where all elements of $Q$ are behaviourally distinct, Yang-Baxter cohomology thus collapses to its diagonal part, which we identify with rack cohomology. The latter has been intensively studied in recent years and, in the modular case, is known to produce non-trivial and topologically interesting Yang-Baxter deformations.
For every n-component ribbon link L we prove that the Jones polynomial V(L) is divisible by the polynomial V(O^n) of the trivial link. This integrality property allows us to define a generalized determinant det V(L) := [V(L)/V(O^n)]_(t=-1), for which we derive congruences reminiscent of the Arf invariant: every ribbon link L = (K_1,...,K_n) satisfies det V(L) = det(K_1) >... det(K_n) modulo 32, whence in particular det V(L) = 1 modulo 8. These results motivate to study the power series expansion V(L) = \sum_{k=0}^\infty d_k(L) h^k at t=-1, instead of t=1 as usual. We obtain a family of link invariants d_k(L), starting with the link determinant d_0(L) = det(L) obtained from a Seifert surface S spanning L. The invariants d_k(L) are not of finite type with respect to crossing changes of L, but they turn out to be of finite type with respect to band crossing changes of S. This discovery is the starting point of a theory of surface invariants of finite type, which promises to reconcile quantum invariants with the theory of Seifert surfaces, or more generally ribbon surfaces.
Solutions of a diophantine equation $f(a,b) = g(c,d)$, with $a,b,c,d$ in some finite range, can be efficiently enumerated by sorting the values of $f$ and $g$ in ascending order and searching for collisions. This article considers functions that are bimonotone in the sense that $f(a,b) \le f(a',b')$ whenever $a \le a'$ and $b \le b'$. A two-variable polynomial with non-negative coefficients is a typical example. The problem is to efficiently enumerate all pairs $(a,b)$ such that the values $f(a,b)$ appear in increasing order. We present an algorithm that is memory-efficient and highly parallelizable. In order to enumerate the first $n$ values of $f$, the algorithm only builds up a priority queue of length at most $\sqrt{2n}+1$. In terms of bit-complexity this ensures that the algorithm takes time $O(n \log^2 n)$ and requires memory $O(\sqrt{n} \log n)$, which considerably improves on the memory bound $Θ(n \log n)$ provided by a naive approach, and extends the semimonotone enumeration algorithm previously considered by R.L. Ekl and D.J. Bernstein.
Motivated by the study of ribbon knots we explore symmetric unions, a beautiful construction introduced by Kinoshita and Terasaka 50 years ago. It is easy to see that every symmetric union represents a ribbon knot, but the converse is still an open problem. Besides existence it is natural to consider the question of uniqueness. In order to attack this question we extend the usual Reidemeister moves to a family of moves respecting the symmetry, and consider the symmetric equivalence thus generated. This notion being in place, we discuss several situations in which a knot can have essentially distinct symmetric union representations. We exhibit an infinite family of ribbon two-bridge knots each of which allows two different symmetric union representations.
This article introduces a natural extension of colouring numbers of knots, called colouring polynomials, and studies their relationship to Yang-Baxter invariants and quandle 2-cocycle invariants. For a knot K in the 3-sphere let π_K be the fundamental group of the knot complement, and let (m_K,l_K) be a meridian-longitude pair in π_K. Given a finite group G and an element x in G, we consider the set of representations ρfrom π_K to G that map the meridian m_K to x, and define the colouring polynomial P(K) as the sum over all longitude images ρ(l_K). The resulting invariant maps knots to the group ring Z[G]. It is multiplicative with respect to connected sum and equivariant with respect to symmetry operations of knots. Examples are given to show that colouring polynomials distinguish knots for which other invariants fail, in particular they can distinguish knots from their mutants, obverses, inverses, or reverses. We prove that every quandle 2-cocycle state-sum invariant of knots is a specialization of some knot colouring polynomial. This provides a complete topological interpretation of these invariants in terms of the knot group and its peripheral system. Furthermore, we show that P can be presented as a Yang-Baxter invariant, i.e. as the trace of some linear braid group representation. This entails in particular that Yang-Baxter invariants can detect non-inversible and non-reversible knots.
This article establishes the algebraic covering theory of quandles. For every connected quandle we explicitly construct a universal covering, which in turn leads us to define the algebraic fundamental group as the automorphism group of the universal covering. We then establish the Galois correspondence between connected coverings and subgroups of the fundamental group. Quandle coverings are thus formally analogous to coverings of topological spaces, and resemble Kervaire's algebraic covering theory of perfect groups. A detailed investigation also reveals some crucial differences, which we illustrate by numerous examples. As an application we obtain a simple formula for the second (co)homology group of a quandle Q. It has long been known that H_1(Q) = H^1(Q) = \Z[π_0(Q)], and we construct natural isomorphisms H_2(Q) = π_1(Q,q)_{ab} and H^2(Q,A) = Ext(Q,A) = Hom(π_1(Q,q),A), reminiscent of the classical Hurewicz isomorphisms in degree 1. This means that whenever the fundamental group is known, (co)homology calculations in degree 2 become very easy.
This article explicitly constructs and classifies all arrovian voting systems on three or more alternatives. If we demand orderings to be complete, we have, of course, Arrow's classical dictator theorem, and a closer look reveals the classification of all such voting systems as dictatorial hierarchies. If we leave the traditional realm of complete orderings, the picture changes. Here we consider the more general setting where alternatives may be incomparable, that is, we allow orderings that are reflexive and transitive but not necessarily complete. Instead of a dictator we exhibit a junta whose internal hierarchy or coalition structure can be surprisingly rich. We give an explicit description of all such voting systems, generalizing and unifying various previous results.
Given a rack Q and a ring A, one can construct a Yang-Baxter operator c_Q: V tensor V --> V tensor V on the free A-module V = AQ by setting c_Q(x tensor y) = y tensor x^y for all x,y in Q. In answer to a question initiated by D.N. Yetter and P.J. Freyd, this article classifies formal deformations of c_Q in the space of Yang-Baxter operators. For the trivial rack, where x^y = x for all x,y, one has, of course, the classical setting of r-matrices and quantum groups. In the general case we introduce and calculate the cohomology theory that classifies infinitesimal deformations of c_Q. In many cases this allows us to conclude that c_Q is rigid. In the remaining cases, where infinitesimal deformations are possible, we show that higher-order obstructions are the same as in the quantum case.