Narrow Results

In this paper, we define edge sum of some trivializable graphs. The main theorem of this paper is that an edge sum of some trivializable graphs at handle edges is trivializable and using this theorem we actually construct a larger class of trivializable graphs.

A planar graph is said to be trivializable if every regular projection of the graph produces a trivial spatial embedding by giving some over/under informations to the double points. Every minor of a trivializable graph is also trivializable, thus the set of forbidden graphs is finite. Seven forbidden graphs for the trivializability were previously known. In this paper, we exhibit nine more forbidden graphs.

A generic immersion of a planar graph into the 2-space is said to be knotted if there does not exist a trivial embedding of the graph into the 3-space obtained by lifting the immersion with respect to the natural projection from the 3-space to the 2-space. In this paper, we show that if a generic immersion of a planar graph is knotted then the number of double points of the immersion is more than or equal to three. To prove this, we also show that an embedding of a graph obtained from a generic immersion of the graph (does not need to be planar) with at most three double points is totally free if it contains neither a Hopf link nor a trefoil knot.

It is known that the unknotting number $u(L)$ of a link $L$ is less than or equal to half the crossing number $c(L)$ of $L$. We show that there are a planar graph $G$ and its spatial embedding $f$ such that the unknotting number $u(f)$ of $f$ is greater than half the crossing number $c(f)$ of $f$. We study relations between unknotting number and crossing number of spatial embedding of a planar graph in general.