Journal of Knot Theory and Its Ramifications

A Takasaki quandle is defined by the binary operation a * b = 2b - a on an abelian group G. A Takasaki quandle depends on the algebraic properties of the underlying abelian group. In this paper, we will study the quotient structure of a Takasaki quandle in terms of its subquandle. If a subquandle X of a quandle Q is a subgroup of the underlying group Q, then we can define the quandle structure on the set {X * g | g ∈ Q}, which is called the quotient quandle of Q. Also we will study conditions for a subquandle X to be a subgroup of the underlying group when it contains the identity element.

In this paper, we define some polynomial invariants for virtual knots and links. In the first part we use Manturov's parity axioms [Parity in knot theory, Sb. Math.201 (2010) 693–733] to obtain a new polynomial invariant of virtual knots. This invariant can be regarded as a generalization of the odd writhe polynomial defined by the first author in [A polynomial invariant of virtual knots, preprint (2012), arXiv:math.GT/1202.3850v1]. The relation between this new polynomial invariant and the affine index polynomial [An affine index polynomial invariant of virtual knots, J. Knot Theory Ramification22 (2013) 1340007; A linking number definition of the affine index polynomial and applications, preprint (2012), arXiv:1211.1747v1] is discussed. In the second part we introduce a polynomial invariant for long flat virtual knots. In the third part we define a polynomial invariant for 2-component virtual links. This polynomial invariant can be regarded as a generalization of the linking number.

We introduce a new technique for studying classical knots with the methods of virtual knot theory. Let K be a knot and J be a knot in the complement of K with lk(J, K) = 0. Suppose there is covering space , where V(J) is a regular neighborhood of J satisfying V(J) ∩ im(K) = ∅ and Σ is a connected compact orientable 2-manifold. Let K′ be a knot in Σ × (0, 1) such that π_J(K′) = K. Then K′ stabilizes to a virtual knot , called a virtual cover of K relative to J. We investigate what can be said about a classical knot from its virtual covers in the case that J is a fibered knot. Several examples and applications to classical knots are presented. A basic theory of virtual covers is established.

This paper gives an alternate definition of the Affine Index Polynomial (called the Wriggle Polynomial) using virtual linking numbers and explores applications of this polynomial. In particular, it proves the Cosmetic Crossing Change Conjecture for odd virtual knots and pure virtual knots. It also demonstrates that the polynomial can detect mutations by positive rotation and proves it cannot detect mutations by positive reflection. Finally it exhibits a pair of mutant knots that can be distinguished by a type 2 vassiliev invariant coming from the polynomial.

This paper considers *-graphs in which all vertices have degree 4 or 6, and studies the question of calculating the genus of orientable 2-surfaces into which such graphs may be embedded. A *-graph is a graph endowed with a formal adjacency structure on the half-edges around each vertex, and an embedding of a *-graph is an embedding under which the formal adjacency relation on half-edges corresponds to the adjacency relation induced by the embedding. *-graphs are a natural generalization of four-valent framed graphs, which are four-valent graphs with an opposite half-edge structure. In [Embeddings of four-valent framed graphs into 2-surfaces, Dokl. Akad. Nauk424(3) (2009) 308–310], the question of whether a four-valent framed graph admits a ℤ₂-homologically trivial embedding into a given surface was shown to be equivalent to a problem on matrices. We show that a similar result holds for *-graphs in which all vertices have degree 4 or 6. This gives an algorithm in quadratic time to determine whether a *-graph admits an embedding into the plane.

The Kuperberg bracket is a well-known invariant of classical links. Recently, the second named author and Kauffman constructed the graph-valued generalization of the Kuperberg bracket for the case of virtual links: unlike the classical case, the invariant in the virtual case is valued in graphs which carry a significant amount of information about the virtual knot. The crucial difference between virtual knot theory and classical knot theory is the rich topology of the ambient space for virtual knots. In a paper by Chrisman and the second named author, two-component classical links with one fibered component were considered; the complement to the fibered component allows one to get highly non-trivial ambient topology for the other component. In this paper, we combine the ideas of the above mentioned papers and construct the "virtual" Kuperberg bracket for two-component links L = J ⊔ K with one component (J) fibered. We consider a new geometrical complexity for such links and establish minimality of diagrams in a strong sense. Roughly speaking, every other "diagram" of the knot in question contains the initial diagram as a subdiagram. We prove a sufficient condition for minimality in a strong sense where minimality cannot be established as introduced in the paper by Chrisman and the second named author.